Online-to-off-line (O2O) businesses that connect online customers with physical products and services are often referred to as a next big thing in the information technology, commerce and services sectors with more start-ups and conventional businesses jumping into the growing O2O market.
Anticipating that the combination between the online and off-line world would change the landscape of almost all industries, participants in the Tech Planet conference organized by information and communications technology solutions developer SK Planet said conventional businesses should brace for challenges from the growing O2O firms.
Jeon Yun-ho, chief technology officer of SK Planet, delivers a speech Thursday at the Tech Planet conference in Seoul. (SK Planet)
“The market values of Uber and Airbnb, both of which do not own a single taxi or hotel, exceed those of the existing leaders in the respective markets, Hertz and Hilton,” said Park Ji-woong, the chief executive of investment firm Fast Track Asia, in his speech at the annual Tech Planet conference in Seoul on Wednesday.
He said the traditional commerce businesses would also be hit hard by the change caused by technological advancements.
Online commerce transactions currently account for only 15 percent of all commerce transactions in Korea, worth around 500 trillion won ($430 billion), which is the highest in the world, with online commerce transactions in the U.S. market standing at 8 to 10 percent, according to data presented by the CEO.
As more real-world commerce companies, among which only 5 percent run O2O services, move into the online realm, the O2O market is expected to gain more momentum further down the road.
“The O2O businesses are just in the beginning stage, they will grow further,” he said.
Delivering a keynote speech, Jeon Yun-ho, chief technology officer of SK Planet, also predicted “the O2O market will grow more than 35 percent by 2019 with boundaries between industries disappearing.”
He said SK Planet was working on different technologies to spearhead the O2O sector, such as all-in-one smart credit cards.
Amol Patel, the head of PayPal’s global business development team, anticipated more digitized cash would be used in the near future, saying mobile payment services firm should put more efforts into building trust with customers by offering safe and secure payment solutions.
By Kim Young-won (
wone0102@heraldcorp.com)
