India, Philippines, Colombia and the United Arab Emirate’s surprising e-commerce growth presents opportunity for British retailers

India (27%)^[1], Philippines (51%), Colombia (45%) the UAE (33%) and China (27%) are some of the fastest growing e-commerce markets in terms of percentage growth, according to the latest worldwide study by PPRO Group, the international electronic payment specialists. Perhaps not surprisingly, 40% of the world’s e-commerce sales are made in China, so British retailers need to look for new ways to expand into these fast-growing e-commerce markets, to avoid losing market share to competitors.

Indonesia, the world’s fourth most-populous country, has now emerged as the fastest growing e-commerce market. In the space of a year, Indonesia’s e-commerce growth rose from 45% to a staggering 78%, and is now worth $7.2 billion.

What’s more, there is potential for this to grow further, as online sales still only account for 2.4% of all retail sales, despite an Internet penetration rate of 40%. Following in Indonesia’s footsteps, Mexico is the second fastest growing e-commerce market, while the Philippines entered the top ten list in third place, with its e-commerce market growing 51%.

In the member states of the European Union, e-commerce is growing by 16% a year on average. While Brexit continues to cast a shadow of uncertain trading relationships between the EU and British businesses, the latest findings from PPRO Group demonstrates a clear opportunity for British retailers to explore other alternative global markets.

For some British and European retailers, the scale of e-commerce and the pace of growth in the world’s emerging markets is often surprising, but undoubtedly these markets present opportunities. Significant e-commerce growth in countries that weren’t previously a priority offers British businesses the chance to extend their global reach, as long as they can meet local payment preferences.

Simon Black, CEO of PPRO Group, said “There are lots of exciting opportunities for retailers to attract new international customers. However, if retailers are going to expand into these new markets, they must understand the culture of payments in each individual market, in order to maximise potential. If consumers cannot pay the way they want to, they will abandon the transaction and will choose to shop with a competitor.

“When it comes to shopping online, consumers expect a variety of payment options and retailers must address this demand by offering preferred methods for each market,” stated Black. “If local payment options are limited, so are international sales and growth opportunities. Retailers that lose out on a single transaction due to the lack of preferred local payments methods for the market they’re targeting; they will not only lose that single sale, but potentially a lifetime of loyal custom.”

The fastest growing e-commerce markets in terms of percentage growth are:

1. Indonesia (78% growth)
2. Mexico (59%)
3. Philippines (51%)
4. Colombia (45%)
5. United Arab Emirates (33%)
6. Vietnam/ Saudi Arabia (32%)
7. Israel (31%)
8. China / India (27%)
9. Singapore / Malaysia (26%)
10. Argentina (25%)

The full report can be downloaded here: https://www.ppro.com/e-book/new-ppro-high-growth-markets-report-2018/