Southeast Asia, people’s consumption habits is what
Editor’s note: This article is from the public micro-channel number ” 7 Dian 5 degrees “(ID: Asia7_5) , author: 7:05 degrees.
Next you will see:
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First: use a language familiar to customers
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Key: In-depth understanding of local lifestyle habits
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Emphasis: marketing should also be localized
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Opportunity: Appears in turbulent times
Southeast Asia is made up of 11 countries. Each country has a different language and culture, and consumer behavior varies. If you want to win the e-commerce market in Southeast Asia, you must go deep into the local area and understand consumer preferences. Especially for daily necessities, it is not so important for the brand to be high-end or high-end. The important thing is whether it meets the market demand, and what the market needs is the real good thing. And what are the products most needed by people in Southeast Asia?
Today, at 7: 5, Zang Hao, the founder of Singapore ’s direct-operated brand IUIGA, was invited to share with you in terms of product selection and operation services: how to achieve a breakthrough in the localization of e-commerce in Southeast Asia from 0 to 1 What are people’s consumption habits?
1. First of all: use language familiar to customers
At present, the e-commerce penetration rate of most countries in Southeast Asia is below 3%, while the online penetration rate of China and the United States is about 25%. Therefore, Southeast Asia, as an emerging market, has a young population of up to 60%. E-commerce growth opportunities. However, various countries in Southeast AsiaThe political environment, infrastructure, and consumer behavior are different, and there is no unified standard. Therefore, only by truly understanding the pain points of people ’s needs can we better serve consumers, so localization is an essential factor and trend of cross-border e-commerce development. .
Zang Hao, the founder of Singapore-based direct-operated brand IUIGA, shared some of the pain points of cross-border e-commerce localization: language, localized product standards, construction of overseas warehouses, after-sales, offline interaction and localized talents Absorption.
First, language is the biggest challenge in the initial stage of localization. In terms of language, not only the translation of the local language, but also the requirements of the local typesetting style should be considered. A survey showed that 90% of the respondents said they would choose to browse the website in their own language, and 19% of the respondents said that they would never browse the web in a foreign language, so providing a good experience for foreign users starts with the language .
In addition, the product angle also needs to be adjusted according to local product standards. For example, plugs for electrical products require separate safety certification in Singapore. Therefore, to ensure the applicability of products overseas, it must meet local standards. Later, in the middle of localization, the construction of overseas warehouses can be considered in order to better control the delivery cycle and return and exchange processing. Local delivery can shorten the delivery time and enhance the shopping experience of local consumers.
Zang Hao said that the biggest problem faced by cross-border e-commerce is after-sales. Parcels sent from China cannot be returned after encountering after-sales problems. Even if they can be returned, the freight may be very expensive. This is also one of the problems that most sellers and buyers have a headache. In the middle and later stages of localization, offline channels can be considered. It is difficult for cross-border e-commerce to first experience and then purchase, so the two ways of online promotion and offline experience are combined to complement each other and form a virtuous circle. Finally, the localized team is also the biggest challenge. Each region needs localized talents, and it is necessary to blend in different regional cultures. Only when the team’s thinking is consistent can efficiency be improved.
2. Key: In-depth understanding of local lifestyle habits
Cross-border e-commerce sellers are most concerned about localization or selection. Zang Hao said that the selection of products needs to match the needs of the audience and product perception, and the use of the products must be combined with the local environment. Therefore, to understand the market in depth, this is also a place where the localization team is tested. In addition, there is the advantage of paying attention to the stability of the supply of goods and ensuring the price.
Zang Hao shared what he really felt in Southeast AsiaSelection case. Chinese mugs are usually used to keep warm, and many users will choose a stable style. Singaporean users generally keep cold water warm and choose a sporty style, because many people choose to drink cold drinks to relieve thirst after exercise. In addition, home slippers are very popular in China, but they are not popular in Singapore. Because many people in Singapore are barefoot at home, the flip-flops that are convenient for going out are necessary for Singaporeans. As another example, mats are bedding products that many people in the country will use in summer, but few people in hot Singapore will use them.
So good product polishing needs to understand the needs of users, not to choose with inertial thinking, but the supply side needs to meet the demand side well. In fact, customers in Southeast Asia do not have any special places, the most special is only in living habits and needs, products that can deeply match the needs of the audience will be welcomed by consumers.
In addition to selecting products, Zang Hao shared with us the importance of localization of operations.
The first is payment. If a visitor visits an e-commerce website without the payment method he is familiar with, he may abandon the purchase because he is worried about the safety of the purchase. For example, users in Singapore prefer to use a credit card because they can use the credit card to earn points. Indonesian users prefer offline transfers and e-wallets, while Myanmar customers prefer bank transfers. Therefore, the consumption habits exhibited by users in various places are completely different. At this time, the seller needs to customize different strategies.
Another special phenomenon in Singapore is that users here prefer to pick up their packages. Because office workers prefer the controllability of time, most people are not at home during the day, and many delivery companies generally do not deliver at night, so self-collection is more popular. In addition, there is another reason why users in Singapore rarely send goods to the company. Most people think that shopping is a relatively private matter, and they will clearly separate work and daily life. The security guard of the community will not be willing to collect the package. and so. It is certainly welcome to be able to provide convenient self-collection services or provide delivery services with selectable time periods in the local area.
Zang Hao also shared many localized experiences in the shopping process. For example, unsuccessful payment orders on domestic e-commerce sites will be classified as unpaid or pending payment, which is difficult for Singapore consumers to understand. After in-depth research, it was found that Singaporean users have a more direct way of thinking. They believe that orders that have not been paid should appear in the shopping cart interface. These examples are all problems that are easily overlooked in the localized shopping process experience.
The last point is the habit of customer service communication. Most domestic consumers are used to instant messaging to solve problems in a timely manner. In Singapore, more people like to send emails to solve problems, and Malaysians and Burmese people prefer Facebook messager to communicate. These examples areIn order to illustrate, the way that different places behave is completely different, so it is very important to do localization to optimize continuously in all aspects.
3. Emphasis: marketing should also be localized
In addition to sharing the localization experience in product selection and operation, Zang Hao also emphasized the localization of marketing. Because when doing cross-border e-commerce, whether it is sold on an independent site or using a platform, it is necessary to consider the habits of users in the local market when marketing. The practice of directly copying the domestic website system may not pay for customers in the target market, so this is why sellers need to develop a set of local cross-border e-commerce marketing strategies to provide local users with a good online shopping experience. Whoever is more familiar with local cultural customs will be able to lead the local competition.
For example, the holidays in different regions of Southeast Asia are different, and the customs in each region are different for each holiday. Cultural differences have also caused many marketing breakthroughs to be different. Many teams will directly translate the Chinese copy when doing cross-border marketing, and then push it to customers, so the translated content is difficult to resonate. So Zang Hao suggested that the marketing team and content must be localized. Formulating targeted marketing strategies from the customer’s reality can avoid cultural differences and barriers. To use the language that consumers understand and the way consumers are familiar with to promote their products, they can meet the needs of consumers more effectively.
4. Opportunity: Appears in turbulent times
When talking about the impact of the recent epidemic on e-commerce, Zang Hao said that at present, the impact of the epidemic is divided into positive and negative directions. And the most direct impact is in three aspects: flow, logistics, and product supply chain.
The outbreak of the outbreak inadvertently brought benefits to e-commerce, because consumers can only stay at home during this period of time, and the user ’s behavior will quickly change from offline to online. At this time, localization The team can respond and adjust more quickly according to the local epidemic situation. For example, in the early stage of the outbreak, IUIGA’s data grew when other industries experienced a sharp decline. Sales of personal care products, kitchen utensils, furniture, and cleaning supplies are all soaring. However, the surge in online orders has also brought pressure on distribution, and the adjustment of human resources in this area is also very important. In addition, during the epidemic period, the logistics of flights in various countries decreased significantly, so the logistics timeliness of cross-border e-commerce was greatly affected, and the production capacity of most domestic factories has not been fully restored. This is the advantage of overseas warehouses mentioned earlier.
Finally, Zang Hao concluded: “Opportunities must appear in turbulent times, be prepared at any time, the chance of seizing the opportunity will be great. Many brands may choose to contract in this period of development, such as closing stores I think this is the best time to negotiate with the mall. “
The ODM model currently adopted by IUIGA is actually aAn opportunity in the strong e-commerce market. The ODM model can also iterate products quickly according to market demand. The traditional direct-operated SPA is based on its own market research and development to develop new SKUs, which have high design costs. The designed products also need market certification, which may cause inventory backlog problems. The ODM model directly screens products and restricts SKUs for big brands, and crosses the development stage. The selected products are all market-proven and can control inventory pressure very well. The supply chain is more flexible and can better meet localization needs.