A customer browses for pharmaceutical products on Facebook in March. Hong Menea
The total market value of e-commerce in Cambodia in 2021 was to the tune of $970.10 million, marking an increase of 19.29 per cent from $813.25 million in 2020, according to the commerce ministry’s Trade Training and Research Institute (TTRI).
Fashion accounted for the lion’s share at $263.30 million or 27.14 per cent, followed by electronics ($254.40 million); beauty, health, personal and household care ($230.50 million); toys, hobby and do-it-yourself ($62.94 million); food ($57.19 million); furniture ($46.29 million); beverages ($44.29 million); and media ($11.19 million), the TTRI said in a bulletin published on June 30, citing the World Development Indicator, DataReportal and Statista.
Following the boom caused by the Covid-19 crisis, growth of the e-commerce market is expected to moderate to 15.17 per cent in 2022, and accelerate each year thereafter to an average of 16.424 per cent each year in the 2022-2025 period, reaching a value of $1.11729 billion this year, $1.28723 billion in 2023, $1.50986 billion in 2024 and $1.78234 billion in 2025.
Author Hor Iengchhay commented in the bulletin that the strong support behind the E-Commerce Law – and implementation regulations thereof – has inspired public confidence in e-commerce, spurring transactions and interactions between buyers and sellers via electronic channels where users are able to communicate and do business, from anywhere at any time.
Rin Sokreth, CEO of Sokreth & Piphear Cosmetic Co Ltd, an online importer of beauty products, commented that the still-novel nature of doing business through the internet for Cambodians, coupled with a narrow understanding of how to leverage digital technologies, increases e-businesses’ chances of success.
As social media use becomes more widespread among Cambodians, efforts by the Ministry of Commerce and relevant institutions to, among other things, create laws governing e-commerce and requiring certain online businesses to register has fostered trust between online buyers and sellers, he said, remarking on the wide range of goods available online beyond just cosmetics.
Still, he asked that authorities to provide clear information for businesses involved in e-commerce, concerning tax obligations and other important pertinent issues.
