A week after the 11.11 Singles Day sale, and it has become apparently clear that the online sale was a welcome boon for local entrepreneurs and SMEs in Malaysia; who have suffered greatly due to the reimplementation of partial lockdowns.
Shopee Malaysia regional managing director Ian Ho said the 11.11 Big Sale saw some 3,000, small and medium Malaysian enterprises achieving average sales of RM55,000 on the e-commerce platform.
“Across the region, local sellers participating in the 11.11 Big Sale for the first time saw 10 times more orders than on an average day. The strong demand in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Johor clocked in high shopping activities. There were also 650,000 items sold in an hour in Selangor on Wednesday. There is also growing confidence and trust in online shopping,” he said, adding that the largest single transaction made by a user within the first eight hours of the sale amounted to RM70,000.
“The success reflects the continued growth of e-commerce in the region and the vast opportunities it presents for businesses and shoppers. Shopping events such as the 11.11 Big Sale have allowed us to introduce new initiatives to empower and enable brands, retailers and sellers as they kick into high gear for recovery in this current economic climate,” added Ian.
Ian also noted that there has been a huge surge in demand for electronics since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, stating that Malaysians have turned to e-commerce platforms such as Shopee for household needs. With Malaysia going into partial lockdown once more as a new wave of Covid-19 cases arise, people are once again staying home; increasing demand for online purchases.
“Looking at customer trends and performances from local businesses, there is no doubt that e-commerce has the potential to positively impact communities,” Ian said.
Meanwhile, Lazada Malaysia chief executive officer Leo Chow highlighted the remarkable performance of local SMEs during the one-day sale.
“New SMEs that joined via Lazada’s stimulus initiatives since March represented more than 40 percent of active sellers, who collectively sold over 680,000 items. These initiatives helped local SMEs digitalise their business and bounce back from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.
In Balik Pulau, Penang, Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin has called on Malaysians to support local businesses after Malaysia became the fourth largest spender on the 11.11 online shopping days.
