Philippines lags in e-commerce usage in ASEAN

MANILA, Philippines —  The Philippines ranked 96th out of 152 economies in the Business-to-Consumer (B2C) E-Commerce Index 2020 released by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), lagging behind most of its neighbors in Southeast Asia in terms of readiness to support online shopping.

Within Southeast Asia, the Philippines trailed behind Singapore which placed fourth, Malaysia (30th), Thailand (42nd), Vietnam (63rd) and Indonesia (83rd).

The Philippines, however, was ahead of Lao People’s Democratic Republic (101st), Cambodia (117th) and Myanmar (130th).

Rankings in the B2C E-Commerce Index are based on four indicators: the percentage of the population using the internet, share of individuals with an account at a financial institution or with a mobile money service provider, postal reliability and secure internet servers.

The index showed the share of individuals using the internet was at 65 percent in the Philippines.

Meanwhile, the share of individuals with an account with a financial institution or mobile money service provider was at 35 percent.

When it comes to the secure internet servers indicator, the index showed the Philippines was at 39 percent.

In terms of postal reliability, the Philippines got 40 percent.

Based on the four indicators, the Philippines had an index value of 44.7 percent last year.

Switzerland topped the index, making it the most prepared economy to engage in online commerce.

The Netherlands followed in second place and Denmark on third spot.

Meanwhile, Niger was at the bottom of the list.

Given the coronavirus disease pandemic, Shamika Sirimanne, director of UNCTAD’s division that prepares the annual index, said it has become more important for countries trailing behind to catch up and improve their readiness for online trade.

Through the index, she said the UNCTAD would want governments to make sure more people can avail and take advantage of e-commerce opportunities.

“Otherwise, their businesses and people will miss out on the opportunities offered by the digital economy, and they will be less prepared to deal with various challenges,” she said.