For the past years, Filipino e-commerce is on the fast track of growth but also facing challenges of adequate network infrastructure. According to an article shared by Export.gov, e-commerce in the Philippines is predicted to soar to a US$10 billion in annual gross merchandise value (GMV) by 2025, implying 34 per cent average annual 10-year growth, according to projections from Google and Temasek.

Until now, Lazada and Shopee are still the big dogs that dominate the e-commerce markets in the Philippines, with Lazada taking a whopping 68 per cent of the market share last year, leaving only a fraction for other e-commerces players in the country.

In research published last year by e27, it is stated that Filipino consumer’s online shopping preference is primarily based on brand familiarity. In fact, according to Kantar Worldpanel survey, 84 per cent of Filipino consumers responded that they prefer to purchase from well-known and trusted brands despite the abundance of low-cost alternatives available in the market.

This specific Filipino consumer behaviour mainly affects the local players as the majority of it has just started their respective operations in the digital marketplace.

Despite the outlook, these five names emerge as legit contenders in the already crowded markets.

Argomall

Recently, an article by Inquirer shared that Argomall, the e-commerce that offers gadgets, has decided to turn down offers to be carried by such marketplaces. Such choice, the article noted, allowed the startup to “responsibly tailor their products and services to their consumers’ needs”.

Argomall was established in 2015, focussing on only carrying authentic consumer electronics such as smartphones, laptops, tablets, and accessories from official brand manufacturers and distributors, complete with warranty.

Also Read: 8 e-commerce trends to look out for in Southeast Asia 2019

Karel Holub, the company’s chief argonaut, stated that Argomall prides itself on the holistic approach.

“We aim to build trust between our customers and Argomall,” Holub explained.

With no mobile apps available and relying entirely on a mobile-friendly site, Facebook Messenger, and, soon, on Instagram, Argomall believes that the entire experience that builds on the consumer’s convenience in mind will result in loyal customers.

Post-sales customer service is another value the company offers. “If you buy an item for us and it needs repair while under warranty, we pick it up, ship it to the repair shop, and then return it to you once fixed—all for free. If it is no longer under warranty, we tell you the cost of the repair, then ship the item back and forth, which you can pay for by COD,” he added.

Down in the pipeline, Holub has stated that the company will soon diversify its product lineup to include large appliances such as refrigerators and washing machines, and simultaneously provide the installation service.

Just in April 2019, Argomall announced that it has received payment in cryptocurrencies, accepting Bitcoin and around 50 other cryptocurrencies as payment in partnership with CoinGate, Upgrade reported. CoinGate is an online trading platform for Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, XRP, and other coins.

BeautyMNL

Championing the diverse beauty that the country has, BeautyMNL carries the brand of breaking the beauty mold. The social commerce reaches out to its target market -Filipino women- through an online lifestyle and beauty magazine where celebrity gurus will be the content ambassadors.

BeautyMNL’s shop offers curated beauty products ranging from makeup and skincare to haircare.

Last year, BeautyMNL emerges as the most visited local e-commerce, placing 5th overall with less than a million-traffic, putting it on the top alongside behemoths like Lazada and Shopee.

In 2017, BeautyMNL let go 20 per cent of its stake to Philippines’s multi-format retailer Robinsons Retail Holdings for an undisclosed amount.

Galleon

Galleon provides an online platform for Filipino shoppers to discover, share, and buy new products that are not available in the Philippines. By entering the name of the products in its search bar, customers can begin shopping immediately.

The company runs under Sterling Galleon Corporation, and all products offered in it are sourced directly from US suppliers.

Galleon sets itself apart by offering a value in which customers are guaranteed to be paying the all-in price of the item as well as shipping, customs, taxes, and delivery. Just enter the name of the products you have in mind in our search bar, and we will show you the product 90% of the time.

Galleon is inspired by the 1500 Filipino commodity and trading style. Back in those days, the Filipinos traded their own produce for goods that are not available in the country, which then being adopted by Galleon.

Also Read: Local vs. international: Here is a look at the Philippine e-commerce scene’s popular players

Galleon was founded by two young entrepreneurs, Jeffrey Siy, founder of group-buying site Awesome.ph, and by Chris Blanquera, founder of Openovate.com on December 2011. The idea was to leverage the excitement in discovering new innovative products such as gadgets, apparel, electronics, kid‘s toys, and more, and the platform was finally launched in July 2012.

In an article by Tech In Asia, Siy explained that Galleon in its business perspective is basically a payment gateway, logistics, and customer support built into one. With no inventory (full dropship model), the site relies on millions of supplier’s database of products.

Seek the Uniq

Seek the Uniq was founded by Mikka Padua, a Filipino fashion enthusiast who had years of experience in high-end jewelry, beauty and fashion world doing buying and merchandising.

According to an article by Preview Philippines, it was during her time as a senior buyer for accessories at a popular e-commerce site that she noticed that there weren’t a lot of highly curated online sites for a more affluent and sophisticated market. Thus, e-commerce for clothing and accessories Seek the Uniq was born in 2015, comprises of items sourced from Mexico to Bali.

Seek The Uniq is also present in India, but given the value of e-commerce lies in its “uniqueness” and “smaller quantities”, Padua mentioned that to scale, they have increased the volume of some styles together with increasing the variety of product offerings.

Kimstore

Kimstore self-described as “The Philippines’ most trusted one-stop-shop for the latest in tech stuff”. Kimstore was founded by Kim Lato when she was still a Marketing Management student at De La Salle University in 2006.

According to Business News Philippines, Lato got the idea of setting up a gadget store in a digital platform by taking advantage of the now-defunct social sharing website Multiply to sell mobile phones and gadgets. It was in 2013 when Kimstore launched its own e-commerce site.

Kimstore focussed in providing Filipinos with the latest in mobile technology through its range of pro-consumer products and services. Gadgets like mobile phones, laptops, cameras, gaming consoles, tablet PCs, and various accessories are available in e-commerce.

Also Read: International giants drive Philippine e-commerce activity, but local brands also stand to benefit

Being early in the e-commerce game, Kimstore keeps itself up to date with social media engagement with today’s generation customers.

The 2011 Multiply Philippines’ Best Online Store awardee boasts a community of three million on Facebook, over 10,000 Twitter fanbase, and over 180,000 Instagram followers.

It’s no small feat to be up against Lazada and Shopee riding purely on a so-called “uniques selling proposition”. All five e-commerces is leading the local scene in its own category, but without adequate plans to scale in the coming years, it’s hard to maintain without eventually giving up and getting acquired by the big names.

It remains interesting to see which e-commerce will stick it out like Argomall and eventually survive, and which will merge to be able to continue operation or to completely pull out of the race, especially in with 34 per cent e-commerce sector growth forecasted for the next 10 years.
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Photo by Yannes Kiefer on Unsplash

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