Research commissioned by FedEx Express found that enterprises and consumers alike agree that there's room for further growth in the already booming e-commerce sector.

The survey — conducted by Harris Interactive in July 2022 across 11 markets including Australia, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam — seeks to explore the continuing evolution of e-commerce and identify the trends that could fuel future growth.

"The survey reveals that consumers are looking for innovations in personalization, 'shoppertainment' and payment options that enhance their experience and at the same time, make it easier to discover new brands and make purchasing convenient," FedEx said.

It added that with plenty of shopping festivals already on the calendar, consumers are also looking for even more seasonal offers.

Covid accelerated e-commerce growth

"COVID has accelerated our lifestyles to a pivot point where shopping online has been normalized across all demographics, and there's no going back. With that, e-commerce is set to take a growing proportion of total consumer spend," said Kawal Preet, president of the Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa (AMEA) at FedEx Express.

"With more people shopping online consumer preferences are becoming increasingly sophisticated. As SMEs and e-merchants evolve their online sales platforms, our research uncovers opportunities for businesses to capitalize on what consumers want," she added, noting that FedEx is "well positioned" to support the continuing e-commerce growth.

Asia Pacific which includes the world's biggest e-commerce markets like India, Mainland China, Japan, and Korea, will see revenue from e-commerce sales reach US$2.09 trillion this year as 57% of the region's population shops online.

FedEx said both SMEs and consumers are maturing in their use of e-commerce and both groups agree that the pandemic-driven utilization of e-commerce is here to stay.

"Eight in ten SMEs believe e-commerce will become more important in their business in the next three years and nine in ten believe they are well prepared for the challenge," the global logistics company said, adding that 80% of consumers reported that e-commerce had taken a greater share of their total purchases over the past three years while 71% see further increases ahead.

FedEx said SMEs in India, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam were among the most optimistic about their future e-commerce growth in the next three years, a sentiment shared by consumers in these same markets.

It added that e-commerce currently represents less than 6% of total retail sales in each of these markets. Meanwhile, SMEs and consumers in Japan and South Korea see the least potential for significant future growth.

FedEx said according to the survey, the biggest gaps appeared in having an efficient returns service and access to customer support.

"Deliveries taking too long is the number one pain consumer point (53%) followed by handling returns (42%). Consumers typically expect delivery within three days to one week, but clearly, there is a desire for delivery to be at least more reliable if not faster," FedEx added.

FedEx said it is supporting the future growth of e-commerce across AMEA with a dual focus on meeting the needs of e-tailers, and their end consumers.

"For e-tailers, FedEx provides simple, streamlined solutions which make order fulfilment easier," FedEx said.

It added that for the end-consumer, the priority is to provide speedy, reliable, trackable delivery, that enhances the overall service experience.