KUALA LUMPUR: The Ringgit-to-Ringgit voucher funding by Shopee and the Government via Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) for the Short-Term Economic Recovery Plan (Penjana) Shop Malaysia Online initiative has generated over RM200 million in sales by local retailers and traders on the e-commerce platform as of Aug 31.
In a campaign mid-point review today and the launch of its annual signature shopping event 9.9 Super Shopping Day, Shopee revealed that the vouchers have been enjoyed by close to 2 million Malaysians who took advantage of the savings and cashback on home and living, health and beauty, toys, groceries, automotive, mobile and gadgets.
According to Shopee’s regional managing director, Ian Ho, the e-commerce platform refreshes the Shop Malaysia Online initiative with a new theme weekly to keep things exciting for consumers. “By doing so, we are also effectively ensuring that we provide equal support to sellers from various sectors.”
Making it easy
To make it easier for Malaysians to identify homegrown sellers, Shopee has created the “Local Seller” tag, which will appear under all items sold by local businesses that qualify for Shop Malaysia Online.
“A lot of thought has gone into executing this Penjana e-commerce initiative so people will keep coming back to support our local retailers. For instance, we introduce cashback vouchers that reward consumers when they complete a purchase from local retailers, thereby encouraging repeat purchases that drive sustained growth for our sellers and brands. That is how we keep the economy moving and this is highly beneficial to local sellers,” said Ho.
Al-Ikhsan Sports Sdn Bhd’s chief executive officer, Vach Pillutla, views Penjana as relevant and timely, as Covid-19 has impacted almost the entire retail sector including sporting goods.
“The pandemic has challenged businesses to look for opportunities to grow beyond traditional models. In fact, we made a business decision to pivot from offline to purely online until MCO was lifted. This included moving our entire marketing investment, operations and social media activations to our e-commerce platform,” he said.
“Our efforts saw daily transactions grow by 20 times during the period. Even today, our e-commerce business continues to show healthy growth because e-commerce has unlocked a new consumer segment for us. So, setting up the Al-Ikhsan Official Store on Shopee Mall is a natural progression as we expand our e-commerce efforts. That, and our participation in Shop Malaysia Online, will give us a fantastic impetus. I believe this relationship between the no 1 multi brand sports retailer and no 1 e-commerce platform in Malaysia is a meeting of equals and a key pillar in our strategy to obtain a 10 percent e-commerce contribution to our overall business by end of 2021,” he added.
Shop Malaysia Online follows another successful collaboration – the Penjana Micro, SMEs (MSMEs) E-commerce Campaign which is the Government’s other Penjana e-commerce initiative implemented by MDEC and Shopee that provides over RM1,500 in perks each for Malaysian MSMEs new to Shopee. It has since benefited over 38,000 sellers to date, with participating MSMEs recording an average uplift of 162 percent in their daily sales after joining the campaign.
Having participated in both the Penjana e-commerce initiatives, local seller Gadget Velocity who joined Shopee only in June 2020 was able to achieve sales close to half a million ringgit in August 2020 alone.
Gadget Velocity’s online manager, Gan Poe Yee, attributed their sales increase to in-store vouchers, Coins Cashback and Free Shipping Programme that attracted customers to their store.
“We were fortunate that we were eligible for the Penjana e-commerce benefits which helped boost our orders. But we know that we cannot just rely on one-off assistance – we have to also do our part by upholding a high level of customer service through fast response and after sales service. All efforts combined is what helped us achieve a five-fold sales uplift as compared to when we first started on Shopee,” she said.
Enabling local sellers
Speaking at a panel session organised by Shopee in conjunction with the 9.9 Super Shopping Day, MDEC’s Head of Enablers & Demand Generation, E-commerce Division, Prasad Babu, said the Penjana e-commerce initiatives have enabled local sellers to relook at their e-commerce approach and certainly on their way to becoming digitally-powered businesses.
“MSMEs are stepping up to initiate their deals and promotions. They are now more receptive to exploring other digital solutions like Google and Facebook advertising to redirect traffic to their e-commerce stores. Therefore, the Penjana e-commerce initiatives’ impact and results aren’t just about the sales figures or the number of new online sellers the initiatives have created so far, but how it has accelerated a greater digital economy growth which has proven to be a big win for us as a nation. To achieve greater heights, MDEC will continue its efforts to accelerate the digital leap for all Malaysian businesses and support them in their ability to compete with leading global brands present within and beyond our national borders,” he said.
As the Shop Malaysia Online initiative enters its final leg, Shopee is ramping up its efforts to rally consumers to do their part and support Malaysian businesses for economic recovery. This includes a Penjana platform takeover on Sept 16 in celebration of Malaysia Day. The e-commerce platform has also gone one step further to boost local sellers in the Shop Malaysia Online initiative via 9.9 million Penjana vouchers that also bring greater savings for Shopee users.
Ho explained that this is in line with one of Shopee’s three key commitments for 9.9 Super Shopping Day. Aside from supercharging economic growth and recovery, Shopee will also strengthen its ecosystem to make buying and selling online even more easy and convenient while delivering a super shopping experience by bringing users the largest collection of entertainment and deals. From today till Sept 9, Shopee will be adding more value to consumers by bringing down the minimum spend for free shipping to RM9, offering 50 percent off vouchers and RM9 deals daily during Shocking Sale. Malaysians also stand to win prizes worth up to RM99,000 through Shopee Games, including 9 units of Samsung Galaxy Note20 when they play Shopee Farm.
For the countdown to 9.9, Shopee 9.9 will organise a Super Show featuring games, performances and acts by a star-studded lineup including Ernie Zakri, Dato’ Aaron Aziz, Ayda Jebat, Alif Satar, Wany Hasrita and many more.
Source:
NST