PETALING JAYA: This year’s Singles Day online sales on Nov 11 was a welcome boon for local entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Shopee Malaysia regional managing director Ian Ho said the 11.11 Big Sale saw some 3,000 micro, 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, ” he said.
Noting a surge in demand for electronics, Ho said Malysians have turned to Shopee for household needs as they are staying at home more during the conditional movement control order period.
“Looking at customer trends and performances from local businesses, there is no doubt that e-commerce has the potential to positively impact communities, ” he 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% 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.
Chow said Lazada Malaysia surpassed last year’s sales record as of 8pm on Nov 11, adding that the one-day sale was another record-breaking performance with new heights achieved across multiple areas.
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.
“Although it shows that we are economically keen on online shopping, most of the products purchased on 11.11 are from China and not local. This leads to an outflow of our currency.
“I hope that after the MCO is over, people will spend more domestically to support small local businesses, ” he said after visiting the Batu Maung market yesterday.
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