Can, Nation, Really, Argue, Red, Shirts, Boosted, E-Commerce?

The Nation’s recent ‘Red-shirt rallies boost e-commerce’ seems more like a product of spoof site Not The Nation than the newspaper itself.

Although it is a short piece, I won’t go through it in full as my statements would be as obvious as remind you to breathe. Now exhale…

The booming digital era has enhanced online trading, which is expected to grow by 10-20 per cent this year.

Is there a source for this growth?

Percentage predictions are all good (though this one has a pretty wide berth) but about market worth?

The ongoing red-shirt rally has also made many consumers opt for e-commerce.

Ok, please explain first.

“The red-shirt protests led to the temporary closure of some roads. People were also concerned about security and were afraid to shop in department stores as usual,” said Banyong Limprayoonwong, director-general of the Business Development Department.

“So the easy way of purchasing was online trading.”

Really? There is little fear of shopping and security in this extract from “Chiang Noi” writing for The Nation (too), via Bangkok Pundit, which suggests far from staying indoors out of fear Bangkokians took the streets to support, or at least watch, the protests.

Most of all, Red March was disturbing because of the enormous show of local support in Bangkok. From the moment the columns of pick-ups began arriving in the city, people gathered on the pavement to clap and cheer and wave in welcome…all along the route to Phaholyothin people came out of shops and offices to line the street and cheer. The press and the pundits have played the conflict as the provinces against the city. But how does that analysis fit with these pavement scenes?

Back to the original e-commerce piece…

Popular goods purchased through online trading included fashion apparel, cosmetics, jewellery and digital content.

Rather detailing what was purchasing why are we not told how much was purchased? Could retailers not provide information about huge growth in e-commerce during the rally?

Increased social networking is another factor that has raised the value of online trading. Moreover, online traders also launched attractive campaigns to convince customers about their services.

When in doubt throw social networking into the mix…but I thought this piece was about the effects of the Red Shirts?

The National Statistical Office’s survey last year showed that popular products purchased via online trading included fashion apparel, gems and jewellery, computer and electronic goods.

Seems to be a repeat of a few lines ago…why?

I love that the National Statistical Office has been used to show some very weak statistics, no figures or revenue mentioned. Can assume one of each item was purchased last year?

The value of online trading reached Bt527.53 billion in 2008.

At last, a stat…but wait, last year was 2009…if e-commerce is set to rise by 10-20% this year surely 2008’s figures are pretty obsolete?

Banyong added that the department would also en-courage online trading by issuing certification to service providers whose registrations were approved.

This will guarantee customers standard service and product delivery.

What happens to the Red Shirt argument? Finished I guess…

And why is encourage hyphenated?

Conclusion

If I had to go out on a limb and write a flimsy article about Red Shirts and commerce, I’d say the protests probably increased local retailer revenues – street food vendors and convenience stores like 7/11.

There is a slight argument (flawed in my opinion) to suggest Bangkokians may have resorted to online commerce but to offer no evidence and no figures is truly poor.