Retail infra considered missing piece as e-commerce wave builds

By Justine Irish D. Tabile, Reporter

IMPROVEMENTS in infrastructure are needed to help Philippine retailers and merchants meet the rise in demand through e-commerce channels, according to web development and integration agency Dev Team.

Ollie Hunt, co-founder of Dev Team and board director at Magento Association, an organization that supports the Magento Open Source ecosystem, said the Philippines is close to being ready for online shopping.

“The demand is absolutely there; Filipino consumers are some of the most digitally engaged in Southeast Asia. What’s missing is the infrastructure that makes it genuinely easy for merchants to run an online store,” he told BusinessWorld.

In particular, he cited the need for simpler, more localized, and more accessible payment methods, shipping integration, and operations tools.

“That requires movement from the government, but also from tech platforms, solution providers, and agencies like us,” he said.

“If the ecosystem steps up to give businesses the right foundations, merchants of all sizes will be able to own their online presence rather than relying purely on marketplaces. And we are getting there,” he added.

The Philippines’ high internet usage, online-first social behavior, and increasing mobile adoption make it an important market for e-commerce.

“Marketplaces dominate today, but they’re incredibly saturated, which makes visibility hard for brands,” according to Mr. Hunt, citing smaller brands’ difficulty in standing out and getting repeat customers on known e-commerce platforms.

Chris Islan, co-founder of Dev Team, said the other challenges include lack of localized payment methods, rising operational costs due to inflation and unpredictable fees, limited industry forums, and siloed operational systems.

“But these are all solvable challenges; they just require some investment and the ecosystem to mature together,” he said.

To address these, Mr. Hunt said that global tech platforms, solutions providers, and agencies need to start taking the Philippines seriously.

“Right now, most small and medium enterprises don’t actually have viable options outside of marketplaces, as you need to be enterprise level to afford it,” he said.

“Shopify may be the dominant platform, but it doesn’t have a Philippine play. By that, I mean no local payment options, no native shipping integrations, and limited flexibility for growth,” he added.

As such, the Magento Association built Dev Team Accelerator, a ready-to-go Magento Open Source tech stack for the Philippine market.

“It gives retailers the flexibility and ownership of Magento, but without enterprise-level costs. It’s properly localized and built with the digital foundations merchants need to scale, operate omnichannel, and eventually expand beyond borders,” he said.

“For the market to grow, more tech players need to follow suit, building solutions for the Philippines rather than expecting merchants to fit into tools that weren’t designed for them,” he added.