Lazada, Shopee go head to head in attracting more online shoppers

The Internet shopping websites of Lazada and Shopee are going head to head as they are competing for more online shoppers. The economic downturn has prompted more efforts to attract new shoppers just as the festive sales season is right around the bend.

Thanida Suiwatana, chief business officer of Lazada Thailand, says the Covid-19 pandemic has spurred a new trend in online shopping. And, according to a joint report by Google, Ban & Company, and Temasek, Thailand’s e-commerce surged by 81% in 2020.

“Thailand’s e-commerce continues to grow even in the pandemic due to the rise of new digital consumers. Online shopping has become a new habit for consumers amid the new normal.”

Thanida says the pandemic has split consumers into 2 groups with 1 being unaffected by it and the other being affected. She says Lazada has adjusted to meet the demands of the 2 groups by offering low-price products for those financially struggling, with the other group picking up the slack by spending 2 to 3 times as much as before the pandemic.

The group that was unaffected has been using the LazMall for finding quality products, as it focuses on premium brands. Thanida says Lazada, an Alibaba subsidiary, is committed to its consumer-first policy. She says Lazada will strive to create brand differentiation and to support vendors’ business growth on the platform by using new technology.

Lazada is preparing now for a large sales campaign to celebrate Surprise Birthday Sales from March 27-29. Those who log on to shop will see discounts, cashback incentives and vouchers during the 2 day sale.

“We expect this birthday campaign will see orders grow 15 times compared with the normal period.”

Shopee, which is Lazada’s major rival, also expects to see the biggest growth in terms of new shoppers and sellers this year. The online shopping website is featuring a 4.4 mega shopping days for 2 weeks until April 4.

Lazada’s major rival Shopee said the platform expects to see the biggest increase in terms of new shoppers and sellers this year, according to senior marketing manager Suchaya Paleewong.

“Sea Group will synergise more to strengthen ecosystem range from Shopee platform, payment and logistics. We see luxury products in our Premium Mall selling well as users who are not affected by the pandemic still have purchasing power.”

The firm also rebranded its online payment platform AirPay to ShopeePay in Thailand, making it the first in Thailand to do so. Online payment via ShopeePay has quadrupled from 2019 to 2020 across Asean.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post