With the pandemic crisis accelerating the expansion of the e-commerce and online classified ads landscape, Carousell Philippines looks forward to 2022 with an optimistic and bullish perspective.
The fast-growing online buy-and-sell platform which closed 2021 with a USD 100M investment from STIC Investments, a leading Korean private equity that invests across Asia, and the acquisition of Ox Street, one of the leading end-to-end marketplaces for authenticated sneakers and streetwear in Southeast Asia, is all set to create innovations to strengthen Carousell Philippines’ proposition for 2022.
“The pandemic has provided customers with access to a significant variety of products from the convenience and safety of their homes. We see this shift as an opportunity and inspiration not only to make Carousell even better but most importantly, to serve Filipino customers better,” said Carousell Philippines’ new General Manager Djon Nacario, who discussed the upcoming plans, innovations, business prospects, and directions of Carousell for the year in a recent media event.
The pandemic scenario
During the pandemic, Carousell served as a helpline for a number of Filipinos when users set up community pantries funded by items sold on the Carousell app to aid those left most vulnerable by the crisis.
During the recent Typhoon Odette, sellers have also initiated a donation drive by selling secondhand items and donating the proceeds to families and communities that were heavily affected by the typhoon. Listing views and monthly active users have also increased in 2021 as more users turn to Carousell to buy medical supplies and secondhand clothing while some users have also started selling on Carousell to supplement their income.
“We are very heartened at some of the grassroot initiatives that our users have started on the Carousell platform which shows the true spirit of Filipino resilience and bayanihan, especially in times of crisis. Carousell supports these humble initiatives by our users to extend help to the most vulnerable and to ensure that people can continue on with their lives amid the pandemic,” Djon said.
Property 24 to merge with Carousell
A highlight development for 2022 is the merging of Property24 with Carousell which is set to happen on March 8, 2022. According to Djon, this will provide an effective online platform for leading real estate developers, agencies, and brokers to help them showcase their property listings to a wider audience of qualified prospective buyers including the 4.62 million monthly visitors on Carousell. In line with this, Carousell is also working on initiatives to improve the user’s experience on its platform to ensure that customers are able to find every kind of home for every kind of family.
“This is something that we’ve been planning forever since OLX merged with Carousell Philippines. We have taken in various feedbacks from our partners, developers, and users to make our property category even better,” Djon added.
Recognition of excellence in the property industry
For the first time ever, Carousell will also bring together the country’s most recognizable real estate developers and their finest developments in the Carousell Property Awards to be launched in March 2022. Among the nominees are some of the most celebrated real estate brands in the Philippines including Suntrust, Camella, Crown Asia, and Lumina, among other leading developers.
Trust and assurance in Carousell Autos
With over 6,000 cars listed on the platform as of February 2022, Djon also expounded on Carousell’s recent tie-up with Premium Warranty Services Philippines, Inc. (PWSPI), the premier provider of used vehicle inspection and warranty services in the country, to launch the Carousell Autos Inspected and Warranty program which is designed to provide buyers of second-hand cars confidence and peace of mind when searching for vehicles in the Carousell platform.
“We recognize that knowing the real condition of the car is a legitimate concern for most buyers. Our partnership with PWSPI is a reflection of our commitment to promote quality listings on our platform. Carousell Autos Inspected and Warranty program will boost buyer’s trust in secondhand cars and will give them the assurance that the items listed on the platform are safe from hidden faults or defects,” Djon said.
Recognition for Pinoy entrepreneurs
Finally, since many Carousell users are micro-, small- and medium-size entrepreneurs, the company is also set to launch the Caroupreneur Awards that will recognize the outstanding achievements of Filipino entrepreneurs over the past year. This will range from entrepreneurs who started or scaled their businesses online, to brick-and-mortar SMEs who digitalized their businesses, and everyday Filipinos who gave away good quality preloved items for free.
To celebrate Carousell’s decade of sustainability, Caroupreneur Awards will also have sustainability-themed categories such as Heroes of Green, and other categories including Best in Carousell – Autos (Used Cars), Autos Workshop and Services, Property, Home Services, and many more. Winners will be announced later in the year.
A most receptive Recommerce market
The event also highlighted the overview and insights from the Recommerce Index 2021 Report, which is Carousell’s Green initiative to highlight the importance of sustainability and recommerce in the Greater Southeast Asia region.
According to the report, the Philippines is the most receptive Southeast Asian market for recommerce, or the practice of buying and selling brand new and previously owned items. The report also shows how consumer behaviors have changed especially during the pandemic. Hence, Carousell Recommerce Index is a timely ‘report card’ on where consumers are now, and how we can make secondhand the first choice in our effort to practice a more sustainable lifestyle and support a circular economy. The report also covers findings from four Carousell Group brands namely Carousell, Chợ Tốt, Mudah.my, and OneKyat, across eight markets – Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, and Vietnam, involving over 3,000 buyers and sellers.
