There’s good times ahead for the Australian E-commerce industry, which is already having a good time. Not only is Australia physically close to the unimaginably sizeable and perpetually growing Asian markets, but more and more routes and platforms are being established to make it easier for us to sell to consumers in countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia.

According to an Australian Financial Review article by Mark Abernethy (link below) - Southeast Asia is changing to create more opportunities for Australian exporters.

Indonesia

• Fourth largest population in the world.

• 326 million mobile connections, 88 million active internet users, 90 million users on social media

Malayisa

• 20 million internet users out of a population of 26 million

Those numbers definitely help explain why Australia’s exports to Southeast Asian nations rose to $29 billion compared to our exports to Europe at $21 billion and US at $12 billion. The article also notes that Google has estimated that around 3.8 million new users come online in South-east Asia every month - an amazing opportunity for new and existing online businesses.

Apart from the number of users - why should e-commerce businesses be excited?

• E-commerce shopping malls such as Lazada, Tokopedia, Bukalapak and Zalora have emerged in Indonesia

• Alibaba is investing in e-commerce platforms in Malaysia and Indonesia

• Indonesia is making changes to regulations that’ll make it simpler and smoother to reach Indonesian consumers. For example, they’re changing taxes & charges, as well as creating warehousing systems that will ease logistical problems.

Want to take advantage? Focus on mobile phones - as that is how South-East Asia operates. Ensure your website isn’t too data heavy, and is attractive on a mobile screen.

Link: https://www.afr.com/news/special-reports/new-route-to-markets-through-ecommerce-20180316-h0xko6