The Knowledge to Decide

High volume online shopping makes it difficult for US regulators to keep track of overseas manufactured items, effectively putting customers at risk. E-commerce has enabled popular products such as fidget spinners and vaping machines to win huge numbers customers without the help of any big brands. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) took a year to put new safety standards on hover boards after it entered US markets. Five months later, ten hover boards were recalled as their lithium ion battery packs were likely to catch fire or explode without warning. Should buyers beware or can cross-border e-commerce be made safe for consumers? https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/cross-border-e-commerce-comes-with-safety-risks/

The future of retail seems to be here. E-commerce giant Amazon has launched Amazon Go – a new grocery store concept with no checkout process. The order is posted to the customer’s Amazon account address later via a mobile application. The store is spread across a 1,800 square foot area. It offers pre-made snacks, fresh meals as well as grocery goods like bread, cheese and milk. As you grab what you need, the Amazon Go app adds the items without the hassle of a check-in line. The detection technology of Amazon Go works on the basis of computer vision, sensor fusion and deep learning. The first store in Seattle is open to Amazon employees for further testing and would open to the public in early 2017. Is retail ready to become mobile app based? https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/no-more-check-out-lines-at-stores/

Spire Research and Consulting group’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Bahar was honored to be appointed as moderator at the Internet Retailing EXPO Indonesia 2018, organized by Clarion Events. The summit was held on 26 October 2017 in Jakarta. It discussed growth opportunities for Indonesia’s online grocery sector. Jeffrey Bahar, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Spire Research and Consulting group, moderated the discussion panel on measuring the growth of e-commerce for Food & Beverage brands in Indonesia. The growth of online grocery sales in Indonesia and comparison to Southeast Asia markets were discussed, with retail giants such as PepsiCo, Nestlé Indonesia and Mondelēz International sharing their insights. https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/events/spire-moderates-session-on-indonesias-online-grocery-at-the-internet-retailing-expo-indonesia-2018/

Spire was honored to participate in the second webinar series organized by Global Supply Chain Council (GSCC) as a guest speaker. The webinar was held on 20 December, 2017 in Hong Kong. Jeffrey Bahar, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Spire Research and Consulting group shared his insights on cross-border e-commerce challenges and trends for payment and logistics transactions across Southeast Asia. In his presentation, Bahar shared his insights on potential of cross-border e-commerce transactions in South-East Asia, with a focus on challenges involving payment and logistics issues. Bahar mentioned that the e-commerce market represents potential for growth due to the rise in internet users across ASEAN-6 countries (Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines) as of 2016. Product purchases (in millions) were highest for Vietnam (33.26), the Philippines (30.34) and Indonesia (24.74) with clothing, accessories as well as footwear amongst the top 5 p

As more users explore e-shopping and e-payment options, retailers are transforming the online e-shopping experience in Indonesia. Jeffrey Bahar, Group Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Spire Research and Consulting group, was honored to be a guest speaker at GATES Indonesia ICT Reseller Channel Summit 2017 on e-commerce opportunities in Indonesia. In his presentation, Bahar shared his insights on the growth of modern retail turnover in Indonesia, focusing on consumer trends and the e-payment eco-system. Bahar mentioned that the growth of modern retail for 2017 was 10%, contributing 5.4% to Gross Domestic Product (GDP). With 88.1 million internet users in 2016 (34% of Indonesia’s population), the number of Indonesian online shoppers grew from 7.4 million in 2015 to 8.7 million in 2016. Methods used to pay for on-demand services in 2016 were cash (69%), e-money via applications (28%) and credit cards (12.46%). Bahar’s presentation deck on “E-commerce in Ind

With the global Halal cosmetics market expected to reach USD55 billion in 2017, Spire Research and Consulting shared its views on the outlook for this category in an article published in Techno Business Insight. As the global Muslim population reaches 1.6 billion people, awareness of Halal cosmetics has surged. Halal cosmetics are not permitted to contain any animal blood, pigs or alcohol content. The entire supply chain, production, packaging as well as distribution process needs to comply with these rules to be certified as Halal. The rise of e-commerce has pushed the demand for Halal cosmetic products even further. https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/media/global-halal-cosmetics-market-continues-to-prosper/

On 20 January, Spire and Yamada Business Consulting (YBC) jointly held a breakfast seminar in Singapore to explore the impact on India’s economy of the recent Rupee demonetization of high-value currency notes. Leon Perera, Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, Japnit Singh, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Spire and Yasuyuki (Luke) Kita, General Manager of YBC (Singapore), addressed the session. Spire Singapore and YBC discussed the demonetization’s impact on different industry sectors, on e-commerce and on the outlook for doing business in India in 2017. The speakers talked about how demonetisation will spur growth in cashless transactions. Although the retail and car resale sector will suffer short-term damage, there is a visible shift towards modern trade and online transactions. Moreover, ease of doing business and transparency will rise, making India more investment-friendly. https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/events/spire-and-ybc-host-br

Spire Research and Consulting was honored to participate in the GATES India ICT Reseller Summit 2016 as the content and research partner. The event was held in Bangalore from 4-6 October, 2016. The Summit is an initiative to provide a powerful business platform for consumer electronics and ICT brands to launch, develop and expand their network in the Indian sub-continent. Saurabh Sharma, Country Director for Spire Research and Consulting India, highlighted the findings of Spire’s survey to assess the experience of ICT customers and vendors for online and offline platforms in India. The survey focused on customers’ purchase habits, preferred price range and product preferences along with future mode of purchase. It also measured vendors’ selling habits, preferred price range and product preferences along with association with e-commerce platforms . The data was drawn from telephonic and online surveys conducted (in October 2016) across five metropolitan cities,

On 28 September, Spire and Yamada Business Consulting (YBC) jointly held a breakfast seminar in Singapore to discuss emerging business opportunities in Asia facing Japanese firms. Leon Perera, Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, Japnit Singh, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Spire; Yasuyuki (Luke) Kita, General Manager of YBC (Singapore) and Takuya Makimura, Manager of YBC (Singapore), addressed the session. Spire Singapore and YBC discussed emerging business opportunities in Asia for Japan Regional HQs. Seminar attendees, who were senior executives in Japanese, heard about how the Asian market can contribute substantially to the revenue of Japanese companies with regional headquarters in Singapore. The speakers talked about under-appreciated opportunities in Asia for Japanese companies. E-commerce will be an important pathway to access markets in Indonesia and India where complex channel structures have often proved forbidding to Japanese investors

400 million Chinese consumers make online purchases and China’s e-commerce market is set to reach USD1.57 trillion by 2018, making it the world’s largest. As smartphone penetration continues to surge in Asia, online retail is evolving. Will mobile commerce become the dominant mode for online purchases in Asia? Japnit Singh, Senior Director at Spire Research and Consulting, shared his insights in China Daily – Asia Weekly. China’s e-commerce retail sales in 2015 increased by 42.1% to reach USD672 billion. This is equivalent to over 40% of global e-commerce retail sales. As the online retail experience continues to evolve, more purchases are made using smartphones. Growth factors responsible for this e-commerce boom include the rise in demand for imported products due to rising incomes, new online platforms and initiatives by the government. Cross-border consumer e-commerce added up to about USD40 billion (in 2015) – more than 6% of China’s consumer e-commerce in total.

Spire Research and Consulting was honored to participate at the GATES India ICT Reseller Summit 2016 as the content and research partner. The event was held in Pune from 16-18 February, 2016. The Summit is an initiative to provide a powerful business platform for consumer electronics and ICT brands to launch, develop and expand their network in the Indian sub-continent. Japnit Singh, Senior Director at Spire Research and Consulting, highlighted the perception of customers who purchase products through e-commerce websites as well as the experience of online retailers with online market place associations. Singh discussed research data and insights on customers’ with online purchases in the past six months and online retailers. The data was gleaned from telephonic surveys conducted (in December 2015) across six metropolitan cities, namely Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Chandigarh and Jaipur. The survey focused on customers’ purchase habits, preferred price range and product

With e-commerce set for steady growth in Singapore, e-shoppers may have to shell out more to pay for taxes on goods ordered from overseas sites. Will online shopping become expensive if Singapore adopts recommendations by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)? Spire Research and Consulting shared its insights, published on Channel News Asia’s news portal. The retail sector continues to contribute a major chunk to Singapore’s economy. However e-commerce – dominated by overseas merchants – is on the rise. This eventually leads to more money outflow along with tax revenue loss and puts local businesses at a competitive disadvantage. Spire highlighted the fact that revenue from e-commerce amounted to SGD4.5 billion in 2013, where 55% consisted of cross-border transactions. This is a tax impact of close to SGD 200 million in a year. Experts agreed that overseas online retailers are not taxed on income generated from Singapore consumers, whereas

The ASEAN region will see double-digit growth for e-commerce. Indonesia has the highest retail sales in ASEAN at USD469 billion and is expected to see robust e-commerce growth. Jeffrey Bahar, Deputy Chief Executive Office of Spire Research and Consulting group, highlighted the growth potential and key opportunities present in this sector during his presentation at the third Annual South East Asia Retail Expansion Summit in October 2015. The number of online shoppers in Indonesia is set to reach 8.7 million in 2016. Indonesia boasts of being among the top six retail e-commerce markets with a total retail value at USD1.3 billion (in 2013). Bahar mentioned that 51% of Indonesian online shoppers fall in the 21-27 age category where free shipping, exclusive deals, product warranty and safe payment methods are strong motivators. Key growth categories are books (22%) and fashion products (20.5%). Nonetheless, challenges remain. Barriers that need to be addressed to promote Indon