DESPITE COVID-19 accelerating the growth of the digital economy, Malaysia’s e-commerce’s contribution to total retail is estimated to be at 7% in 2020.
This pales in comparison to the global estimate of 16% while countries like China have already achieved close to 40%.
“As we can see, the digitalisation of the retail industry is still very much at its infancy but we remain steadfast on capturing the potential of the Malaysian economy with its solid infrastructure and business-friendly environment,” regional managing director of Shopee Ian Ho said.
Having said that, through Shopee’s partnerships with various ministries, governmental agencies, associations and state governments, more than 100,000 local micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) have been digitised since the first movement control order (MCO 1.0) in March 2020.
The strategic partnerships, which has also generated about RM 1 billion sales for the economy, were born out of a common goal – to help with the recovery of the business community, especially local MSMEs and petty traders – after they were affected by the pandemic.
Among the collaborations that can be easily found in the Buy Malaysia In-App portal which dons the Jalur Gemilang on the Shopee homepage are Kempen Beli Barangan Malaysia (Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry); the PENJANA MSME E-commerce Campaign and PENJANA Shop Malaysia Online Initiative (Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation [MDEC]); Jana Niaga (MARA), eFAMAPLACE (Federal Agriculture Marketing Authority [FAMA]) and FELDA E-Mall (Federal Land Development Authority [FELDA]).
In addition, several state governments also stepped up with campaigns like the Johor e-Marketplace, Penang e-Mall, Selangor e-Bazar Raya and S.M.A.R.T Niaga @ Perak to help local traders in their respective states.
Strategic partnerships such as these have paved the way for more sellers new to online selling to understand the digital marketplace and overcoming the limitations brought about by the pandemic.
Besides the special assistance to help new sellers get started on their digitalisation journey, additional campaigns and benefits in the form of discount and cashback vouchers, advertising credits and others were also curated to stimulate sales for existing local MSMEs on the platform, especially those impacted by loss of revenue and cash flow problems.
“The results of these meaningful partnerships show how the public sector teaming up with private entities like Shopee, can yield tangible and sustained impact on Malaysia’s digital economy,” Ho pointed out.
“By merging valuable insights and funding for sellers from our partners, along with our suite of integrated services and features like logistics, payments, Shopee Live stream and our free Shopee University classes, we were able to help local MSMEs achieve alternative sources of income and sustain livelihoods.”
With the country experiencing MCO 3.0 to curb the sharp rise of COVID-19 cases, sellers now are even more prepared to navigate the challenges.
In order to attract online-first customers to their stores, many sellers and brands are working with Shopee to offer users free shipping with a minimum spend of RM6, 66% off deals and vouchers daily and more during the 6.6 Awesome Sale which starts on May 25. – May 20, 2021
