People went to Dangwa to buy flowers for their loved ones on Valentine’s Day. But for those who don’t like squeezing themselves into a big crowd, the Internet is their bestfriend.
Island Rose has been shipping flowers — more than half a million stems annually — straight to its customers. It also opened Flower Circle to expand its delivery market to Hong Kong. Today, 80% of online flower delivery services in the Philippines are connected to Island Rose. Being the country’s first online retailer to offer delivery services on a national scale, Island Rose has paved the way for many booming local e-commerce retail businesses.
According to a 2006 Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) paper, the country’s e-commerce economy would continue to be in the gloom because of these reasons:
1. local SMEs still lack the capacity and knowledge to adopt and effectively use e-commerce.
2. our e-commerce law is silent as far as domain names, intellectual property rights, and a host of other security issues.
3. there is low telephone density and Internet and PC penetration compared to other countries despite existing infrastructure.
4. there’s an absence of a more comprehensive set of indicators for measuring usage, readiness, and the impact of e-commerce.
However, Philippine e-commerce has been growing rapidly for years due to the increase use of the Internet. Reasons for this include a highly educated middle-class population and a well-developed consumer culture. PayPal’s entry into the country, along with the improved alternative modes of online payments also facilitated online transactions.
The hopeless romantics would argue that buying and sending flowers online diminishes the sweetness and romance involved since it entails less effort. But online shoppers would probably answer that “It’s the thought that counts. And hey, it costs more!” Haha.
- Glaisa PO
(entry no. 15)
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