Lazada Archives - MARKETECH APAC

Singapore – In a developing story, some Lazada top executives are reportedly among those affected by the company’s retrenchment exercises as the layoffs expand to its other markets in Southeast Asia, The Edge Singapore reported.

According to people familiar with the matter, Lazada has let go of its chief marketing officers across the various countries it serves. Among the C-suite executives affected by the retrenchment was Brigitte Daubry, its chief customer care officer at Lazada Singapore.

The e-commerce company has also allegedly laid off a fifth of its employees in its Malaysia branch, including its chief executive officer and its chief logistics officer. Currently, there are no updates on the positions of the following top executives in their LinkedIn profiles.

Additionally, reports also said that Lazada had shut down the operations of its LazMall in Vietnam.

These fresh rounds of reported layoffs join the undisclosed number of employees that were included in Lazada Singapore’s retrenchment exercises on January 3.

Lazada Singapore, the first branch to suffer from the sudden mass layoff, is unionised under the Food, Drinks, and Allied Workers Union (FDAWU), which is an affiliated union of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC).

In a statement issued by NTUC to Singaporean press and news sites, it expressed its disappointment in the matter and said that it had escalated the matter to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).

“NTUC would like to reiterate that it is critical for companies to work with their union to ensure that a fair and equitable process is carried out to safeguard the interests of all workers, especially our Singaporean core,” NTUC said in a statement.

Furthermore, NTUC stated that “companies must exhaust all other options before making the call to retrench employees. (NTUC) also appeals to companies to be considerate about the timing of such exercises and to avoid doing such exercises during festive periods, as far as possible.”

Singapore – E-commerce company Lazada, a subsidiary of Alibaba Group, faces staff reductions in its Singapore office amidst the 2024 new year transition, The Edge Singapore reported.

An employee familiar with the matter has revealed that senior and junior employees from multiple departments, including those from commercial and marketing teams, had received individual calendar meeting invites from the company’s human resources department at the end of the January 2 workday.

The anonymous employee further revealed that the layoffs, which began on January 3, are speculated to last until January 5, as the HR department has reserved all meeting rooms until the end of the week.

Additionally, Lazada Singapore has also been operating without an in-house communications department since last year.

Currently, there is no exact number as to how many employees have been laid off from the company’s Singapore unit.

The reports of layoffs come months after Lazada Singapore’s former CEO, Loh Wee Lee, left the company in August 2023. He has since been replaced by Jason Chen, who also serves as the group chief business officer at Lazada.

Singapore – Procter and Gamble (P&G) has announced a partnership with regional e-commerce giant Lazada to launch a personalised haircare microsite called ‘#HairDNA’, which aims to solve consumers’ biggest hair queries via expert advice available on the platform.

The microsite will serve as a one-stop-shop for consumers looking to switch up their haircare routine and find new products at the best deals with ease. With this venture, the company aims to establish itself as a thought leader and frontrunner in the haircare category.

‘#HairDNA’ will also help P&G foster a closer relationship with its consumers through personalising the experience and increasing the segment of one-to-one interaction, all while driving higher penetration for its premium beauty segment.

Moreover, it will also help shoppers discover their hair needs and receive personalized recommendations for the best products and regimens. Consumers can get personalized product recommendations that solves a variety of hair problems through a series of quiz-like questions.

The interactive platform will then analyse the responses and offer customised advice, including tailored haircare tips and recommendations on the product regimen comprising shampoos, conditioners, as well as treatments from brands under the P&G ambit. Currently, these include Head & Shoulders, Pantene, Herbal Essences, and Rejoice which are available on Lazada via P&G’s official LazMall flagship store.

Commenting on the launch of #HairDNA, Ajit Nayak, senior vice president for APAC, of haircare at P&G, said, “P&G is proud to partner with Lazada in launching #HairDNA, delivering personalized haircare solutions, cementing our commitment to driving category growth and delivering the best possible haircare experience.”

Meanwhile, Moran Lucy, senior director for e-commerce sales for Asia-Pacific, Middle East, and Africa at P&G, commented, “With a wide repertoire of beauty choices online, as P&G, we want to be able to streamline the shopping process for our eCommerce shoppers, in an easy and interactive way to understand their problems and provide quality recommendations from our brands. With #HairDNA, we are step-changing the way Lazada shoppers can find the right haircare products that suit each of their personalised hair types. This is the first of many partnerships with Lazada that we will embark on together to deliver a great shopping experience for our shoppers.”

Lastly, Regina Toh, senior vice president of regional strategic accounts (FMCG) at Lazada Group, stated, “With increasing numbers of beauty shoppers on our LazBeauty channel, haircare products have regularly been hot favourites with our shoppers, thanks to the great deals and an engaging online shopping experience that we provide. Lazada is delighted to drive the beauty category further with leading P&G brands – from sampling to full hair regime exploration – via #HairDNA, and to leverage the power of data and technology to provide personalised recommendations to consumers across Southeast Asia.”

Singapore – Regional e-commerce platform Lazada has recently released ‘LazzieChat’, its own e-commerce chatbot powered by artificial intelligence (AI). Said chatbot can answer users’ shopping queries on the Lazada platform to provide personalised shopping experience for users.

Said chatbot, a first of its kind in Southeast Asia, can intelligently respond to users’ questions and acts as personal shopper, providing personalised suggestions and product recommendations to help users optimise their shopping experience.

‘LazzieChat’ leverages Lazada’s own AI technology and platform, complemented by the natural language capabilities of Azure OpenAI Service. It can understand and respond to queries in a natural manner, and suggest relevant products or topics that may interest the user. It can also look up product descriptions and link products available on Lazada directly in the chat console so users can be informed and shop quickly and conveniently with confidence.

Moreover, the platform notes that ‘LazzieChat’ is most useful for fast-moving consumer goods categories such as fashion and beauty which are among the top items purchased on Lazada.

The chatbot is available in English in Singapore, the Philippines, and Indonesia markets, with the latter also receiving a Bahasa Indonesia version. More languages will be rolled out in due course.

Howard Wang, chief technology officer at Lazada Group, said, “Lazada is one of the first Southeast Asian e-commerce companies to integrate ChatGPT in Azure OpenAI Service into our chatbot. We are pleased to provide our users with LazzieChat as part of our continuous investment in technology to build a high-quality digital ecosystem that is set up for long-term growth.”

He added, “Online shopping journeys are becoming more dynamic with the help of technology. We want to bridge the gap between offline and online shopping by providing high-quality experiences that consumers love, and create value for brands and sellers who can tap into new technologies to reach out to a wider audience. We are confident AI will drive new developments in making online shopping and selling a seamless daily activity for everyone.”

Manila, Philippines – ShopBack Philippines has recently concluded its first-ever Users’ Choice Awards event last 30 March at Fairmont Makati. The physical gathering was the culminating event of the rewards platform’s voting exercise which lasted for the whole month of March where users got to vote for their most favourite brands on the platform.

In the in-person event, more than 100 merchant partners and media attended the night filled with fruitful discussions and celebrations. Awards granted included the Trendsetters’ Choice, Smart Shoppers’ Choice, Foodies’ Choice, and Mommie’s Choice, amongst many others.

Prashant Kala, the GM of ShopBack Ads APAC and acting country manager for the PH market.

More than 200,000 votes were garnered during the campaign period and winners were determined based on the number of votes received, the number of users who visited the merchant online via the ShopBack app, and the number of bookmarks via the Watchlist feature.

Here were the full list of winners:

Smart Shoppers’ Choice (Marketplaces category): Lazada
Trendsetters’ Choice (Fashion category): Zalora
Foodies’ Choice (Food and Grocery category): Foodpanda
Mommie’s Choice (Mom and Baby category): Edamama
Revenge Travelers’s Choice (Travel category): Agoda
Glow Getters’ Choice (Health and Beauty category): Shopee
Fitness Junkies’ Choice (Sports and Fitness category): Nike
Tech Savvy’s Choice (Tech category): Samsung
Supefans’ Choice (Brand loyalists category): Adidas
Top New Merchant: SHEIN
Brand Trailblazer Special Award: Lazada
Local Groundbreaker Special Award: Edamama and Metromart

ShopBack opened the in-person event with a look back at 2022. Timothy Tuason, commercial director for ShopBack Philippines, emphasised the high conversion data in the platform which pushed for tangible business results for its merchant partners.

The brand also teased what’s to come this 2023 and the highlights included were optimisations on its newly launched search ads and livestream features, an upcoming podcast series, and its 8th birthday celebration this June.

Nishant D’Souza, Edamama Co-Founder, then provided a keynote presentation on the topic of how to make a flourishing Filipino start-up, sharing Edamama’s journey to becoming one of the top shopping apps in the country.

ShopBack also invited other merchant partners for a fireside chat to talk about the synergy of growth and profitability. The discussions touched on the need to constantly adjust strategies in the ever-changing macro environment. The speaker line-up included:

Ricardo Ortuoste – Head of User Growth, Lazada Philippines
Amer Bakshi – Head of Strategic Partnerships, Foodpanda Philippines
Cris Tan – Marketing Director, Zalora Philippines
Nathalie Salcedo – Growth Lead, Metromart Philippines

“We are happy to spend this night with our esteemed partners as a way to show our gratitude for a great 2022. More exciting things are coming ahead this 2023 and looking forward to strengthening our partnerships with all of you,” Tuason shared.

Last 17 March, ShopBack Philippines also launched yet another media gathering to mark the start of the summer season. In partnership with Zalora, the platform kicked off the season with ‘Summer Playground’, a lifestyle event that gathered KOLs and media as well as the platform’s key partners.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – TNG Digital, owner and operator of Touch ‘n Go eWallet, has raised RM750m from its latest equity funding, which will be used to expand its digital financial services.

The equity funding was made through an investment by the Lazada Group, as well as from its parent company Touch ‘n Go Group. This new investment solidifies the collaboration between key segment leaders, one in e-commerce and one in digital financial services and payments.

Effendy Shahul Hamid, group chief executive officer at Touch ‘n Go Group, said, “I’m extremely pleased to welcome Lazada to the Touch ‘n Go eWallet family. We feel this collaboration will bring next-level value propositions to users and merchant bases across the Lazada and Touch ‘n Go ecosystem. I look forward to seeing the teams roll out these exciting collaboration opportunities to our users.”

Meanwhile, Alan Chan, chief executive officer at Lazada Malaysia, commented, “We see digital payment services as a critical bolt-on to bring the best customer experience on Lazada. Lazada is fully committed to providing a seamless customer journey, as well as being a catalyst to stimulate capacity building among our sellers, primarily local SMEs and MSMEs.”

He added, “Our long-standing partnership with Touch ‘n Go eWallet has served our customers well, allowing buyers to check out easily and quickly. Today’s announcement fortifies that partnership and we are excited by the prospects it presents for both our companies.”

Singapore – Regional e-commerce platforms Lazada and Shopee are among the top shopping apps used on a monthly basis in the Asia-Pacific region, according to data from data.ai.

According to the ranking based on monthly usage average, apps Shopee and Lazada are going head to head in several Southeast Asian markets. Shopee ranked first in Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Taiwan; while Lazada ranked first in Thailand and Philippines.

Several APAC markets have their local e-commerce platform ranked first, including Flipkart for India, Coupang for South Korea, and Taobao for Hong Kong. Meanwhile, e-commerce giant Amazon ranked first in the APAC markets of Japan and Australia.

On the other hand, SHEIN ranked first in the APAC markets of Japan, the Philippines, and Malaysia in terms of breakout downloads. Meanwhile, Atome ranked first in Hong Kong and Singapore.

In the video streaming category, YouTube still dominates the APAC market in terms of downloads, ranking first in Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Meanwhile, Bilibili dominated the Philippine market, and iQYI dominated Malaysia and Thailand. Lastly, Tencent Video ranked first in China and Indonesia. Top streaming apps in other APAC markets include Netflix (South Korea), Hotstar (India), and Disney+ (Australia).

In terms of consumer spend, YouTube still ranks first in APAC, as well as first in South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Meanwhile, Tencent Video ranked first in China and Indonesia; and Disney+ on Australia and Singapore. Other ranking apps per market include HBO GO (Philippines), Hotstar (India), and FPT Play (Vietnam).

Lastly, in the food category, foodpanda dominates APAC in the downloads category, specifically in the markets of Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, and Taiwan. McDonald’s ranked first in Hong Kong and Australia, while Grab ranked first in Indonesia and Vietnam.

On the monthly average users, Grab ranked first in the markets of Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, and Malaysia.

Singapore – With the increase in adoption of e-commerce across Southeast Asia since the onset of the pandemic, online shopping has since integrated itself into consumers’ everyday lives. With this, e-commerce platform Lazada has unveiled its new brand proposition, ‘Add to Cart. Add to Life.’, recognising that shoppers are no longer just buying products for functional uses.

This new brand proposition aims to reflect the brand’s belief that e-commerce can add to the lives of consumers by inspiring meaningful connections and memorable experiences with their purchases.

Marcus Chew, Lazada Group’s chief marketing officer, shared that as Southeast Asians continue to add to the cart, they want to be that bridge that connects customers to opportunities that add to life.

“For us, it’s not just about buying a pan; it’s about owning a pan to add amazing flavours to a delicious meal for loved ones. Likewise, it’s not just about buying a skipping rope; it’s about adding fitness and health to one’s daily routine. Whether it’s a new hobby, honing a skill, creating a more comfortable home or a new look with a style makeover, every product on Lazada has the potential to be the launchpad for enhancing abilities and value-adding to our consumers’ lives,” he said.

Moreover, Lazada has also launched LazLive+, a curated interactive live content series that brings together recognisable, authentic, and trusted experts to share fresh tips and skills with shoppers. It seeks to connect the region’s shoppers with new ideas and experts from all walks of life, through cooking demonstrations, styling know-how, gaming tips, and fitness motivation, amongst others and will roll out across the region from 4 July.

In Singapore, shoppers will get to interact with their favourite key opinion leaders (KOL) in real-time through the voting and chat functions, including Aiken Matthew Chia, Andrea Chong, Derek Cheong, Mong Chin Yeoh, and Tiong Jia En, with each KOL representing a different lifestyle segment. The live content series will kick off ‘D.I.Y. Like A Pro’ on 4 July with each episode running for one hour. In this series, host Aiken will challenge one of four KOLs to complete a task. The tasks are themed to each KOL’s respective expertise, and they will share personal tips and hacks with viewers on how to get the most value out of the items featured. Aiken, as the underdog challenger, will seek assistance from viewers through a voting process that will gain him access to bonus tools to help him complete his challenge easier. Viewers who aid Aiken in the voting process will also stand to gain exclusive shopping vouchers.

‘D.I.Y. Like A Pro’ will run for 15 episodes, with episodes airing daily at 8 pm during the debut launch week, followed by a weekly live stream every Wednesday at 8 pm. Coupled with exclusive deals and entertainment that Lazada brings to the fingertips, shoppers can also create more fulfilling moments, big and small, that will enrich their lives and those around them.

Chew said, “LazLive+ will also be a great source of inspiration for shoppers with its unique blend of shoppertainment and shop-spiration content, that will enable consumers to discover and unlock new passions and possibilities in their lives, thanks to the experts.”

The brand campaign will run across Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand, as well as Vietnam, starting 24 June, with a 30-second film, out-of-home, a series of key visuals, influencer engagement, and topical social media activation, as well as other creative executions.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Southeast Asian eCommerce platform Lazada has released a video campaign in celebration of this year’s Hari Raya Aidilfitri, a religious holiday celebrated by Muslims in Malaysia.

In collaboration with creative and media agencies Ensemble Worldwide and Universal McCann under IPG Mediabrands network, the integrated campaign “Tambah ke Troli, Bertambah-tambah ke Hati” (Add to Cart, Add to Heart) has been localised to make it convenient for Malaysians to shop for their Ramadan and Raya essentials. Each item added to cart represents their needs, interest, passion, and hopeful aspirations to add value, happiness, meaningful moments and elevated experiences when receiving and using it this festive season and beyond.

The campaign also encouraged customers to extend their generosity through digital giving via Lazada4Good by donating to the NGOs distributing Ramadan assistance to communities in need. In addition, the ‘Lazada Roadshow Bertambah-Tambah ke Hati’ created a unique omnichannel O2O experience through its campaign touchpoints via the use of QR codes to link items featured in the film, videos and roving roadshow to be scanned for real-time purchase on the Lazada app.

Phang Mei Jeng, managing director of Ensemble Worldwide, said, “We saw a big opportunity for this year’s Ramadan and Raya to be more meaningful and engaging, especially as most have missed out on big celebrations and social gatherings for the past two years.

According to Jeng, the campaign is more than the sum of its parts as it has managed to connect and build brand affinity with the local Malay community and the younger generation in a way that has been truly missed over the past two years.

For the first time, a Ramadan and Raya offline-to-online (O2O) shoppable showroom on wheels was introduced as part of the Lazada roadshow, featuring displayed items to be purchased. Similar to the campaign videos that feature QR code leading to Lazada’s Raya campaign page, visitors to the bazaars were able to physically touch and feel the products before scanning the code to make a purchase of limited Raya deals on the Lazada app. The roadshows included a host of on-ground activities for the public, and livestreaming for the online audience.

The integrated campaign also featured bite-size videos created to spread awareness on the ongoing Ramadan offers, radio spots, Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH), and interactive quizzes through Lazada livestream.

Singapore – As part of Lazada‘s commitment to supporting sustainable practices in the digital commerce ecosystem, the e-commerce platform launches a campaign called ‘LazEarth’, which will initially focus on plastic waste reduction in products and packaging.

According to the platform, SEA generates an estimate of over 31 million tonnes of plastic waste each year, with 91% of consumers stating that they are concerned about plastic waste issues in the region.

Through this new campaign, Lazada will be working with LazMall brands and partners to make eco-friendly products easily assessable and identifiable to consumers. It will also be recognising and featuring more than 70 brands and 5,000 items across main fashion and FMCG product categories that are made, packed, or shipped with reduced plastics.

Magnus Ekbom, Lazada Group’s chief strategy officer, shared that as digital commerce continues to be one of the key growth drivers in SEA, it is crucial for companies to place sustainability at the core of their strategies to build stronger and greener economies.

“The LazEarth campaign is part of Lazada’s ongoing efforts to address plastic waste and help our buyers make informed decisions about sustainable products,” said Ekbom.

Aside from addressing plastic waste, Lazada has also put in place partnerships and social initiatives aimed at building a sustainable digital commerce ecosystem in the region. In Vietnam, Lazada has partnered with the National Trade Promotion Program to offer lychees from farmers in Hai Duong on the platform during the pandemic. This enabled Vietnam’s rural farmers to reap the benefits of participating in digital commerce and ensure the long-term growth of the agricultural sector in the digital era. Meanwhile, in Indonesia, together with PT Smoot Motor Indonesia, Lazada Logistics has introduced the Blue Vehicle, a practical and environmentally-friendly package delivery fleet for Lazada’s frontliners in the country.

James Chang, Lazada Group’s chief business officer, noted that as part of their commitment to building a lasting digital commerce business in SEA, they recognise that sustainability and value creation will become increasingly important to their long-term success.

“With the launch of LazEarth, we look forward to forging more collaborative partnerships and green initiatives that will empower our brands, partners and consumers to collectively create responsible and sustainable shopping and consumption habits,” said Chang.

In addition, Lazada has started offering greener parcels made from alternative sustainable packaging materials through its Fulfilment by Lazada (FBL) service for partnering brands since 2021. The green parcels use FSC-certified carton boxes filled with recycled shredded paper instead of plastic fillers.