eCommerce in SE Asia

Japan's eCommerce space is dominated by established brands, so it is likely one of those countries with high entry barriers. In a country with such a deep cultural foundation as Japan, it is understandable. But that is not something to fear; it only means there are still untapped opportunities waiting to be discovered. 

Nate Shurilla, Head of APAC at Pacvue and Global Head of e-Commerce at Shiseido is with us today. In this episode, he shares exciting and significant insights about Japan's eCommerce, especially on four general drivers of consumer behaviors in online and offline businesses, as well as the big thing in Southeast Asia. He sees dynamism and innovative spirit in full swing now and in the coming years that will spur massive opportunities for many businesses and growth in the e-Commerce space.

You'll learn:

• How has life been lately living in Tokyo [02:27]
• For what reason he came to APac and stay for years [03:11] 
• Sharing about Japan from an e-Commerce perspective [04:33]
• Major eCommerce platforms in Japan [07:05]
• One word to best describe how it is like to be at the helm of things as global head of e-Commerce [08:07]
• Important insights on foreign DTC brands' launches in Japan [11:12]
• Why South East Asia is an important game player in e-Commerce [15:14]
• What mainly differentiates Asia Pacific from the US and Japanese markets [17:26]
• Valuable advice for e-Commerce startups and existing brands [21:16]
• Interesting and also significant observations about the E-commerce future in Japan, Southeast Asia, and globally [23:28]
• Seeing a big shift in advertising in Southeast Asian commerce [using retailer data for social media platform consumer targeting, AI image evolution] [35:32] 
• Talking about Pacvue and where you can reach Nate [42:14]

What was mentioned:

• Nate Shurilla: Website / LinkedIn
• Helium 10 
• PipeCandy
• Yahoo Shopping
• Rakuten
• Jiro Dreams of Sushi
• Yodobashi Camera
• Zozo
• Walmart
• Instacart
• Best Buy
• Woolworth
• Carrefour
• Uber Eats
• Getty
• Shutterstock
• Kroger
• Snapchat
• McKinsey
• CitrusAd
• Amazon
• Criteo

Ideas worth sharing:

"Japan, it's very dominated by established businesses. There's not as large of a startup scene or like hackers and hustlers or dropshippers, for example. So in that sense, it's a very, kind of like conservative and established market." - Nate Shurilla

"You're always getting distracted by what's going on in all the different markets. There is no one-size-fits-all solution that will make everyone happy. So you have to have a certain level of understanding for how these different brands and different markets operate." - Nate Shurilla

"So when you try to take something that's very culturally relevant in one market and put it into a completely different culture, there's a lot of work that needs to be done to translate and get the point across in that new area." - Nate Shurilla

"I think with a lot of big brands, you tend to get very introspective and get a bit biased, I think, in your opinion of it. But the consumer could have a completely different opinion. So it's really important to get as close to the consumer as you can and understand what's making them tick, what they need, and what they don't need. And then make sure that you get that message to them on why you can help them get to where they want to go." - Nate Shurilla

"I saw Southeast Asia as a massive opportunity, especially in the number one Asia-based cosmetics company. With how fast it was growing, how close it was to Japan, and being an Asia-central business, I saw a lot of opportunities there." - Nate Shurilla

"Southeast Asia is very dynamic. They have lots of experiments and lots of new things going on. And there's adoption for these new types of commerce and experiences." - Nate Shurilla

"A lot of these markets have been around or have had a high standard of living for quite some time, like Japan, the US, Europe, etc.; they're very established in their ways. And they're very kind of stubborn, almost in their behavior. So when there are new opportunities, such as social commerce, such as quick commerce, and things like voice search that we would do back in the day, it's very different -- the adoption that you see in the markets." - Nate Shurilla

"Don't be too afraid of barriers." - Nate Shurilla

"There's going to be a continued kind of proliferation of E-retail, delivering omnichannel in-store, out-of-store connected solutions." - Nate Shurilla

"I think that like those types of E-retailers coming online, combining their online and offline offerings into something that's consumer-centric, and not like siloed, by channel or whatever, is going to be quite interesting in Southeast Asia and most of the world." - Nate Shurilla