Tech-nimble enterprises with top line sales of up to $100 million see the Asia Pacific region as their next big greenfield opportunity, at a time when all manner of platforms and merchants are looking to add new customers and gain some top line momentum.
To that point, as PYMNTS’ data show, 27% of omnichannel retailers and 26% of marketplace eTailers already sell to APAC customers. This compares to just 23% of specialty eTailers that currently generate at least some of their sales in the region.
But in “The Emerging APAC Opportunity,” PYMNTS and Citcon collaboration, businesses across the U.S., the U.K. and Canada are prioritizing the APAC. The survey of 500 businesses across those countries show that, while only 22% of merchants sell into the region, another 15.4% plan to make the leap into the region. That would mean, collectively, that more than a third of respondents would be firmly entrenched in the region within the next year.
The appeal is especially palpable across the smaller firms that generate a few million, or tens of millions of dollars’ worth of revenues. About 39% of those companies, collectively, sell to or plan to sell to customers who call the APAC region home.
Drill down a bit, though and it must be noted that the APAC region is not monolithic. It’s a market that includes 40 countries, and each of those countries has its own challenges of customer preferences, payment preferences and regulatory and compliance considerations.
Our research shows that 17% of marketplace eTailers generate sales in South Asia, which includes India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
