Manila, Philippines — ASEAN Member States will launch the inaugural ASEAN Online Sale Day (AOSD) on 08 August 2020, the ASEAN Foundation Day. This is a one-day ASEAN-wide event where participating e-commerce businesses and platforms offer online discounts and promotions to consumers within the region.
More than 150 businesses are joining the AOSD, offering discounts or promotions on food, apparel, furniture, digital services, and hotel stays.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) partnered with members of the Philippine Franchise Association (PFA), Philippine Retailers Association (PRA), and UnionBank-GlobalLinker which facilitated the participation of 36 Philippine e-commerce businesses. These include Philippine brands like Bench, Coco deli, Cumulusph, Enoch Handmade Leather, Expressions, Karat World, Karimadon, Legal Tree, Mayumi Organics, and Wilcon Depot, among others. Of these 36 businesses and platforms, 16 are selling across all ASEAN countries. These include local businesses like Balai Kamay, Belle Ame Essentials, Business Innovations Gateway, Hooman Design, Mayani, NDT-PHILS Inspection Services, and the Wedding Library. E-Commerce marketplaces are also participating in the event, namely BigBenta, Galleon.Ph, Lazada Philippines, Shopee Philippines, Zalora and Zilingo together with delivery platforms GrabExpress and Lalamove.
In a media statement, the ASEAC Secretariat reported that ASEAN’s e-commerce sector is expected to triple in size from US$100bn to US$300bn in 2025. Amidst 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 on-going 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 (MSMEs), that remain dynamic, resilient, and open for business amidst COVID-19. The event would also show how digitalization and digital integration is becoming increasingly important for sustainable economic recovery and development in ASEAN.
According to Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, “The Philippines is one with ASEAN in promoting e-commerce. During the time of the pandemic, Filipinos are increasingly finding e-commerce as part of the new normal. To maximize on this, DTI is boosting efforts to digitalize our MSMEs through increasing online presence and conducting a series of webinars on e-commerce so they can not only benefit from the opportunities but also actively participate in the digital economy. We also realize the role of digital platforms, hence, we are encouraging our MSMEs to partner and onboard with digital platforms to take advantage of their wider reach even as they lower their operating costs.”
In 2019 alone, e-commerce in the ASEAN region reached more than US$100 Billion, and it is expected that this will grow by US$ 200 Billion and constitute 8.5% of the region’s GDP in 2025. ASEAN is comprised of ten countries: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam.
The One Day Sale will be held on August 8, in celebration of the 53 years of ASEAN founded on August 8, 1967. Last July 15, the ASEAN Coordinating Committee on E-commerce (ACCEC) officially launched a website dedicated to the AOSD, which will feature participating businesses in the campaign. The DTI urges the public to support the campaign by visiting the ASEAN website at http://aseanonlinesaleday.com.
