Business to consumer commerce in the Asia-Pacific region is growing at a rate of more than 100% a year mainly due to increased online activity from large, established consumer companies.
“The focus on dot-coms has diverted attention away from the fact that business-to-consumer markets in Asia are actually booming. Our research found 81 percent of online B2C revenues in Asia are generated by large, established companies,” says David C. Michael, a vice president in BCG’s Hong Kong office and one of the report’s authors.
BCG discovered that B2C revenues in the area more than doubled in 2000, reaching $6.8 billion and are set to double again in 2001 when revenues are forecasts to reach $14 billion. Behind such increases are forecasts that net users in the region are expected to rise to 245 million users in 2004, a 36% rise from the current total of 98 million.
“Our findings clearly show that there has been no turning back from the Internet revolution, and many leading Asia-based consumer companies believe their online channels are vital to reaching out to their customers” says Nikolaus S. Lang, a project leader in BCG’s Kuala Lumpur office and a coauthor of the report. “But their biggest challenge remains: how to use these channels more effectively to cut costs and create new revenue streams? Our report highlights ways to overcome this challenge,” he says.
