Lazada Malaysia’s annual flagship seller summit returned this year as WECOMMERCE 2019, as the nation’s leading eCommerce platform reported a staggering 97% growth in new sellers on the platform since Lazada’s last seller conference in September 2018, with the highest growth seen from Kelantan (137%), Labuan (121%) and Kedah (116%).
The one-day summit was held at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC) and attended by over 2,000 participants. The launch of WECOMMERCE 2019 was officiated by Pierre Poignant, Chief Executive Officer of Lazada Group.
The summit brought together retail and eCommerce experts, global traders, sellers and entrepreneurs around the region to share best practices, upskill themselves through analytic tools and training, network for business matching opportunities and discover New Retail concepts to stay ahead of the ever-evolving consumer demands.
Participants met with traders and suppliers from ASEAN, China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand to discuss their business needs, saw sneak peeks of upcoming outfits from Malaysian designers, previewed make-up through Augmented Reality mirrors, and also shopped for their favourite snacks at a futuristic cashless mart among other activities.
As a lead up to WECOMMERCE and to support the fast-growing number of sellers who are taking their first steps into the changing retail landscape, Lazada has provided over 530 hours of face-to-face seller training across 132 sessions that were attended by over 7,000 sellers in the past year.
“Lazada is committed to uplifting communities through eCommerce by providing our sellers with the best technology, tools and knowledge to accelerate the growth of their businesses and the digital economy. We believe that by creating opportunities and reducing barriers for businesses to flourish, we can build a robust eCommerce ecosystem for the future,” said Leo Chow, Chief Executive Officer, Lazada Malaysia.
“Good partnerships and technological innovations are often the catalysts of successful businesses and retail trends, which is why we are introducing Business Matching to boost resources available to Malaysian digital entrepreneurs, as well as showcasing Lazada’s capabilities in tech for a glimpse into the future of eCommerce selling and buying,” Chow elaborated.
In building a conducive and diverse seller community across the nation, Lazada also developed an official seller community on Facebook, which has also become increasingly active, seeing close to 80% more members joining since September last year. As the number of sellers continue to multiply, along with new eCommerce features and initiatives, the Facebook group has become almost self-sufficient with sellers exchanging experiences, sharing knowledge and best practices and has become less dependent on the eCommerce platform’s community managers, as they spearhead their own expansion into the local eCommerce space.
With a reduction in enquiries directed towards Lazada, the seller community exemplifies the growing empowerment that we have enabled, as sellers embrace our platform and pave their own successful journey on the backbone of our industry-leading logistics, payments and fulfilment solutions.
Building on this success, Lazada is actively championing initiatives and innovating ways to engage with consumers. This year, WECOMMERCE 2019 themed “Reinventing eCommerce” is about creating sustainability and future-proofing the digital economy.
Lazada Malaysia entered a partnership with the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (MDTCA) in August this year that will see a rollout of new trade activities and training programs to increase the adoption of eCommerce amongst local SMEs, and support the Government’s “Buy Malaysian” campaign.
Business Matching
Tapping into Lazada’s extensive global crossborder network, Lazada is able to connect Malaysian entrepreneurs with traders and manufacturers. This helps sellers become more competitive and decreases product saturation in the market by offering consumers more assortment and value for their ringgit. Direct access to traders creates more diversity in price points as cost is reduced by removing intermediaries. Business matching also allows Malaysian sellers to build their own brands by getting unique products of their own design made by manufacturers. As more relationships are built, a community is formed, and creates networks teeming with opportunities along supply chain for eCommerce supplying industries.
New Retail
WECOMMERCE 2019 showcased concepts of what selling and shopping could look like in the future, enabled by Lazada through its Alibaba-backed tech capabilities. New retail provides new ways for sellers to engage with audience, through integrated offline to online capabilities to create new experiences for customers. eCommerce should not be seen as a threat to brick-and-mortar, but can bring both worlds together through Shoppertainment and cashless solutions. New Retail also explores more tangible ways for consumers to “experience” products, and therefore giving them greater confidence and information to make their purchase. This also helps build loyalty towards brands and sellers as this “first-hand” experience creates trust.
WECOMMERCE 2019 aims to bring the right partners and channels together. Local retail and eCommerce experts, as well as Lazada partners across the region, shared best practices and engaged in business matching opportunities during the summit. More than 2,000 attendees with over 100 Lazada partners and renowned industry expert speakers took part in the event.