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by on October 30, 2017 | Top Stories

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Four Amazing E-Commerce Concepts Proposed by Students in Southeast Asia

While the Generation Y witnessed the introduction of the internet, Millennials in Southeast Asia (SEA) was raised in an environment where e-commerce is integrated into their daily lifestyle. This is evident as it is a norm when millennials purchase their favourite items online, catch a ride with ride-hailing apps or submit their project through their school’s website.

Most importantly, Millennials’ knowledge and experience in this aspect is highly valuable as the future generations in SEA could provide greater ideas to further develop the digital economy and bring a significant contribution to their communities at the same time. To tap into the minds of millennials, iPrice Group asked students across SEA to share their e-commerce concept. After vetting through hundreds of submissions, we listed four winning e-commerce ideas which caught out attention.

An E-Commerce Platform for Local Pastries

By Sarifah Parvin binti Kudpudeen from Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak, Malaysia

Here’s What Millennials Think E-Commerce Can Do to Make a Significant Contribution to Their Community

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Malaysia, unique for its diverse people groups and cultures holds a wide range of festivals and holidays each year. Paired with its various unique festivals and holidays, are foods and pastries that complements the special celebrations. However, with the ever-increasing pace of lifestyle of urbanites, Malaysians sometimes could not afford to spend hours just to look for the suitable pastries during their busy work-day.

Based on this, Sarifah proposed an e-commerce platform that seamlessly connects consumers to their pastry or food vendors that meet their specific requirements. Her proposal includes the following product selection features:

Pre-Designed Pastries: For consumers looking for the most popular cakes and pastries for general occasions such as Hari Raya, Mooncake Festivals and others. This is also ideal for general occasions such as anniversaries, birthdays and more.
Select Pastries Based on Filter: Ideal for consumers who may have specific requirements or require suggestions. Consumers can find their desired pastries by selecting filters aspects such as: type of occasion, size of cake and other special requests.
Customised Pastries: This is perfect for consumers with very specific requirements. Consumers can submit an image or sketch for vendors to design cakes or pastries according to their request.

In addition to this, Sarifah mentioned it be vital to provide the option to deliver the pastries to their desired location or to have them pick it up themselves. We liked this proposal as it aimed to reduce time spent on mundane activities, so consumers can maximise their time enjoying the occasion with their loved ones.

Efficient Trash Management

By Fajri Zulia Ramdhani from the Islamic University of WaliSongo, Indonesia

Trash management is among the most challenging problem in Indonesia as most people dispose waste in non-designated areas such as the sewers and road. In addition to this, many do not segregate their waste and this makes waste management a challenging feat. This is a common occurrence as many do not see the value in proper waste management. Due to the economic challenges, it is also a norm that certain people prefers to be a scavenger and make a living by reselling waste to the garbage disposal centres.

Fajri Zulia Ramdhani, a 20-year-old student proposed a waste management solution that connects individuals in residential areas or scavengers with garbage disposal centre through a mobile application. Her solution aimed to increase the effectiveness of trash management by incentivising trash producers who collects and categorises their trash. This also benefits scavengers as this aid them monetise their trash collection in a well-organized manner.

A mock-up of the trash management mobile application by Fajri Zulia Ramdhani

This is a great solution as it motivates all parties to manage trash in an orderly manner. Most importantly, we thought this was a great idea as her goal was to instil good values on hygiene and cleanliness.

Video Content to Assist Consumers Choose Their Ideal Hotel

By Pawee Booncharoen from Thammasat University, Thailand

Here’s What Millennials Think E-Commerce Can Do to Make a Significant Contribution to Their Community

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Based from his personal experience, Pawee from Thamasat University noted that expectations are not necessarily met as hotel rooms usually look different from images displayed on the website. To help others avoid the disappointment he experienced, Pawee proposed a video content platform named Staymotion which provides consumers a comprehensive view on the hotel before they proceed with the booking.

With the ever-increasing demand for video content, Staymotion can give consumers a better view of hotels, resorts and their surroundings far beyond just texts and static images. Pawee mentioned “video should come from hotel operators as a main source and strategies can be set to encourage user-generated videos to generate larger traffic for each specific place while building a connected community at the same time” However, his proposal was not to create another booking platform but as a strategic partner to complement existing booking platforms such as Agoda, Booking.com and others.

Grocery and Meal Planning for Women

By Nguyen Tien Dung from the Foreign Trade University, Vietnam

Dung’s idea was inspired by his sister who works for a state bank and often struggle to manage time between work and family. This is becoming a norm in recent years as women have become an integral part of Vietnam’s workforce. To help his sister and other women plan their day better, Dung came up with an idea for an organizational app that is tailored to help women plan their meals and grocery shopping.

Based on their food preferences, the app can assist by scheduling days when they have to purchase groceries ahead of time. Dung’s suggestions include a calendar to help women plan ahead for family and special events. A notification feature will also ensure that they are reminded ahead of time to purchase the needed items. Additionally, Dung’s suggests that the app could provide insightful information on the foods’ nutritional value to ensure that the family is well taken care as well.