COVID-19 has resulted in a boom in e-commerce and rapid digital transformation in the face of declining economic activity. As lockdowns became the new standard, business and customers progressively “went digital,” offering and purchasing more products and services online, boosting e-share commerce’s global retail trade from 14% in 2019 to over 17% in 2020.
In today’s economic context, we all know that companies cannot recover entirely from offline sales alone. For many micro-businesses, the notion of digitalization appeared to be extremely far away until the epidemic locked nations throughout the globe and paralyzed the economic sector and daily activities.
Micro-companies have teamed up with major online platforms to harness their vast user base and other advantages with business disruptions in mind. Micro-enterprises utilize these platforms because they provide various ready-to-use tools and the advantage of being part of their ecosystem, which provides companies with access to a more extensive range of clients. We see merchants collaborating with e-hailing platforms throughout South-East Asia to supply goods to those who want to stay home.
Pandemic-related limitations aside, the older generation of hawkers must also cope with the changing habits of their consumers, especially the younger ones, who are now becoming used to having food delivered to their doorstep.
Furthermore, while many consumers may still want to buy from their favorite hawkers, it doesn’t make sense for them to take one pick, given that dining in hawkers is now not allowed, and it encourages people to remain home to break up the COVID-19 transmission chain as much as possible.
The number of inquiries by businesses that wanted to digitize their payment systems “went up ten times” since the start of the year. There was a strong force behind the drive: the government of Singapore. Even before the coronavirus outbreak, the Asian City-State pushed the technology, frequently supporting the digitization efforts of businesses. The incentives include a grant program where the government co-funds 80% of digital spending or half of artificial intelligence and data analysis costs.
Singapore’s “digital road map” was already well-established and defined before Covid-19, says Lee Joon Seong, a Singapore-based managing director at Accenture, the consultancy. But the speed of this digital change has been accelerated since businesses aim to improve social distance and become more productive and durable in the long run.
Meanwhile, Malaysian SMEs are regaining ground thanks to digital tools. In conjunction with the Pelan Jana Semula Ekonomi Negara (PENJANA), the Malaysian government has launched the Micro and SME E-Commerce campaign to assist micro, and small businesses recover in this post-pandemic economic situation. With the economy on the mend, the Micro and SME E-Commerce campaign focuses on helping companies speed up their recovery by utilizing digital technologies to reach out to more customers and improve overall business procedures.
We all know that offering exceptional customer experience is crucial to small and medium enterprises, from food and beverage to beauty and retail, as the market is crowded with all kinds of rivals. Hundreds of farmers locally and vendors of small-scale fresh food have also begun selling their products via Lazada and Shopee, which offers logistical support to help local farmers in Malaysia sell their products on its platform. Thus, these companies have been able to supply their products to more people and eliminate waste.
Conclusion
Companies that digitally transition create very committed clients. Highly engaged customers are more likely to test out their favorite brand’s new product or service and more likely to refer your brand to friends, family and links. Customers are also more inclined to go with their favorite brand, even if a competitor offers a better product or pricing.
It is now time for micro-enterprises, especially hawkers, to take up digital empowerment and adapt to new trends. Therefore, it is necessary to understand how digital technologies can upgrade and allow you to respond to client demands, adapt a business model that will better serve your customers and increase your business efficiency. Here at AllMeans, we help to digitize businesses. Contact us for a FREE consultation.
