ELECTRONIC commerce platform Lazada Philippines is set to integrate more artificial intelligence (AI) features to streamline seller workflows and increase buyer traffic.
“We’ve been working on certain work streams to integrate AI. Today, there are more than 12 separate work streams where we are looking at the value of AI and the ways to support it,” Lazada Philippines Chief Executive Officer Carlos Barrera said in an interview with BusinessWorld.
The platform aims to use AI to enhance its content and catalogue offerings, he said.
“For example, AI can automatically fill in the attributes of a [particular] item so that the moment you upload a T-shirt through the automated search, it will recognize that the T-shirt is size M (medium), is black in color, and has this type of cut,” Mr. Barrera said.
“That can easily save thousands of hours a month for some of our top sellers.”
According to Mr. Barrera, AI has contributed to double-digit percentage increases in traffic for its campaigns.
With AI, customer inquiries have become more complex, and the platform is able to provide more “situational recommendations,” he said.
“We power our entire recommendation system and our homepage to be fully personalized depending on the person using the app,” he said, noting that AI can tailor platform content based on predictive variables.
AI has also been used to track routes and streamline delivery systems, he added.
Lazada projects double-digit sales growth this year, Mr. Barrera said.
“We want to grow double year on year for sure. Our goal is to grow at least as fast as the market,” he said.
The Philippine e-commerce market is expected to reach $150 billion in gross merchandise value by 2030, according to a 2024 report by Google, Temasek Holdings, and Bain & Co.
However, Mr. Barrera emphasized the need for improved internet access, logistics, and financial inclusion to increase e-commerce market penetration.
“When you take a step back and think about the current situation of the [Philippine] market, we’re still one of the countries with the lowest penetration,” he said.
“There’s significant improvement, but there’s still room to grow.” — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz
