KUALA LUMPUR: Although Malaysia's economy is on the path of recovery with a projected rebound of 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent in 2021, the journey is expected to be uneven and dependent on the resurgence of Covid-19 cases.
Shopee, at the launch of its 12.12 Birthday Sale, has announced several measures alongside brick-and-mortar businesses, charitable organisations as well as consumers that are integral to the vigour of Malaysia's economy.
According to UOB Malaysia's senior economist Julia Goh, much work is needed as the economy suffered projected losses amounting up to RM67 billion as a result of the EMCO and CMCO.
"Weak demand and tight liquidity have caused businesses to either permanently or temporarily cease operations. It was understood that the Food and Beverage (F&B) sector had cut 35 percent of its workforce during the MCO in March," she said.
Goh added that rivate consumption will continue to be the key driver of growth in 2021, accounting for up to 60 percent of Malaysia's GDP. "Therefore, offline retail and service sectors must find ways to thrive in a post-pandemic environment whereby higher unemployment levels may spiral into weaker purchasing power," she said.
One way is for businesses to integrate offline and online strategies to cope with the changes brought about by the new norm and tap onto the growing potential of the digital economy.
E-commerce's contribution to GDP grew from RM89 billion in 2015 to RM127 billion or 8.4 percent of GDP in 2019.
"While the contribution of online retail sales to overall sales is still small, it has room for strong growth," said Goh.
As such, Shopee had taken the lead to onboard more than 1,000 traditionally brick-and-mortar businesses. Together with malls, cinemas, F&B outlets, petrol stations, beauty salons, and more across the country, they are looking at strengthening the ecosystem and forging ahead despite economic headwinds.
Besides that, the online shopping platform also announced new and upcoming partnerships in conjunction with its 12.12 Birthday Sale with partners like, such as:
Shopping Malls: Lot10, Quill City Mall, and Tropicana Gardens Mall in Kuala Lumpur; Gurney Paragon Mall in Penang, and The Spring Mall in Sarawak
Cinemas: TGV Cinemas and MBO Cinemas
Retail/Grocer: FamilyMart, Padini, Pandora, Mydin, Caring
F&B: Starbucks, Coca-Cola, Gong Cha, Kenny Rogers Roasters, Tealive
The partnership will see Shopee using its strength to instantly engage with consumers online and encourage the purchase of products, merchandise, attractive set deals and cash vouchers.
Shopee Malaysia's Head of Seller Management, Zed Li said, "We asked ourselves what we could do to contribute towards business continuity of traditionally offline players, and saw the opportunity to convert our high traffic into footfall for them.
"Additionally, consumers can also do their part in helping their favourite establishments maintain steadier cash flow by buying their deals online ahead of their visit to the stores."
"Remaining resilient on our own at a time of crisis is not sustainable in the long run. All industries need to break the boundaries and join forces to protect the future of Malaysia's economy and wellbeing of its people," he added.
In addition to tickets and vouchers, offline retailers are able to draw higher footfall to their stores with the support of daily cashback of up to RM8 when users transact with ShopeePay mobile wallet. The emphasis on contactless payment also encourages Malaysians to shop and spend safely amid the third wave of infections.
Shopee said it will also continue to support the business community, be it large outfits or micro traders with seller incentives and e-commerce education such as the recently-launched 12.12 Free E-commerce Workshops on digital literacy, ways to boost sales and exposure during campaigns and more.
Besides supporting businesses, the e-commerce platform is rallying support for the underprivileged as well as rewarding consumers this 12.12 Birthday Sale.
Among the initiative include:
#ShopeeGivesBack Charity Initiative: The Covid-19 pandemic has also taken a hit on charitable organisations and many are struggling to stay afloat. As such, Shopee is working with over 30 charity homes and organisations such as MERCY Malaysia and Zoo Negara to raise funds for their respective causes via #ShopeeGivesBack. The initiative is supported by members of the Shopee Celebrity Squad such as Dato' Sri Siti Nurhaliza, Neelofa, Erma Fatima, Fahrin Ahmad, Irma Hasmie, Datin Rita Sosilawati and Zoey Rahman. Shopee is also subsidising payment transaction fees for a 6-month period to further its support to these organisations.
A Birthday Sale for all Malaysians: Working closely with brands, retailers and sellers, Shopee has put together its biggest celebration yet for Malaysians as it celebrates its fifth birthday. From now till 12 December 2020, users can enjoy free shipping with a minimum spend of RM12, RM1 deals during Shocking Sale, get free FamilyMart ice cream daily from Shopee Farm, and more.
Besides that, Shopee also introduced a brand new live game show, Shopee Kotak Duit that rewards users with up to RM12,000 in cold hard cash. Hosted on Shopee Live at 9pm every Monday to Thursday with special sessions on Dec 11 and 12, lucky users will be called to answer one simple question and given a chance to unlock one of six boxes. Each box contains different values with the highest being RM12,000. The game show has since rewarded two individuals with RM12,000 each.
Additionally, Shopee is entertaining its users with a countdown live show - 12.12 Birthday Bash on Dec 11 from 9pm. Broadcasted on Shopee Live, Astro Ria, Astro Gempak and YouTube, the concert boasts a star-studded line-up such as Sheila Majid, Faizal Tahir, Ruffedge, Misha Omar, Khai Bahar, and Dolla. Users also stand a chance to win 12 million Shopee Coins from Shopee Shake and Shopee Catch, and cash prizes worth up to RM24,000 by playing Shopee Kotak Duit.
"2020 has opened our eyes and shown us the importance and capability of technology to truly enable positive change. We continue to be committed in powering the growth of e-commerce in 2021 and beyond by bringing the human touch to online shopping, personalising and creating a seamless customer journey through integrated payments and logistics, engagement features and innovative experiences that value-add to the overall Shopee journey," said Li.