PHILIPPINES, MARCH 14, 2011 – eBay Philippines has revealed that it quietly began operations on its first-ever group buying site in the world in the Philippines and expressed openness to e-commerce possibilities for brands. In addition, eBay Philippines announced its support for local entrepreneurs, particularly women, during the Go Negosyo Women Entrepreneurship Summit.
eBay is the largest online marketplace in terms of value of goods and number of users. It has had a presence in the Philippines since 2004, run out of an office in Mumbai, India.
Abhimanyu Lal, Business Head, eBay Philippines says, "We are focused on providing "Lots of Safe Easy Deals" to Filipinos. Whether it be a cool gadget, a stunning outfit or a fun toy, you can find it on eBay Philippines. For brands keen to tap an eCommerce savvy audience for their products or services, eStores on eBay Philippines are a great channel. The Brand eStores can then be leveraged on the brand websites or social media channels as well.”
eStores have been set up by brands such as Nokia in India. While the Brand eStores are not expected to slash prices, the brand’s presence helps it become more visible and can inform consumers of the products that are available without having to leave eBay.
Lal also demonstrated Kuponan, eBay’s first foray into group buying sites. The app can be found within eBay Philippines and deals are on eBay’s front page.
Why launch first in the Philippines? Lal narrates at how much food advertising he sees in the Philippines, a phenomenon he has not observed anywhere else. This made him realize that the market is ripe for such a site, more so because of the consumption society of the Philippines and the low savings of the market. Kuponan debuted in December and has had various successful deals. Lal shares that group buying is most effective for services such as spas and most especially for restaurants. A small team coordinates the deals with partners locally.
There are over 20 group buying sites in the Philippines. Among the more popular ones are local Groupon partner Beeconomic, Buyanihan, Deal Grocer, Ensogo and Cash Cash Pinoy.
eBay Philippines also presented three women entrepreneurs whose businesses are based on the site to encourage more female sellers. There are 750,000 registered eBay users in the Philippines as of December 2010, but only 5-10% of the 3,000 sellers locally are women. Ebay is committed to its partnership with Go Negosyo for women-centric training sessions and mentoring with successful entrepreneurs, including Ma. Rowena Pimentel, who sells iPods and digital cameras; Joanne Lim, who sells fragrances; and Peapie Ponce, who sells watches.
Lal with the entrepreneurs
With the low initial investment and cost of entry, it is an platform for entrepreneurship, especially for women because of the flexibility it offers. In addition, it has a payment system integrated into it and poses little risk for the seller because of its buyer protection program.
Ebay hopes to get a significant percentage of the Philippine’s projected value of e-commerce, which is expected to rise this year by 9.3%.
But there’s more. Deepa Thomas, eBay Philippines Corporate Communications senior manager, adds, “We plan to bring charity fundraising in a big way to eBay Philippines. Around the world we’ve raised about $54-M for charity lasy year. This year we hope to get started to work with NGOs and socially forward corporates to auction celebrity items on our site for charity.”
