On December 5, the Coresight Research team attended the Asian E-Tailing Summit at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. At the event, business professionals have the opportunity to obtain the latest market intelligence, discover e-tailing best practices and network with online retail experts. Here are our key takeaways from the event: The Coresight Research team attended the Asian E-Tailing Summit in Hong Kong on December 5 to learn more about the latest trends in e-tailing from industry experts. Here, we share our top takeaways from the event.

Hong Kong Offers a Favorable Environment for E-Commerce

Hong Kong’s sophisticated information technology infrastructure and digitally enabled population make it a highly favorable environment for e-tailing. Paul Chan Mo-po, Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, stated that Hong Kong ranked 16th on the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development B2C E-Commerce Index in 2017. In addition, he said that 93% of Hong Kong households have broadband internet and that the region has one of the world’s highest mobile phone penetration rates.

E-Commerce Ecosystem Has Seen Drastic Changes

E-commerce has evolved beyond simple transactions to include multifunctional offerings. Many e-tailers are now realizing the benefits of deploying AI technology and are also focusing on delivering a better customer experience:

• Cassandra Girard, Global VP and Head of Consumer and Travel Industries at SAP Customer Experience, said that “customer experience is the new battleground.” Girard suggested that customer centricity is now a culture and that companies must transform their organizations accordingly.
• Sherry Zehr, Fashion and Toys Regional Lead for Regional Brand Partnerships at Shopee, said that Shopee has built social and entertainment features into its mobile app, which also enables shoppers to live-chat with sellers and follow influencers.
• Jenny Cheung, CMO for Microsoft Hong Kong, stated that a growing number of e-tailers are using AI and data analytics to better understand their customers.

AI Yields Multiple Benefits for E-Tailers

A number of panelists highlighted the benefits that AI provides to e-tailers:

• Cheung pointed out that AI streamlines the online shopping experience. For example, it enables shoppers to simply upload a photo of what they want and then be presented with suitable product matches.
• Omer Artun, CEO and Founder of AgilOne, noted that AI can speed up e-tailing, increase conversion rates and help provide personalized solutions to customers.
• Emad Suhail Rahim, Cofounder and Chief Strategy Officer at Robomart, said that AI enables convenience and speed and helps shoppers avoid product choice overload.
• Lin Fon Chen, CEO of Robotelf Technologies, highlighted that e-tailers can also use AI to send targeted ads to customers in order to increase conversion.

Panelists suggested that AI will bring even more benefits to e-tailers in the future, as further development will enable it to perform more complex decision-making processes. Such advances in AI will alter customers’ relationships with products and allow e-tailers to provide more personalized offerings via sophisticated algorithms.

Panelists at the Asian E-Tailing Summit discuss how AI and machine learning innovations benefit e-tailers. Source: Coresight Research

Mobile Payments and Data Security Are Key Parts of the E-Tail Experience

Customers are increasingly adopting mobile payments for convenience, and they are pressuring e-tailers to add functionality and data security to mobile payment systems:

• Lawrence Li, Business Development Director of TNG (Asia), suggested that mobile wallets should be more user-friendly, offer consumers added value and also exceed their expectations. He noted that TNG now offers more than 20 functions on its mobile wallet app.
• Hannah Hui, VP of Financial Services at HKT, said that mobile payments offer shoppers a seamless checkout experience, but that e-tailers need to strike a good balance between data security and customer convenience.
• Sebastian Reis, SVP of Global Sales of Checkout.com, said that one of the reasons the Starbucks app is such a popular mobile wallet is because it allows users to accumulate loyalty points as they make purchases.

InstaReM is a payment services provider that enables cross-border money transfers. Source: Coresight Research

Mobile wallet usage is expected to increase in the coming years due to the convenience and user experience the wallets provide, and their functionality is expected to grow. Li mentioned that mobile wallets may be able to accept both local and overseas payments in the future, and Hui added that mobile payments will become even more contactless over time, making payment experiences that much more seamless.

Key Takeaways

E-tailers are facing a highly competitive environment and consumer demands are ever changing. By putting the customer experience at the forefront, leveraging AI and utilizing mobile payment platforms that provide data security, e-tailers will be better positioned to satisfy customers’ needs and, so, gain a competitive edge.