The third Asian E-tailing Summit, organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), event drew close to 1500 e-tailers and business professionals from related sectors with a focus on e-commerce prospects in the region and exploring the latest industry trends.
“Today, retailers still charge piece by piece, and ‘one-product, one-price’ is going to continue for some time,” said SAP executive TJ Wu, speaking at the first plenary session. “However, in the not-distant future, there will be a new business model: retailers will charge by subscription like Netflix and Amazon, charging by usage or even by volume.”
Terry Lu, head of digital natives for Facebook, said the market for Facebook, Instagram and Facebook Messenger is growing rapidly across Asia Pacific, with great potential and huge opportunity in Southeast Asia in particular thanks to the region’s dynamic landscape.
Given the fact that Asia is leading digital transformation, Lu considers artificial intelligence (AI) as the backbone of everything that will happen in the future. He believes it is necessary for e-tailers to have both “information power” and “implication power”.
“We not only know who the users are but can also predict what users like,” said Lu.
Industry breakout discussions on the second day of the summit focused on two key sectors – fashion and toys. “Walk Fashion’s Online Runway” and “Omnichannel Sales Come to Toyland” allowed participants to grasp the latest e-commerce business opportunities in these specific industries.
Lifestyle Accent Inc CEO & founder Toshio Yamada said the brand’s accessibility on almost all social-media platforms encourages customer communication and interaction, which enables the company to produce clothes that align with the requirements of customers. He gave the example of the brand creating a special mosquito-repellent fabric for clothes, specifically at the request of customers.
VP CarrieSoft Diane Yoon introduced one of the major trends of the toy market in South Korea, saying the current market is growing because adults are purchasing more and toys are no longer just for children. In relation to promotional strategies, she said the company has produced animations featuring its cartoon characters for its own TV channels with the aim of engaging children and their parents at the same time.
The summit featured two plenary sessions along with multiple breakout sessions and workshops. With contributions from more than 60 renowned guests and speakers, the discussions covered successful e-tailing developments and solutions in Hong Kong, Mainland China and across Asia with the aim of creating business opportunities for participants.
The HKTDC held a total of five events at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre over the week.
