Page 29 - Sphere No.16 (Apr 2006)

SPHERE 27
“ESDlife kick started online shopping in Hong Kong which
helped to promote our brand in a very short time,” explained
Mr Ma. “The FIFA contract is proof of our leadership in this area.”
The World Cup is only the beginning. In future the company is look-
ing to partner more famous global brands to expand from its domes-
tic Hong Kong market to Asia and Mainland China in particular.
ESDlife has used its position as a provider of round-the-clock on-
line public services to develop related commercial services, IT servic-
es and also drive online advertising. The results have been exciting.
There are some 290,000 e-government transactions processed ev-
ery month, of which over 70,000 involve online payment. This has
made ESDlife one of the Hong Kong websites processing the highest
number of online cash transactions and has enabled it to build a strong
customer base that is ready for online shopping.
The ESDlife online shopping platform sweeps away the barriers of tradi-
tional sales channels, which require huge set-up and operating costs, and allows
merchants to run their online business at minimal operational expense. The e-shop
business has grown remarkably since its launch. It now offers a wide variety of gifts, digital
products, household appliances and wedding related items. In June 2005, Zignup.com
started offering a wide range of courses and activities – from dancing and yoga to wake-
boarding and make-up courses.
But it is the wedding booking service that has perhaps made the biggest im-
pression. Within a year of launch, 85 per cent of Hong Kong’s advance marriage
appointments were booked online. ESDlife has built up the largest community of
wedding couples in Hong Kong, its Wedding Channel recording more than 100,000
visitors in February 2006 alone. Not surprisingly, the benefits of ESDlife have been quick-
ly recognised by advertisers and the “click rate” for banner advertisements on the portal is
much higher than the industry average.
The ESD life project has also helped build public confidence in online transactions and electronic
payment. “Having brands like Fortress, Sony, Samsung and Apple in
our shop is a big help,” said Mr Ma. “People are more comfortable
buying online when the brand is a household name. In fact we are
expecting a surge in television and DVD recorders sales before the
World Cup. After all, it’s a great opportunity for people to upgrade
to a flat screen!”
CUPUFIFA contract
a real winner for
ESD Services
By Jon Marsh

Left: Ronaldinho will
aim to be among the
goals when Brazil
defend theWorld Cup in
Germany this summer.