Tag: Ecommerce

Malaysia– With many people shifting their marketing behaviors online, notable statistics have shown a significant increase in the number of digital consumers in the Southeast Asia region, particularly in Malaysia, a report from consulting firm Bain & Company shows.

Conducted in collaboration with social media giant Facebook, statistics noted that Malaysia clocked a total of 83% of digital consumer growth, making it the country in Southeast Asia with the highest concentration of online consumers, which are then followed suit by Singapore with a 79% growth and the Philippines with 74%.

Moreover, the report showed that the Malaysian demographic, those that are 15 years old and above have an average of 51% on their willingness to switch consumer brands from time to time.

In regards to trying out new and unheard-of brands, statistics for Malaysian consumer behavior stooped, from 43% in 2019 to 40% in 2020, showing reluctance to try out unique and new brands.

With COVID-19 restricting movement including physical shopping, statistics for purchasing demand across online channels for Malaysians doubled to 40% this year.

“Brands need to enhance their value proposition both online and offline, and be flexible and adaptable to change, now more than ever. Within the eCommerce space, we aim to ensure strong digital content, product availability online and a robust supply chain,” commented Phee Chat Chow, executive director for marketing, communications and innovation at Nestle Malaysia and Singapore. 

Kuala Lumper, Malaysia – Hermo, a beauty and fashion e-commerce player in South East Asia, has chosen martech solutions Netcore to boost its omnichannel customer engagement and retention. 

According to an announcement by Netcore, it will be assisting Hermo through AI-powered personalization, omnichannel marketing automation, and AI-powered email delivery.

Netcore said that prior to the partnership, Hermo had a siloed approach to its engagement strategy with data scattered among tools and teams working in isolation. According to the company, during the proof of concept stage, it was able to increase the eCommerce’s revenue by 7% as well as a 50% lift in its add to cart.

Chief executive officer Ian Mok and cofounder of Hermo said, “We believe in a numbers-driven approach to marketing and our philosophy perfectly aligns with Netcore’s way of working with brands. The personalization module has been a game-changer for us, and we have the same level of confidence in Netcore’s marketing automation and communications cloud.”

Meanwhile, Group CEO of Netcore Solutions Kalpit Jain commented, “Delivering personalized experiences across all user touchpoints is a core mission of all our offerings. The team at Hermo is as cutting-edge as it can get and we are excited to arm them with the best possible Martech stack for customer engagement and retention. With our unique expertise of serving brands in the beauty and fashion niche we are confident of achieving astronomical results in an expedited time frame.”

Singapore – Southeast Asia eCommerce platform Lazada has partnered with one of South Korea’s most popular leading men Lee Min Ho to become the regional face of the brand, ahead of its 11.11 sale.

Prior to the partnership, Lazada’s ambassadorship has been focused on local personalities from key markets. Lee will be the first-ever to represent the whole of Southeast Asia.

Lazada’s Group Chief Marketing Officer Mary Zhou said that the annual 11.11 shopping festival is its most anticipated and biggest one-day sale of the year, and they want to be able to capture the imaginations of their shoppers with a regional ambassador who can positively inspire SEA consumers.

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On choosing Lee, Zhou said, “Lee Min Ho’s exuberant, optimistic, and encouraging personality resonates with Lazada shoppers. [He is] reminiscent of Lazada’s spirit and tagline Go Where Your Heart Beats and [the] signature finger-heart gesture.”

Lee gained a massive fan base when he starred in the television series Boys Over Flowers in 2009. Since then, his popularity grew all over Asia, and is now the most followed Korean actor on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Weibo. He most recently appeared in the Netflix-produced The King: Eternal Monarch.

Lee commented, “I’m excited to join the Lazada family for the 11.11 shopping festival as their first regional brand ambassador. Lazada is known across the region for its innovative and customer-focused approach to online shopping, and working with the Lazada team has been a really fun and creative experience so far. I look forward to introducing more fans and friends in Southeast Asia to the lifestyle platform.”

As part of the campaign lineup, Lee will be starring in a TV commercial which will showcase his online shopping routine. Another commercial will also see him joining the brand’s local ambassadors from the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

Zhou shared that virtually bringing together both Lee Min Ho and the local brand ambassadors is Lazada’s way of connecting the community despite being geographically separated.

“As 2020 comes to a close, Lazada wants to foster a deeper understanding of the power of the commonalities that exist within our diverse community across Southeast Asia, and how we can unite to harness this strength to support each other through challenging times,” she said.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – eCommerce platform Youbeli has collaborated with IT mall PJ Digital Mall to adopt an online-to-offline (O2O) commerce.

The new partnership comes as Youbeli gears up for its 10.10 sale event. It has brought together 10 participating tenants from the mall onboard the Youbeli platform.

In conjunction with the 10.10 campaign, the parties have prepared surprise freebies for customers who prefer to self-pickup items from the mall. In the future, Youbeli said that it will be offering same-day delivery to any addresses within a 10km radius from the PJ Digital Mall.

Meanwhile, up until 10 October 2020, shopping vouchers and promotions will be continually announced on Youbeli’s and PJ Digital Mall’s Facebook pages. The promotions will be applicable for computers, laptops, and accessories.

This will be the second time that the platform has collaborated with a physical shopping mall, and according to Youbeli CEO Chua Khai Suan, the new partnership is part of their ongoing O2O initiative to help brick-and-mortar retailers to attract sales.

“[Instead] of competing as two different entities, we complement each other’s business model to bring the best deals for our customers,” Chua said.

Meanwhile, Jeffrey Fang, leasing manager of Digital Mall shared, “Since we started the collaborative campaign on 1 October, we saw a long queue of customers outside the mall especially last weekend.”

“At times like this, we need to ensure businesses continue to run to support the country’s economy however much we can so we can reduce the number of unemployment due to the pandemic,” Fang added.

Just recently, Youbeli has also partnered with a co-eCommerce player, Taiwan’s PChomeSEA, to integrate its products to the platform.

Singapore – P&G-owned skincare brand Olay has launched a brand new campaign – Adult Fearlessly – and it has partnered with Shopee to exclusively run it on its platform ahead of Olay’s special sale event Brand Day. The event will be held on October 14 to 16.

The campaign seeks to reach and engage with millennial women around Southeast Asia to bring a message of empowerment that they can #adultfearlessly, and overcome the perceived challenges of “adulting,” such as that with investing in their skincare needs.

Together with Shopee, Olay has conceptualized and co-created content such as a video called “Fearless with your choices,” which aims to shift the mindsets of millennials as they confront their fears of turning 30. It is also said to highlight the positive aspects of the journey leading up to such age.

The campaign will be rolled out in phases across six markets including Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. 

Lucy Moran, Senior eCommerce Director of Olay for APAC shared that the brand wants to focus on how consumers are integrating their lifestyle with their skin needs.

“As one of the top facial skincare brands in the world, we are continually innovating and advancing the way we connect with our consumers. With e-commerce driving a major shift from offline to online sales, there is potential to achieve further growth in this segment,” said Moran.

“Riding on this momentum to broaden our reach in Southeast Asia, we are partnering with Shopee once again to bring more engaging and convenient experiences online, where consumers are able to access Olay products– all at the click of a button,” she added.

Meanwhile, Shopee’s Regional Managing Director Ian Ho said that the Health & Beauty category is one of the top-performing on the platform as the new normal has driven even more consumers to browse and buy skin care products online.

“We are proud to be able to support Olay in their e-commerce growth through this campaign. Our shared consumer insights and widening base of millennial users have enabled a hyperlocal strategy for Olay to deliver the best online shopping experience. We are confident in supporting Olay to achieve another successful campaign with us,” said Ho.

This will be the second collaboration between the two brands. In April, Olay’s regional campaign for its Retinol 24 product line was also run by the partnership with Shopee.

Singapore – Global media network Omnicom Media Group (OMG) has launched a new service Transact, an end-to-end consultation and strategy service for eCommerce brands which will be offered in Asia Pacific.

Through the service, eCommerce brands will be given consultative support and capabilities spanning commerce strategy, media, marketplace investment as well as store management in leading eCommerce platforms such as Lazada, Amazon, TMALL, and eRetail, which also includes advisory in content and merchandising.

OMG’s Transact solution will be backed by eCommerce consultants and omnichannel retail specialists in 25 markets. It will also be supported by dedicated teams from around the region.

With Transact, OMG will be leveraging its people-based precision marketing and insights platform Omni.

“With Asia-Pacific leading the global eCommerce growth charge, we have a proven blueprint in Transact to help brands grow their online sales by maximizing reach, exposure, and profitability across all online models and channels,” said Tony Harradine, CEO for APAC.

‘‘Given that eCommerce is accelerating as a result of COVID-19, it is imperative for brands to stand out on the digital shelf, and with Transact, we are able to isolate elements within the eCommerce value chain to deliver incremental growth for clients,” he added.

OMG’s associate agency PHD has already integrated Transact into its existing commerce offering in APAC in partnership with eCommerce retailers that are part of its proprietary platform Omni Studio.

United States – As more businesses in the APAC region turn to eCommerce amid the pandemic, Google has decided to make it free for merchants to list their products on the Google Shopping tab, which takes effect in mid-October.

The free listing has been available in India and Indonesia since 2019 and was earlier introduced to the United States in April as part of its COVID support to retailers.

“For retailers, this change means free exposure to millions of people who come to Google every day for their shopping needs, regardless of whether they advertise on Google. For shoppers, it means more products from more stores, discoverable through the Google Shopping tab. For advertisers, it means paid campaigns can now be augmented with free listings,” said President of Google for APAC Scott Beaumont on a product update.

Google said the time of the pandemic changed the way people shop and sell in the region. According to Google analysis, 53% of online shoppers in APAC stated that they’ll choose to buy online more frequently after the pandemic, while almost 40% who weren’t online shoppers before said they intend to continue buying online.

To help retailers adjust to the changes, Google will be offering skills training through its dedicated learning resource Grow with Google. Google will also be sharing research and insights on its market research platform Think with Google to inform retailers’ business decisions.

In addition, Google has launched a playbook and webinar series on how to better manage digital storefronts. It will also be working closely with a number of partners to help merchants manage their products and inventory; this includes global partners like eCommerce platform Shopify, and those across the region such as Vietnam-based SEO website design platform Haravan, eCommerce Shopline in Taiwan and Hong Kong, and Thailand’s eCommerce business provider LnwShop.  

The free listings will be automatically applied to retailers already registered on its Merchant Center and those currently using Shopping Ads, while for new registrants, Google will continue working to streamline the onboarding process over the coming weeks.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Home-grown eCommerce brand Youbeli has partnered with Taiwanese eCommerce platform PChomeSEA to bulk up its product offerings. 

Youbeli has listed electronics, health and beauty, and home and living to be the top categories under PCHomeSEA. Youbeli said that such categories were estimated to garner the highest traction among Malaysian shoppers as Taiwan is being recognized as among the top manufacturers of high-quality products in Asia.

To celebrate the partnership, both platforms will be offering free delivery nationwide with no minimum purchase. 

Chua Khai Suan, chief executive officer of Youbeli said that the long-standing bilateral relations between Malaysia and Taiwan in various aspects of the economy and social development has made Taiwan an attractive option for Malaysians to shop online.

“Malaysian online shoppers have become more sophisticated in their choices of products. With the current Movement Control Order (MCO) implemented as the government that encourages Malaysians to shop online, Youbeli has decided to secure this exclusive partnership with PChomeSEA. With the current FREE delivery promotion, we hope that Malaysian online shoppers will enjoy high-quality products while saving on postage,” said Chua.

Meanwhile, Managing Director of PChomeSEA Sam Tsai said, “Taiwan has built a reputable online shopping experience for the past 20 years with an annual eCommerce transaction that exceeds the annual transactions in all 10 countries in the Southeast Asian region. Therefore, we take pride in our Made in Taiwan (MIT) label that ensures affordable products without compromising on the quality. To date, PChomeSEA offers more than 5 million different products featured in more than 300 million listings,” 

Malaysian online shoppers can now start making purchases from PChomeSEA on Youbeli’s website and mobile app.

Singapore – Amazon has announced that its annual deal event Prime Day will be running on its official dates, October 13 and 14. The event will be a first for Amazon Singapore since it launched last year. 

Aside from the discounts and savings in store for shoppers, Amazon will be launching e-Gift Cards on the event. Amazon.sg’s e-Gift cards can be redeemed on an extensive selection of products and during Prime Day, members who purchase at least S$50 e-Gift card in a single transaction will be able to receive a bonus e-Gift card of S$10. 

Amazon will also be introducing 10 new categories of products on Amazon.sg during the event. These will be musical instruments, gardening, furniture, jewelry, and watches, as well as luggage, business industrial, scientific supplies, and also video DVD, music, and software. 

Starting October 1, customers can already shop early exclusive offers and deals on Amazon.sg leading up to Prime Day. Each day from October 1 to 12, items from one of Amazon’s category will be up for a 30 – 45% discount.

“This year’s Prime Day is an amazing opportunity for Prime members to enjoy savings with thousands of deals, explore our new expanded selection and get their holiday shopping done early, all from the comfort of their homes. In the midst of an unprecedented year, we’re excited for Prime members in Singapore and worldwide to discover new ways to support local retailers and save big on everything they need and love,” said Henry Low, country manager of Amazon Singapore.

In an effort to build on the momentum of the event, Amazon Singapore has also partnered with digital media Mothership to launch a shopper personality quiz on the site to help shoppers discover their shopper persona.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – The Malaysia unit of used-cars trading platform Carsome will now be available on the eCommerce platform Shopee.

The platform, which caters to both sellers and buyers of second-hand vehicles runs its own website, and now with the extension to Shopee, those looking to buy gain another avenue to view and purchase from the company’s selection.

Cars will be listed with complete car specification details and multi-angled photos. All featured vehicles also come with a one-year warranty and a five-day money back guarantee. Carsome assures that cars are “Carsome Certified,” which indicates that vehicles have passed the company’s inspection, ensuring that it has not been in a major accident, has no frame damages, and has not been through a flood.

Additionally, Shopee users can purchase a RM500 cash voucher at the special promotional price of RM199 and use it to pay for the down payment of their selected cars.

According to Carsome Co-founder and Group CEO Eric Cheng, the collaboration enables Carsome’s official store on Shopee to be the first online store selling used cars in Malaysia.

“We are proud to work with Shopee, who have been very supportive in our endeavor to reshape and elevate the used car buying experience through digitalization,” Cheng said.

Shopee’s Regional Managing Director Ian Ho said that the launch of Carsome in the platform is just in time as they gear up for the 10.10 Brands Festival. 

“Carsome will gain exposure from the increased customer traffic to the platform and by leveraging it, bring about the awareness that users can now experience a new way of shopping for quality used cars,” said Ho.

Carsome is currently running a number of promotions, and those buying through Shopee will also be able to avail them, such as exclusive Carsome merchandise for the first 100 test drives, and the Refer-A-Friend promotion, with which successful buyers can invite their friends and family to buy from Carsome, where both parties can receive combined cash rewards of up to RM800.

Carsome is a Southeast Asia-focused company where aside from Malaysia, it has presence in Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore.