Digital consumers in the Philippines increased by 12 million since the start of the pandemic, according to the e-Conomy Southeast Asia report of Google, Temasek and Bain & Company.
About 63 percent of digital consumers are from non-metro areas and 99 percent of them said they would continue to utilize online services, the report said.
The report also highlighted the Philippines as the fastest growing market among Southeast Asian countries. The country’s internet economy, from $9 billion in 2020, is expected to double to $17 billion by 2021. With a 132-percent increase in e-commerce, the sector would likely reach $40 billion by 2025.
“We believe that digitalization of transactions will drive our economy to greater heights. This is one of the government’s priorities to ensure that our kababayans are still able to have alternative sources of income despite the immense economic impact of the pandemic,” said Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez.
The report said the growing e-commerce sector ensured the continuity of livelihood as 39 percent of digital merchants believed they would not have survived the pandemic if not for digital platforms.
The DTI is aggressively pushing for the expansion of e-commerce. It launched in January 2020 the e-Commerce Philippines 2022 Roadmap which highlights strategies that will aid infrastructure, institutions, systems and people in embracing an economy that operates in the digital landscape.