A peaceful night yet I’m not calm enough.
Positive Positive and Positive!
Few days ago, I came across this survey:
It’s somehow a shame that Malaysia household mostly use internet to download movies, comics, songs, and so on. You can look at the Latest Report on above survey before going on (the survey is still going on). Here’s a quote:”The Malaysia e-commerce market is expected to maintain a healthy growth rate of 70.1% in 2006 in comparison with that in 2005. However, in order to ensure sustainable growth, there is still plenty of work to be done to develop this industry into a mature market,” says Lincoln Lee, senior analyst, Telecommunications Research, IDC Malaysia.
If the analyst is correct, it is time to take you move into internet business before it is saturated like US. However, I still doubt about it. According to my personal observation and small research done before, (Warned you the result may inaccurate and unreliably) Malaysia e-commerce is still limited to Business-to-Business and Consumer-to-Consumer. B2B network is well developed and matured in Malaysia and C2C mainly on forum’s exchange, game point selling, and e-auctions. For B2C, the most successful will be the online gaming businesses, and flight ticketing.
The reason of slow growing pace in B2C may due to the Malaysian education and consuming level. Just a bias reference, those friends I know never shop online, some did buy ticket online, and only few using e-banking. If you are a tradition retailing business owner, I think you will probably remain “off-line” rather than moving in in wrong timing.
In B2C businesses, e-retailing will be the most risky and uncertainty and full of obstacles business. If you are selling physical goods, you hardly can success due to the limitation of supportive industry:
- The transportation cost and coverage.
- Import and Export duties and regulations.
- After sales service and business back-up.
Above three aspects stopping me for now, and seeking alternatives. In fact, the leading e-retailing businesses in US also hardly or gave up entering global market, mostly end up in regional market. Try to imagine a printer I mentioned before, how can those US retailer compete in Asian market when I can buy with RM290 ($82) in instead of $120.99 and plus well door to door servicing, AND! that’s the price before add shipping fees!
Back to the report, if the prediction is correct, you may considering advance your traditional retailing business online but start in focusing local market and nearby countries. Although Malaysia consumer e-market is very tiny, you still can success if you know how to play the game.
- Selling what the customer willing to pay, not those looks nice but sorry I won’t buy things.
- Put your attention in costing, every single costs can’t be ignored.
- Advertising more in papers rather in Internet, get interviews and get into TV.
- You may consider off-line payment method in Malaysia for a short time in future.
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