Recent years have seen an explosion of attention paid to the role played by information and communications technology in shaping the global economic landscape. Out of the COVID-19 pandemic and corresponding dramatic shifts in consumer behaviour, digital trade grew astronomically, particularly given its ability to sustain economic activity and maintain a global economy while also maintaining social distancing.
In 2021, retail ecommerce sales amounted to approximately US$4.9 trillion worldwide, with this figure forecast to grow by 50 per cent over the following four years, reaching close to US$7.4 trillion by 2025.[1] This research shows that post-pandemic, these online buying and selling habits are here to stay. As such, ecommerce has been hailed by many as an opportunity for developing countries to gain a stronger foothold in the multilateral trading system.
For women entrepreneurs in particular, ecommerce has begun to emerge as a powerful tool for women's empowerment. As the internet enhances access to information and mobile technology allows for new payment channels and access to capital, access to ecommerce has become increasingly viable, further providing women with new business opportunities that can help increase their participation in domestic and international trade, working towards closing the gender gap. Ecommerce is a practical tool that can be used in the pursuit of the United Nation's International Women's Day call for "gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow".
In our very own Blue Pacific, while the onset of COVID-19 presented myriad challenges for businesses, the crisis also provided an age of great possibility, forcing a reconsideration of priorities and through necessity, propelling invention and innovation across the region. This brought themes of digitisation, sustainability and inclusion to the fore.
Over the last year alone, digital uptake across the Blue Pacific has taken a quantum leap at both organisational and industry levels. The PTI Network Pacific Business Monitor 2021 Report found that by the end of last year, more than one-third of Pacific businesses had pivoted towards a form of ecommerce and almost half towards product diversification.
Ecommerce is one of five priorities in the Pacific Aid for Trade Strategy (PAfTS) 2020-2025, and its potential to narrow distances and reduce trade costs while promoting diversification of Pacific economies, has long been recognised. The rapid onset of COVID-19 accelerated that potential. It is through this lens that the development of ecommerce in the region opens a window of opportunity, acting as a driver for change while empowering Pacific businesses, benefiting consumers, mainstreaming gender equality and social inclusion (GESI), and bridging the urban and rural digital divide.
Alliances, such as the Pacific E-commerce Initiative, a multi-stakeholder partnership that supports Forum Island Countries to engage in digital trade, are set to further propel this regional transformation. On Friday 4 March 2022, the partnership is hosting a virtual Pacific Islands Digital Trade Dialogue, to identify and formulate proofs of concepts that can promote ecommerce for Pacific micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
Showcasing digital readiness across the different Pacific Island countries, a recent study by global media organisations, We Are Social and Hootsuite, provide insight into the levels of internet penetration and mobile use across the region. The report found that in 2021, Fiji had an internet access rate of 70.5 per cent and an active social media usage rate of 67.8 per cent, while mobile subscriptions stood at 138.6 per cent[2]. With these high levels of internet usage and digital comfortability, Fiji presents significant opportunities for business-to-consumer (B2C) and consumer-to-consumer (C2C) ecommerce. Despite current communication challenges due to the recent volcanic eruption, Tonga has also seen a rise in ecommerce activity at similarly high levels, with internet penetration at 41.3 per cent and mobile subscribers at 106.6 per cent as of late 2021.[3]
As the region continues to adapt to the ongoing impact of COVID-19, ecommerce continues to present real opportunities for businesses across the Blue Pacific, providing access to new markets in a globalised economy where geographical distance has become obsolete. In doing so, it also begins to bridge the gap towards a more equitable digital future that directly benefits and champions Pacific people and Pacific businesses.
The ecommerce movement is coming and the Pacific will be ready for it.
[1] https://www.emarketer.com/content/global-ecommerce-forecast-2021
[2] https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2021-fiji
[3] https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2021-tonga
