Expanding online presence

The current situation has also compelled businesses to explore new strategies to engage with consumers and continue facilitating trade. This has not only led to strong e-commerce adoption amongst local SMEs but has also unlocked new market segments for the e-commerce industry.

New potential: For instance, selling and buying fresh produce such as fish, chicken, beef and even durians on e-commerce platforms was almost non-existent just as recent as last year.

However, Shopee said in April alone, some 1,000 fresh and frozen sellers, including farmers and fishermen, started selling on Shopee. Shopee found that many of the sellers that offer a strong enough assortment of more than 20 types of products in their stores could generate monthly sales of up to RM100,000.

Personalising virtual connection: Shopee has also observed that the number of Shopee Live streams from brands and sellers have increased by 70 times since the virus outbreak as they look for a more personal approach to connect to consumers virtually.

A new-to-Shopee seller, Deep Sea Fishery Kingdom sold RM1,200 worth of seafood in minutes during its first-ever live stream. Shopee expects the trend to sell and buy via live streaming will gain greater popularity as witnessed in countries like China.

Digital bazaars: The cancellation of Ramadan bazaars have affected the income of thousands of micro traders who depend on these bazaars to make a living. To help them sustain their incomes and livelihoods, several State Governments such as Selangor and Perak have commissioned Shopee to bring these sellers online to market products including Raya cookies and snacks, baju Raya and home decoration items via dedicated microsites. These initiatives include the Selangor E-Bazar Raya and Raya bersama PKNS, as well as the S.M.A.R.T Niaga@Perak.

“2020 has changed the way we live, work, and shop online. As such, brands and sellers across the region are stepping up their digitalisation efforts, especially now, as e-commerce has taken on a greater role in people’s lives seeing as more consumers are going online to fulfil their everyday needs. This has resulted in changes in the way businesses view and approach e-commerce as a viable trade channel,” said Shopee’s regional managing director, Ian Ho.

Read more here http://Consumers and businesses fully embracing e-commerce during MCO–