Innovation

Roughly 20-30 per cent of the COVID-related shift to digital globally is expected to be permanent, according to a fresh report from Mastercard

Put another way: in 2020, e-commerce made up roughly $1 out of every $5 spent on retail, up from about $1 out of every $7 spent in 2019.

As COVID-19 kept consumers around the world at home, nearly everything from groceries to gardening supplies was purchased online.

For retailers, restaurants, and other businesses large and small, being able to sell online provided a much-needed lifeline as in-person consumer spending was disrupted.

Roughly 20-30 per cent of the COVID-19-related shift to digital globally is expected to be permanent, according to Mastercard’s Recovery Insights: Commerce E-volution.

Roughly 20-30 per cent of the COVID-related shift to digital globally is expected to be permanent, according to Mastercard’s Recovery Insights: Commerce E-volution.

The report draws on anonymised and aggregated sales activity in the Mastercard network and proprietary analysis by the Mastercard Economics Institute. The analysis dives into what this means by country and by sector, for goods and services, and within countries and across borders.

“While consumers were stuck at home, their dollars travelled far and wide thanks to e-commerce,” says Bricklin Dwyer, Mastercard chief economist and head of the Mastercard Economics Institute. “This has significant implications, with the countries and companies that have prioritised digital continuing to reap the benefits. Our analysis shows that even the smallest businesses see gains when they shift to digital.”

The fresh report uncovers several key overarching trends as follows:

Early digital adopters go into overdrive: Economies that were more digital before the crisis – such as the UK and US – saw larger gains in the domestic shift to digital that look more permanent than the countries that had a smaller share of e-commerce before the crisis, such as Argentina and Mexico. The Asia-Pacific, North America, and Europe were the strongest regions in driving e-commerce adoption.

Grocery and discount store digital gains look sticky: Essential retail sectors, which had the smallest digital share before the crisis, saw some of the biggest gains as consumers adapted. With new consumer habits forming and given the low pre-COVID-19 user base, Mastercard anticipates 70-80 per cent of the grocery e-commerce surge to stick around for good.

International e-commerce rose 25-30 per cent during the pandemic: International e-commerce got a boost both in sales volume and the number of different countries where shoppers placed orders. With infinitely more choices at their fingertips, consumer spending on international e-commerce grew around 25-30 per cent year over year from March 2020 through February 2021.

Consumers increase their e-commerce footprints, buying from up to 30 per cent more online retailers: Reflecting expanded consumer choice, the report shows that consumers worldwide are making purchases at a greater number of websites and online marketplaces than before. Residents in countries like Italy and Saudi Arabia are buying from 33 per cent more online stores, on average, followed closely by Russia and the UK.

Shift to electronic payments accelerated in the US: Even in store, COVID-19 accelerated the transition to digital – with more consumers moving from plunking down cash to touch-free payments. According to the company’s analysis of payment forms at brick-and-mortar retail stores and restaurants, non-cash payments jumped by an additional 2.5 percentage points beyond the ongoing trend. This led to an acceleration of the shift from cash to electronic payments by a full year.

Mastercard launched Recovery Insights report last year to help businesses and governments better manage the health, safety, and economic risks presented by COVID-19. The initiative draws on Mastercard’s analytics and experimentation platforms, its longstanding consulting practice and unique data-driven insights to deliver relevant and timely tools, innovation and research.

The Apple logo sporting a green leaf to mark the upcoming Earth Day is seen on a window of the company’s store in Bangkok on April 14, 2021.(Mladen ANTONOV / AFP)

The Restore Fund, launched in partnership with Conservation International and Goldman Sachs, expected to have its first projects targeted later this year.

“Nature provides some of the best tools to remove carbon from the atmosphere,” Apple vice president of environment, policy and social initiatives Lisa Jackson said in a statement.

“Through creating a fund that generates both a financial return as well as real, and measurable carbon impacts, we aim to drive broader change in the future — encouraging investment in carbon removal around the globe.”

Forests draw in carbon from the air, storing it away and stopping the gas from contributing to climate change.

The fund aims to remove one million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually from the atmosphere, equal to the amount spewed by more than 200,000 passenger vehicles.

Apple said last year it would become carbon neutral by 2030 for all its operations, including manufacturing.

The California-based iPhone maker said its goal was to have no climate impact for all its devices sold.

“Investing in nature can remove carbon far more effectively — and much sooner — than any other current technology,” Conservation International chef executive M. Sanjayan said in a joint release.

“As the world faces the global threat climate change presents, we need innovative new approaches that can dramatically reduce emissions.”

Also Thursday, Google unveiled a time-lapse feature to its Google Earth service that provides a satellite view of the world.

The new feature is based on tens of millions of satellite images from the past 37 years to enable users to see in rich detail how the face of the planet has changed.

“Timelapse in Google Earth is about zooming out to assess the health and well-being of our only home, and is a tool that can educate and inspire action,” the company said in a blog post.

“Visual evidence can cut to the core of the debate in a way that words cannot and communicate complex issues to everyone.”

The number of urban areas in Vietnam increased from 480 in 1986 to 830 in 2019, reflecting the appearance of 10 urban areas each year.

Dat Bike, a Vietnamese technology start-up that plans to make electric motorbikes, has raised US$2.6 million in a pre-series A funding from Singapore’s Jungle Ventures, Wavemaker Partners, Hustle Fund, and iSeed Ventures.

Electric motorbikes are usually weak and have a low range, delivering only half the performance of a petrol bike.

But Dat Bike claims its Weaver can rival petrol bikes in power and range, its 5000W motor helps accelerate from 0 to 50km/h in just three seconds, its charging time is the fastest in the country at just under three hours, and its brake mechanism is tailored to the traffic situation in Viet Nam.

Son Nguyen, founder and CEO of Dat Bike, said: “We want to transform the 250 million gasoline bikes in Southeast Asia into electric vehicles. We believe that if given a choice everyone would pick electric over gas. It is just that the current electric motorbikes in the market lag behind in power and range, making it difficult for people to make the switch.

“The fresh funds will allow us to continue to innovate and create the most compelling electric motorbikes for Southeast Asia and the world.”

Amit Anand, founding partner of Jungle Ventures, said: “This investment in Dat Bike marks our first investment in the mobility sector which is rapidly getting transformed by technology. The US$25 billion two-wheeler industry in Southeast Asia in particular is ripe for reaping benefits of new developments in electric vehicles and automation.

“We believe that Dat Bike will lead this charge and create a new benchmark not just in the region but potentially globally for what the next generation of two-wheeler electric vehicles will look and perform like.”

The Weaver can be bought on the company’s website and physical store in HCM City. It costs VND39.9 million. — VNS

The emulation movements include:

-Organizing and preparing for the upcoming elections of deputies to the 15th NA and all-level People’s Councils for the 2021-2026 tenure.

-Completing programs and projects approved by the municipal Party Committee via the implementation of one key and three breakthrough programs in the 11th Congress of the HCMC Party Organization for the 2020-2025 tenure.

-Implementing the Decree No. 33/NĐ-CP (ND33) providing guidelines for implementation of the Resolution No.131/2020/QH14 (NQ131) on organizing urban administration in HCMC; continuing to carry out remaining missions of Thu Duc City, completing overall planning scheme of Thu Duc City by 2040 with a vision to 2060; proposing the Central Government to consider special mechanisms for Thu Duc City’s development

– Improving the business and investment environment and enhancing competitiveness and providing the second support package to enterprises hit by Covid-19

-Implementing and speeding up the disbursement of public investment and reaching the disbursement of 45 percent and over in the first six months in 2021

-Implementing Directive No.19-CT/TU issued by the HCMC Party Committee on October 19, 2018 on conducting the campaign ‘HCMC residents do not litter on roads and canals for a clean city and urban flooding reduction’; striving to gain 50 percent of wards, communes and towns in HCMC to be recognized as “Level-district clean and green area”

– Strengthening the State management of illegal buildings and reducing unauthorized construction by 10 percent compared to the first six months of 2020

– Calling on people to plant tree to reach the “One Person, One Tree” goal in response to the PM’s call for planting one billion trees from 2021- 2025

-Establishing the HCMC research institute for innovation and putting it into operation

– Boosting progress of projects, including measures to prevent flooding caused by high tides linked to climate change, construction of Thu Thiem Bridge 2, construction of Ben Thanh – Suoi Tien metro line, the site clearance and compensation of the Metro Line 2; kicking off projects consisting of the upgrading of Ho Chi Minh Museum – Ho Chi Minh City Branch located on the Nha Rong (Dragon House) Wharf , expansion of Nha Be District’s Hospital, construction of a railway drainage system in Thu Duc City’s Linh Dong Ward; and completing works of the upgrading of Nguyen Huu Canh Street in Binh Thanh District, construction of a drainage system and rebuilding the surface of Huynh Tan Phat Street (the section from Phu Xuan Bridge to Binh Khanh ferry station) in Nha Be District, the construction of a drainage system and upgrading the surface of the communal road No.11 (the section from Dinh Duc Thien Street to Hung Long commune) in Binh Chanh District.

-Dealing with noise pollution in residential areas

-Ensuring national security and public order before, during and after the upcoming elections of deputies to the 15th NA and all-level People’s Councils for the 2021-2026 tenure; reducing crime rates, strengthening the police criminal investigation efforts and enhancing fire protection and prevention