As one of the fastest growing regions in the world, Southeast Asia is critical to the global economy. With over 70% of people from that region having internet access and handheld devices being dominant, small- and medium-sized ecommerce businesses are truly thriving there.
To mark the impressive growth of SMBs eBay have released the Southeast Asia Small Online Business Trade Report which looks at the performance of eBay-enabled small businesses in six countries in 2020. The sellers in those six countries sell all kinds of different products, but one thing they have in common is a global reach.
Only about 11% of traditional businesses export their wares in the six Southeast Asian countries combined. For those on eBay, though, that’s 99 percent, and sellers export to an average of 25 different countries.
I started selling locally and worked my way to selling internationally, Instead of just doing eBay on the side, like I originally planned, it became my major source of income.
– Maria Magnetta “Manette” Calupitan, Beautymagnet, Philippines
eBay enables these smaller sellers to reach markets that ordinarily would be difficult to enter. Many of the top export destinations for Southeast Asian sellers are located halfway around the world; the United States ranks first, and other faraway countries like the United Kingdom, Germany, and Canada are in the top five. Australia came second and although this country is not quite as far away, it is a valuable exporting partner.
Even though these export partners would be an uncommon choice for small businesses in the region, eBay have helped them reach valuable consumers from these markets and more worldwide.
The ability to reach these shoppers is proving very attractive to small businesses in the region, 70 percent of which were newcomers to eBay, meaning they joined after 2016 and first broke the $10,000 mark in 2020. In Southeast Asia, it’s clear that sellers are embracing the eBay marketplace to grow their businesses.
