The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) will be hosting the inaugural Asean Online Sale Day (AOSD) on the anniversary of the organization’s foundation this August 8.
The event will be an online shopping expo featuring nearly 150 e-commerce businesses from participating countries, the Asean announced in a statement.
With consumers turning towards digital platforms during the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, the organization said that it is important to foster the region’s e-commerce in order to adapt to the “new normal.”
“Working from home, distant learning, video conferencing, e-banking, e-health and e-commerce are profoundly transforming our everyday lives, many of which have become part of the new normal during the pandemic. Asean is well-positioned to adapt to and leverage digital transformation as a driver of growth,” the group said.
The regional organization explained that the event was also organized to help further stimulate the region’s e-commerce growth, citing Bain & Company’s 2017 report which forecasted that the region’s digital economy is expected to grow from 1.3 percent in 2015 to 8.5 percent by 2025.
“The inaugural AOSD seeks to further boost these trends and encourage consumers and businesses to actively interact and conduct commercial transactions on reputable and secured e-marketplaces or platforms operating across the region,” Asean said.
The group is eyeing for the region’s e-commerce sector to triple from P100-billion to P300-billion by 2025.
The organization plans on conducting the event yearly, calling for the collaboration of stakeholders to improve the expo’s future iterations.
For more information on both the event and the participating businesses, you may visit the ASOD’s official website: http://aseanonlinesaleday.com. Carlito P. Topacio