According to the findings of the new report from Germany-based secondary market research firm yStats.com, more than 50% of global online retail sales now take place in the Asia-Pacific region. The publication, titled “Asia-Pacific B2C E-Commerce Market 2018” covers 11 economies of this region, revealing the sales growth projections, key market trends, top product categories and the leading payment methods. The report also sheds light on the competition landscape, containing 20+ company and website rankings.
Asia-Pacific is the world’s largest region by B2C E-Commerce revenues, contributing more than 50% of global online retail sales of products and services. As of 2018, China, Japan, South Korea and Australia are the four leaders of this region in terms of the current B2C E-Commerce market size. However, the growth champions are India and Southeast Asian nations, including Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines. In these countries, only a small one-digit share of overall retail sales is currently online, while in South Korea it approaches one-fifth, according to the latest data cited by yStats.com.
M-Commerce is a major growth driver for the online shopping trend in Asia-Pacific. More than three-quarters of the region-wide retail E-Commerce sales is projected to stem from mobile devices by the end of 2018. An even higher share is registered in China, while in Japan and Australia desktop is still the top device used by consumers to shop online, according to recent statistics included in the yStats.com report. Mobile apps have become the main mode of conducting E-Commerce in Asia, accounting for one-half of online purchases received by companies that operate through this channel in the first quarter of 2018.
Asia-Pacific’s largest online merchants are China-based Alibaba Group and JD.com. Amazon is also expanding its presence in this region. During 2017, the company launched in Australia, rolled out Amazon Prime in Singapore and continued to invest in India. In Japan, Amazon replaced Rakuten as the leading company by market share. Overall, the findings in the yStats.com report point to the intensifying competition amidst strong growth of online retail sales in the Asia-Pacific region.
