WINDOW SHOPPER | Mobile shopping gaining more popularity among Filipinos

Text by Ana Valenzuela | Photos by Analy Labor | Lifestyle Section, InterAksyon.com · Thursday, April 18, 2013 · 1:38 pm  http://www.interaksyon.com/lifestyle/window-shopper-mobile-shopping-gaining-more-popularity-among-filipinos

Sulit.com.ph has over two million registered users and an average of 10 million daily page views. Image courtesy of Sulit.com.

It began as a project between a husband and wife team with a capital of Php2,400 and with operations done in a computer in their bedroom. To date, buy and sell website sulit.com.ph now ranks number 8 in the most visited websites in the Philippines, beating even social networking website twitter.com, and being topped only by regular netizen needs such as facebook.com, google.com, yahoo.com, and Wikipedia.

The site was established in 2006 by RJ David and his wife Arianne. At the start, its buy and sell category became a hit among enterprising Filipinos who grabbed the opportunity to sell online and among buyers looking for almost anything under the sun—from gadgets, second-hand furniture, collectibles, arts and crafts, medical equipment, to pet accessories.

(Think of those items packed in balikbayan boxes regularly sent to you by well-meaning relatives abroad but which you don’t have any use for. Well, you might want to sell them via sulit.com.)

The window of opportunity that opened up for buyers then gave away for other individual categories to be opened: Real Estate, Cars, and Services.

In March 2012, sulit.com.ph had at least 10 million page unique views. In March this year, it gathered 15.7 million unique page views.

These numbers alone prove that more and more Filipinos are definitely getting more accustomed to online shopping. David, the site’s CEO and co-founder explains that the rise in number and its popularity are due to a wide selection of merchandise and services that online shopping offers, as well as the more affordable prices, compared to mall prices, that people pay for.

Of course, online shopping also offers convenience, “All you have to do is type in the product  and if you like it, then arrange the meet up,” David says.

From left, sulit.com's Jean Magboo, corporate communications and PR supervisor; RJ David, CEO; and Meann Buendalion, assistant vice president. Photo by Analy Labor, InterAksyon.com.

Mobile shopping
According to David, 20 percent of sulit.com.ph’s page views are from mobile devices. In March this year, for instance, there were 58 million mobile page views. David expects that the mobile market will be quickly taking over the desktop site soon.

“In 2010, we started the mobile website, but it was last year when we started optimizing on the site with the growth that we saw. By January 2015 about 50% of the users will be coming from the mobile market. There will be at least 15 million mobile device users, that will overtake the desktop usage.”

From sulit.com this year, expect more mobile applications that can be downloaded for smartphones and android phones.

Online shopping tips
Meanwhile, David shares some tips for vendors and buyers:

1. Study and broaden your item’s key words. “We have a number of tools that can teach the sellers how to push their products using keywords.” If for example a vendor might be interested in selling his Iphone, “He shouldn’t just post ‘cell phone,’ they should also broaden their search, unless the item is really unique.

2. Opt for a meet up rather bank deposit. For online buyers, David advises that it would be best to meet up with a seller rather than depositing money to a bank account to have the item delivered. Also, meet with a seller in a safe place like in a mall, or a venue where there is security. Moreover, check on the history of the particular seller you are transacting with.

Mobile devices are slowly changing consumers' shopping habits, says sulit.com CEO RJ David. Image courtesy of sulit.com.