Tag: Ecommerce

Singapore –  In order to aid shoppers in sifting through the multitude of items for their holiday haul, Amazon Singapore has launched its holiday gift guide. In a dedicated page within the site, Amazon compiled and laid out a roster of items according to different categories, such as to whom the shopper intends to give the gift to, gifts within a certain price range, and gifts by interests. 

Shoppers are able to view a list of appropriate gifts for men, women, and teens, as well as for kids, babies, and even pets. For those who are price-conscious, Amazon has grouped items that are capped off at S$25, S$50, and S$100. 

Amazon has also enabled it for users to browse items according to their intended purpose this holiday, presenting consolidated selections for decorating, gift wrapping, arranging parties, as well as selections for toys, books, and beauty products.  

Within the holiday shopping page in Amazon, there is also a mounted ‘Holiday Toy Store,’ which houses a curated list of Top 100 Toys and Top 100 Board Games. 

Aside from the guide itself, Amazon has announced its early deals for the featured items. Up until 26 November, shoppers can enjoy from 15% to 50% discount across its product categories – baby products, beauty and health, toys, groceries including wine and spirits, as well as, home and kitchen items, electronics, and pet products. 

In fulfillment of a new partnership, shoppers are also given a chance to help underprivileged children, with Amazon pledging a donation of S$5 with every order above S$50 spent on products purchased from the non-profit organization Children’s Wishing Well’s gift guides. Amazon.sg said it will be donating a minimum of S$10,000 to the organization.

Manila, Philippines – Local-based telecommunications company PLDT has recently partnered up with e-commerce Shopee’s payment platform ShopeePay to bring convenience to payment gateways for services provided by the local telco.

The recent partnership aims at providing more payment service options for PLDT customers in settling their payments for postpaid plans, WiFi, and other bills.

Users can pay through ShopeePay in the Shopee app, under the “Load, Bills & eServices” option.

Accompanying the recent partnership is a chance for PLDT Home subscribers to receive rewards just by paying through the ShopeePay platform. Users may enjoy Shopee coin cashbacks for the following promos:

  • 300 Shopee coins cashback when users pay every Monday, Thursday, and on November 11 by using the voucher code PLDTBILL300.
  • 250 Shopee coins cashback every Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday with the voucher code PLDTBILL250
  • 200 and 150 Shopee coins cashback respectively when they pay their bills with PLDTBILL200 and PLDTBILL150 voucher codes

“As more consumers are turning to our platform to stay connected and fulfill their daily needs, we are committed to providing them easy access to digital payment services such as ShopeePay for seamless payment,” said Martin Yu, associate director at Shopee Philippines.

Jakarta, Indonesia – Tech giant Microsoft and Indonesian e-commerce platform Bukalapak have announced a new strategic partnership to reshape the e-commerce scene in the country.

Within the parameters of the partnership, Microsoft will invest for Bukalapak, while the local e-commerce platform will make sure it will use Microsoft Azure as its preferred cloud platform. Furthermore, the recently-forged partnership would also mean solving the digital gap in the country and training Bukalapak merchants and employees for much-needed digital skills in the e-commerce scene.

The partnership agreement, attended by Haris-Izmee, President Director of Microsoft Indonesia (center) and Rachmat Kaimuddin, CEO of Bukalapak (right). The agreeement is witnessed virtually also by Jean-Philippe Courtois, Executive Vice President and President, Microsoft Global Sales, Marketing and Operations (background left). (Photo Courtesy of Microsoft News)

“This partnership signals a deep collaboration with Microsoft on an array of technology projects that will transform the technology-driven commerce solutions and operations solution and operations in Indonesia,” said Rachmat Kaimuddin, CEO of Bukalapak. 

Haris Izmee, President Director of Microsoft Indonesia also commented, “Through this partnership, merchants and consumers will have more efficient and reliable buying and selling experiences, which in turn, creates business resilience and helps accelerate growth in the Indonesian digital economy.”

The recent partnership is in line with Bukalapak’s mission of broadening Indonesia’s awareness of the digital world by providing services such as financial services, payment options, and credit services.

Singapore – Southeast Asia fans of global sports apparel brand Nike has now more ways to avail of its products with its new flagship store in eCommerce platform Lazada.  

With the new store in LazMall, Lazada’s in-app ‘mall,’ Nike is able to directly retail to consumers across five countries – Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.

According to Ken Yamada, GM of Nike direct digital commerce in Southeast Asia and India, the flagship store will be complimenting Nike.com and its existing strategic partnerships to enrich its offerings and choices for consumers within the Nike digital ecosystem.

“This venture enables us to consistently offer product accessibility, enjoyable shopping experiences, and a wide variety of innovation and design to our regional consumers in line with our digital growth,” said Yamada.

The initial phase will give consumers access to a wide variety of Nike products online – from footwear to apparel and equipment for men, women, and kids. The assortment will continue to evolve to cater to the unique tastes and needs of consumers in each market.

“Lazada is proud to serve as Nike’s online retail partner for Southeast Asia. Consumers across Southeast Asia will be delighted to have first-hand access to a wide assortment of Nike’s world-renowned designs, especially in the upcoming 11.11 shopping festival,” said Jessica Liu, co-president and regional head of commercial at Lazada Group.

The new collaboration between Nike and Lazada has kicked off in the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, and will be made available in Thailand soon.

Manila Philippines – GrabPay, Grab’s e-wallet cashless solution, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Region 2, and fast-growing agri-eCommerce platform, Mayani has announced its tripartite partnership to create broader market access and seamless e-payments solutions to farming communities and agripreneurs across Region 2, or the Cagayan Valley Region of the Philippines.

With the transport of fresh produce being a key challenge throughout the pandemic, farming communities and agripreneurs across the region were left unable to market and sell their fresh produce to a wider customer base, causing an oversupply. Through this partnership, the three parties will work together to promote a safe, seamless, and cashless farm-to-table e-commerce experience to more Filipinos to help boost rural incomes among thousands of farmers, farming communities, and agripreneurs across the Cagayan Valley Region.

With the partnership, Mayani will consolidate and activate a whole range of produce from 4,761 farmers in Region 2 and manage orders through its e-commerce platform with GrabPay as its digital payments solution. Likewise, GrabPay will also be providing wider market access to Mayani’s farming communities through a five-day campaign on the Grab app starting November 5, 2020, and users can also earn GrabRewards points whenever they use GrabPay to shop for fresh produce on-site.

In order to ensure broad inclusivity within the farming communities, DTI Region 2 will facilitate region-wide linkage of Cagayan Valley Region’s farmers cooperatives and agri-MSMEs to the Mayani platform.

“Even in these uncertain times, our mission in Mayani has stayed the same; help thousands of smallholder farmers lead better lives by changing how people buy their food through e-commerce. This partnership is another step in our efforts to bridge the gap between our own agro-entrepreneurs and potential customers in Metro Manila and eventually, all around the nation,” said JT Solis, co-founder, and CEO of Mayani.

Serving as the conduit for facilitating private sector relations with farmer cooperatives, DTI Region 2 will continue to provide the necessary support for tech-enabled, multi-stakeholder initiatives in agro-entrepreneurship. 

“Region 2 has always been known as one of the country’s top food providers, playing an integral role in the food supply chain of millions of Filipinos. Creating better access to quality produce from all around the country continues to be our priority, and we hope to expand our service by replicating the partnership we’ve established here in more areas,” said Leah Pulido Ocampo, DTI Region 2 regional director. 

Meanwhile, Head of GrabPay Philippines Jonny Bates said that the birth of the partnership comes at a time when many MSMEs are looking to digital means to recover economically.

“Our partnership with DTI Region 2 and Mayani is a wonderful example of how GrabPay can help farmers and farming communities recover from the crisis, and grow sustainably. We’re thankful to have this opportunity to work alongside Mayani and DTI Region 2, and we encourage more farmers,  farming communities, and agripreneurs to continue to embrace digitalization and cashless payments to better serve our kababayans,” said Bates. 

India – With the festive season already kicking off, shoppers are getting geared up for their holiday spend. In India, consumers have revealed that during this time, they are more likely to buy a product online when it is discounted and have an easy return policy, according to a study by global marketing company OMG and international research group YouGov.

The two came out as the top priorities for online shoppers in India, coming after good quality of products, which inevitably reigns their purchase specifications. On-time delivery is also a top priority for majority, or 32%, of consumers. Meanwhile, about the same percentage, 20%, is reflected across those who stated the following factors in their holiday purchases: products being in a single place, authenticity of products, brands that are homegrown, flexible payment options, and e-commerce that have varied brands. About 9% of consumers, on the other hand, stated ease of navigation among e-commerce as a priority. 

The study also probed into the kind of products Indian consumers are buying the most online. Food essentials came out with the highest percentage of consumer intent. Groceries and health food drinks for children led the list. Indian shoppers were also shown to depend on e-commerce when looking for household entertainment products.

Philippines – To fully tap on the exporting potential of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the Philippines, local export startup 1Export is offering their services to leverage e-commerce capabilities of MSME to an international market.

Established in 2016, the startup offers its services by aiding enterprises in finding the right buyers online and what products will be deemed export-quality. This is then delivered across nine key international markets, of which businesses will take note of any compliance standards these key markets hold.

With the services being offered, the startup further extends its service by providing an eCommerce platform for MSMEs. From correct documentation to automated labeling using pictures, all are part of the startup’s goals of export efficiency for MSMEs.

“Exporting is often viewed as a tedious and laborious process. For most MSMEs, creating a truly globally competitive brand remains just a pipe dream. We believe that, when done right, exporting can be a powerful tool to showcase MSME talent, uplift the economy, and change the lives of people,” Daniel Remo, chief operating officer of 1Export stated.

CEO Mel Nava also commented, “We make them globally competitive so that they can export, we help them export so they can sell more, stay afloat, and serve the needs and wants of other markets.”

SingaporeーSoftware technology company AnyMind announces its launch of AnyShop, a one-stop platform for the company’s various eCommerce tool platforms and partnered integrations that will help businesses and influencers build their e-commerce capabilities.

Users can enjoy the leverage of the following platform offerings: eCommerce site analytics, social media analytics, product manufacturing, site development, and partnered integrations. 

Through these analytic platforms, businesses and influencers alike can apply automated push notifications, site speed improvements, and mobile app compatibility, just to name a few. Furthermore, marketing users can track, discover, and manage marketing activities through the company’s in-built platform, AnyTag.

When it comes to product tracking and promotion, users may use AnyFactory, the group’s in-built cloud platform that allows production efficiency by making it a one-stop-shop for sourcing to manage orders across Asia. The company also offers eCommerce site development and partnered integrations through sales channels and online payment providers, such as providing Shopify services for the Japan market.

“True to our renewed mission of making every business borderless, we are breaking down borders within our own products and business lines to create new value for businesses and individuals today. This only adds on to what we’ve developed and achieved for the marketing and entertainment tech spaces, turning us into a true brand enablement platform,” said Kosuke Sogo, CEO and co-founder of AnyMind Group. 

AnyMind envisions in the near future to expand their software platforms by launching a separate logistics management platform for warehousing management, and also an end-to-end solutions for business and individuals from production, marketing, and distribution.

Shanghai, China – Customer-centric innovations and features—this has been Alibaba’s focal point this year as they recently announced their plans for the annual 11.11 Global Shopping Festival.

As ‘11.11’ continues to grow by the year, Alibaba focused on launching new strategies in the midst of changing consumer behaviors. Strategies include promotion of Alipay’s digital lifestyle platform, ‘doubling’ of shopping windows that will aid in featuring more brands and merchants, consumer reach and promotions, and utilization of livestreaming technology to drive more engagement from customers, especially from Chinese consumers, which has been noted to create the largest international presence to date.

Alibaba’s Alipay digital lifestyle platform aims at connecting almost two million local service providers in China, including micro-merchants such as street stalls and small-scale grocery stores. On the other hand, the company recently launched its Taobao Deals’ “RMB1 Sales” campaign, which aims at encouraging consumers to purchase goods at huge discounts and free shipping. Lastly, in regards to the livestreaming strategies, Alibaba aims to launch a shopping festival concept in Southeast Asia-namely in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam markets.

Jiang Fan, president of Taobao and Tmall, expressed his hopes for the 11.11 Global Shopping Festival, stating that through these innovations, the company hopes to adapt to the changes this year has brought to the consumer market.

“The pandemic has fundamentally changed consumer shopping preferences and accelerated digital transformation of many businesses. Through our expansion from ‘single’ to ‘double,’ 11.11 will be offering more opportunities for merchants both online and offline to engage with consumers as well as provide a better consumer experience overall,” Fan stated.

Pakistan – Chinese low-cost retailer Miniso has acquired the Pakistan operations of eCommerce site ToSharing from shopping website Cheezmall, said a report by Profit.

The acquisition, which has a valuation between $5M and $7M, was finalized in September.

With the business based in China, ToSharing’s operations are manned outside of Pakistan. Prior to the acquisition, Miniso products are offered on a number of third-party marketplaces in the country, with ToSharing considered as its channel partner with direct online sales redirecting to the site.

With the deal, such marketplaces will be halted. Miniso did share that the sale of its products through the said channel resulted in inconsistent customer experiences, where ToSharing now standing as the exclusive online destination for purchasing Miniso products in Pakistan.

Mainly, the move by Miniso will be an acqui-hiring where as of 21 October 2020, cross-functional teams of ToSharing across marketing, supply chain, customer care, security, and risk will be transferred to Miniso.pk, its upcoming eCommerce store.

The site will be ready to process orders by the 31st of October 2020.

The acquisition is only the first phase of the investment from Miniso, with the retailer looking to complete further investments to build eCommerce fulfillment centers and the entire infrastructure, for a successful eCommerce operation in major cities of Pakistan.