Small businesses seen selling more on the Web

Filipino buyers get access to products abroad

By Alexander Villafania
INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines – The growth in the number of Internet users is seen to drive smaller business towards selling online.

Online services portal 88DB.com sees growth among businesses in different regions doing “business-to-consumer” transactions.

In the Philippines, many Internet users are starting to purchase items online through various online vendors. However, some items can be found in online auction sites.

Racquel Cagurangan, 88DB.com country general manager, said economic times are pushing regional businesses to use the Internet to sell their products, instead of the traditional distribution system, which would cost higher logistically.

And advantage in direct selling is that buyers can select specific products of interest and order them from just about anywhere. Sellers also save by reducing the cost carried by having a local sales office.

It’s effective to sell online because they would know in what areas their products are in-demand. They can also reach consumers that would normally be unreachable by traditional distribution channels.

“You have to remember that Filipinos would still buy local products but they don’t know where to find them. Having an online portal will give consumers a place to check out products that they might want to have,” Cagurangan said.

Cagurangan also said some business firms in the Philippines will continue to expand their business abroad using the Internet, which will also save them from spending more on logistical evaluation of potential markets.

The continued expansion of telecommunications services, as well as partnerships with credit card and bank services for online services will also drive Philippine businesses to use the Internet for various transactions.