Asean to hold first online sale on Aug. 8
THE Association of Southeast Nations (Asean) will be launching the inaugural Asean Online Sale Day (AOSD) on Asean Day, Aug. 8, 2020, the first time that an online shopping event will be conducted collectively on a region-wide scale.
On July 15, 2020, the Asean Coordinating Committee on E-commerce officially launched a website dedicated to the AOSD (http://aseanonlinesaleday.com), which will feature participating businesses in the campaign.
Nearly 150 e-commerce businesses in Asean are expected to participate and offer a large range of goods and services at promotional or discounted rates through their e-commerce platforms on AOSD.
Asean’s e-commerce sector is expected to triple in size from US$100 billion to $300 billion in 2025. Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, e-commerce has been a bright spot of growth as consumers and businesses increasingly turn online.
The inaugural AOSD seeks to further boost these trends and encourage consumers and businesses to actively interact and conduct commercial transactions on reputable and secured e-marketplaces or platforms operating across the region. The AOSD would also support ongoing efforts by Asean member states to facilitate trade and e-commerce, deepen digital integration and more importantly instill trust and confidence in Asean business, including micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, who remain dynamic, resilient and open for business amid Covid-19.
Digitalization, digital integration
Digitalization and digital integration are becoming increasingly important for sustainable economic recovery and development in Asean.
According to a study by Bain & Company in 2017, the size of Asean’s digital economy is expected to reach 8.5 percent of gross domestic product in 2025, up from 1.3 percent in 2015.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, digital transformation shifted gear to an accelerated pace. Working from home, distant learning, video conferencing, e-banking, e-health and e-commerce are profoundly transforming everyday lives, many of which have become part of the new normal during the pandemic.
Asean is well positioned to adapt to and leverage digital transformation as a driver of growth through its growing ecosystem comprising more than 300 million mobile and broadband users in the region. (PR)