A new Singapore online start-up, ShopBack is now launched in Malaysia.
With ShopBack Malaysia, online shoppers receive a portion of the amount spent, when it is made through ShopBack’s website (http://www.shopback.my).
ShopBack said it is designed to be easy for online shoppers through three simple steps:
- Users create a ShopBack account. This allows them to browse through ShopBack’s wide selection of stores and make purchases across categories such as Fashion, Food & Drive, Electronics and Lifestyle. There are currently over 300 online stores, with brands like Zalora, Groupon and Lazada.
- Once the user has confirmed their purchase, they click ‘Get Cashback’. This automatically directs them to the merchant’s online website. From here, online shopping is carried out exactly as it would be at the merchant’s online retail outlet. Payment is made directly to the merchant.
- After payment is made, the users’ cashback is added to their ShopBack account within a few days. This can be ‘cashed out’ and transferred to the user’s PayPal or local bank account. This feature is unique to ShopBack as other cashback companies typically enable transactions to be made only to PayPal.
“The idea for ShopBack emerged when we saw the popularity of the cashback concept in Western markets, and how there was a gap in South East Asia. We want to capitalise on this opportunity and present the concept in a user-friendly and accessible manner,” said Lai Shanru, Co-founder and Marketing Director ShopBack. “We are tremendously excited about ShopBack’s growth potential and the value it can offer. There are some 200 million internet users in the region, who are potential online shoppers. Having launched the company in August 2014, we have seen a 50% month-to-month growth in shopping transactions. As we expand into the Malaysian market, this will increase further.”
ShopBack is investing in expanding the local team aligned with their consumer-focused business model. “We understand our local customer’s preferred brands, buying patterns and the Shopback platform enables customers to fully leverage the ecommerce landscape. ShopBack is an above and beyond concept for all users. Local savvy shoppers can now benefit through ShopBack Malaysia,” said the newly appointed local Head of Partnerships Malaysia, Sharmeen Looi.
Shanru and three of the other four co-founders — Henry Chan, Joel Leong and Samantha Soh — were former employees of Rocket Internet. ShopBack has set up offices in the United States, Singapore, and Malaysia and grown the team to some 20 employees, including part-timers.
ShopBack recently raised over RM1.8mil in seed funding from investors including Accel-X. The company said that these new funds will allow them to scale the company and expand operations regionally especially in Malaysia.
