Shopee wants to get more SMEs on board, improve delivery time
KUALA LUMPUR: Shop e e h as 400,000 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) on its online marketplace but believes there are more such companies out there.
Shopee Malaysia regional managing director Ian Ho said it has not fully penetrated the SME market.
“We have outlined several initiatives to get more SMEs on board. All of them have their ecommerce strategies, such as starting their own websites or exploring e-marketplaces like Shopee.
“Most of them start at an emarketplace first before having their own websites because a marketplace is an easier, lowerrisk approach in growing their ecommerce businesses,” he said in an interview, here, recently.
Shopee has conducted business lessons for SMEs through Shopee University, where its sales team will go to different states or here.
Shopee also hosts sessions on Facebook Live for those who are unable to be present physically.
“We are educating the sellers and that is only the beginning. Our fees are low. We offer stuff like free shipping, with a view to help these SMEs and we give them as much support as possible.”
Ho said Shopee also aims to improve the delivery time and the products available on its platform.
“Very soon, we want to be able to say if you stay in the Klang Valley and you buy from Shopee, we can deliver it tomorrow.
“Variety could improve if we get more SMEs on Shopee. When more brands come online, buyers can find anything they want.”
Ho said there is potential to grow but this would depend on logistics and payment.
He said in China, for every US$100 (RM418) spent in retail, US$20 goes to online.
He said in Malaysia, the online penetration is only 1.5 to two per cent of total retail.
Last year, Shopee’s gross merchandise value (GMV) stood at US$10.3 billion across seven countries — Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and Taiwan. This made it the first e-marketplace in this part of the world to have crossed the US$10 billion mark.
In 2017, Shopee’s GMV stood at US$4.1 billion.
“We are improving as we go along. With faster payment solutions, people will feel safe, then e-commerce will pick up.
“We trying to increase the number of payment solutions. Buyers can pay via credit or debit card, automated teller machine and online banking, among others.
“We are in talks with 7-Eleven to enable payment for Shopee goods be done through its stores. We hope this can materialise by this year,” Ho added.