RP lagging behind
other Asian countries in e-commerceBy Jennifer A. Ng
THE Philippines has already been left behind by its Asian neighbors in electronic commerce (e-commerce) activity, mainly due to the high cost of putting up an e-commerce web site, according to a study conducted by government think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS),
the think tank office of NEDA.
The PIDS study conducted by Dr. Gloria Pasadilla and April Lacson said this lack of local online retailers is compounded by the apparent aversion among Filipino consumers to use e-commerce.
“Ever since the dot-com boom, the Internet has been said to be a great equalizer as it provides more access to information and income generation opportunities. Unfortunately, it has failed. Still many Filipinos, with only 25 percent of an Internet population of 11 million being able to buy products and services online, and most of these from e-retailers based in the United States,†the study noted.
The rest, according to the authors, are wallowing in not being able to do e-commerce as they do not have credit cards or do not trust credit cards, and are limited to bank-to-bank transfers, cash on deliveries, mobile cash, or just plain hand-over-the-cash-to-the-cashier.
“Most Filipinos cannot make payments online when they want to buy a product from any web site here and abroad. Many would also like to tap the opportunities to be able to sell products and accept payments online, but are unable to do so because of the high cost of putting up an e-commerce web site,†said the PIDS study.
For the Philippines to achieve its vision of becoming Asia’s knowledge center and e-services hub, Pasadilla and Lacson said it should improve the access to telecommunications infrastructure of the large majority of the population and, at the same time, fill the gaps in legal and regulatory framework.
The PIDS study pointed out that the capacity and knowledge of domestic small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to effectively use e-commerce is still underdeveloped.
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