Ascend Group, Thailand’s leading e-commerce retailer, has launched iTrueMart.ph e-commerce website to serve the Philippine market as it sees a huge potential in the country, with the onset of the Asean Economic Community.
iTrueMart.ph aims to become the dominant e-commerce player in the Philippines by 2017, says Punnamas Vichitkulwongsa, chief executive of Ascend Group, the company behind iTrueMart.
Following its success in Thailand, iTrueMart is now looking to expand into the Asean Economic Community with the Philippines as its next destination, he says. iTrueMart.ph hopes to bring an unrivaled shopping experience with access to a variety of products, various payment channels, and competitive pricing that are currently only available for metropolitan shoppers to customers in all provinces in the Philippines.
“E-commerce will have huge potential when the AEC fully materializes,” says Vichitkulwongsa.
According to a study by Ystats SE Asia eCommerce, the volume of Asean’s mobile Internet users rose 56 percent in 2015. Up to 56 percent of the Thai and Vietnamese populations are now accessing the Internet via their smartphones, a figure close to the Philippines’ 50 percent rate. “Recognizing the growing number of mobile-Internet users, we are confident that online shopping in the region will also grow. The AEC is an emerging and interesting market for e-commerce through which entrepreneurs can expand their businesses,” says Vichitkulwongsa.
“At present, iTrueMart has already been tapping into the AEC market with over $150 million Uinvestment planned for 2016. The investment will be used for e-commerce optimized fulfillment centers, logistic hubs, expansion of our own fleet, marketing, and ramping up assortment and inventory. We are debuting our operations in the Philippines and that will be followed by Vietnam, Indonesia, Myanmar, Cambodia, Malaysia and Singapore later in 2016. We are committed for long-term success in the Philippines and everywhere else that we go to,” he says.
Seubsakol Sakolsatayadorn, general manager of the iTrueMart division at Ascend Commerce, says iTrueMart.ph is not a newcomer to the market as the team is backed by the strong success of iTrueMart in Thailand. “During the past year, the number of visits to iTrueMart.com has increased by as much as 424 percent. Since October 2014, the average number of visits recorded was 4.6 million per month. iTrueMart.com receives 7,000 orders per day on average, with the highest volume of daily orders at 10,000. This marks the highest record in Thailand’s online retail industry,which puts iTrueMart.com at the forefront of Thailand’s e-commerce sector. Moreover, iTrueMart.com’s delivery averages at two days throughout Thailand and it enjoys the lowest e-commerce return rate in the country which confirms the trust and shows the high quality of the products offered on the website,” says Sakolsatayadorn.
Dean Krstevski, chief operating Officer E-Commerce of Ascend Group, says the decision to launch in the Philippines stemmed from the fact that competition in the e-commerce sector in the Philippines is still considered low. “With the market still in its infancy, there are still plenty of opportunities for new players. Now that the e-commerce market is being developed, brands are increasingly looking for partners to sell their products online, which we see as a great advantage that will help us speed up our market entry. We are confident of our success in the Philippines because we have a strong team with extensive experience in both online and offline retail,” says Krstevski.
Under the slogan “Great Value, Everyday,” iTrueMart.ph works only with authorized distributors of international brands and act as authorized dealer of local brands so customers can be guaranteed that all products on the website are genuine. The current focus of the site is on smartphones and gadgets and it will expand into consumer electronics, computers and laptops, health and beauty and moms and kids in the future.
iTrueMart.ph offers free delivery and free returns with cash on delivery payment as an option for customers. To deliver the best possible end-to-end customer experience, iTrueMart.ph is starting off delivery in the Luzon area and will further expand from the beginning of next year. iTrueMart.ph is targeting to have 100 vehicles in its delivery fleet by the year-end, operating out of its own fulfillment center in Pasig.
With 45 percent of the traffic coming from mobile devices, iTrueMart.ph has a mobile version while a mobile application will be rolled out by the first quarter of 2016.
“iTrueMart.ph is determined to become the dominant e-commerce player by 2017 and the second largest e-commerce player by the end of this year through partnerships with key local brands and authorized distributors, as well as attractive Christmas campaigns, where customers are offered great value and guaranteed delivery before Christmas Eve. Our goals are to be the top-of-mind e-commerce brand, to have great assortment at best prices, to provide the best end-to-end customer experience and to become the most trusted online shopping platform,” says Krstevski.