Located in the Western Pacific Ocean, the Philippines is a multi-ethnic archipelago country in Southeast Asia and the second most populous country in Southeast Asia with a population of more than 100 million. The Philippines has many ethnic groups and diverse religious beliefs. 80.58% of the people are Roman Catholic Christians, 10.8% are Protestant Christians, and 5.57% are Muslims.

In the past few years, the e-commerce industry in the Philippines has developed rapidly, and the continuous improvement of e-commerce-related policies and regulations has brought new opportunities for Chinese companies and individuals engaged in cross-border e-commerce.

1. The scale of e-commerce in the Philippines:

In the past two years, due to the strong impact of the epidemic, the demand for online shopping in the Philippines has been directly accelerated. During and after the epidemic, the frequency of e-commerce usage in the Philippines ranked second in Southeast Asia.

In 2021, the Philippine e-commerce market will reach US$12 billion, a year-on-year increase of 132%, making it the fastest growing Southeast Asian country. At present, there are nearly 45 million online consumers in the Philippine e-commerce market, and Metro Manila accounts for 38% of all e-commerce transactions, making it the main battlefield. The largest segment is consumer electronics and media, with a market volume of $1.153 billion and an average monthly online spend per user of approximately $102.07.

2. Payment methods and habits:

The Philippines is one of the countries with the lowest banking penetration rate in Southeast Asia. Less than 50% of the people in the Philippines have bank accounts, so cash on delivery is their preferred payment method, accounting for 67% of all transactions; followed by credit cards, accounting for 24%. .

While Paypal has a 5% share of payment transactions, 79% of e-commerce transactions are completed via smartphones. There are also many mainstream e-wallets in the Philippines, such as GCASH/GRAGONPAY/GRABPAY and so on.

3. Online shopping products for Filipino users:

In the pre-pandemic era, fashion apparel, sporting goods and footwear were the best-selling products, but a new change has emerged in the post-pandemic era. Today, the best-selling products in the Philippines are mainly daily necessities, as well as necessities including personal protective equipment, hygiene products and groceries, 3C models, women's fashion, and maternal and child products are also very popular.

With the continuous development of the Philippine e-commerce market, more and more opportunities will appear in fields such as cross-border e-commerce, mobile e-commerce, social e-commerce and electronic payment. The Philippine e-commerce market will become a very potential market.