Today is the last day of 2014 and we are going to recap major events, milestones of e-commerce development in Malaysia, similar with what we have done in 2013.
Today is the last day of 2014 and we are going to recap major events, milestones of e-commerce development in Malaysia, similar with what we have done in 2013.
You might want to revisit the history of e-commerce development in Malaysia (our first ever article) and we can't deny that e-commerce is growing faster than ever this year, and we are looking forward to 2015 already!
Marketplace battle is getting intense, and more to come in 2015
We have compiled the top 10 e-marketplaces in Malaysia, with Lelong.my, Lazada, Groupon, eBay, Rakuten, Qoo10 dominating the list.
From merchant's perspective, we have summarized important factors to consider prior to joining marketplace, we are also getting opinions from merchants who are actively selling via various marketplaces.
E-marketplace space will only get more crowded in 2015, with Sin Chew's LogOn and Celcom Planet launching respectively in Q1 and Q2, not to mention a couple more players with strong backing joining the field next year.
Malaysia launches its first ever "Cyber Monday": #MYCyberSALE
Earlier in 2013, we have wrote about Cyber Monday held in China, Thailand and Malaysia (by individual online shopping sites). In the same year, we have also reported how Maybank2u's downtime was affecting Lelong.my Black Friday sale.
This year in 2014, MDeC has announced launching Malaysia's first ever national online sale - #MYCyberSALE, inviting e-commerce businesses, industry players to participate with the target set at RM 50 million GMV (Gross Merchandise Volume) over the 3 days sale period.
A total of 280 online sites have participated in #MYCyberSALE and collectively recorded RM 67 million GMV from 29 September to 1 October 2014.
Desktop down, smartphone up, mobile is becoming the majority
If you refer to #MYCyberSALE infographic, 57% of visits to #MYCyberSALE website is originating from mobile. What does it tell you?
Open up your analytics tool and see for yourself, what is the breakdown of your website traffic coming from mobile? From the chart above, desktop traffic is on a consistent downward trend while mobile traffic the opposite.
You can read further on 12 facts you need to know about mobile in Malaysia, and how smartphone is driving the Internet usage here. Based on the growth rate, you might want to think "mobile-first" rather than just "good-to-have" for your online business.
Chinese brands disrupt smartphone market with e-commerce
One of the key drivers of smartphone and mobile Internet growth is definitely contributed by affordable Chinese smartphone brands like Xiaomi, Honor, Oppo etc.
We took a detailed analysis on how Xiaomi & Honor disrupt smartphone market with e-commerce, and Xiaomi vs Huawei's Honor in the showdown of Chinese smartphone brands. Does this also signal the doom of Samsung?
We have also specifically interviewed Nicolas, Director of Honor E-commerce Business of South Pacific to find out more on Huawei's e-commerce approach via Honor & Vmall, their online store.
When e-commerce is growing, more regulations will follow suit
When a certain segment is booming, naturally the authority will take a closer look and tighten up regulations, the same can be said on e-commerce in Malaysia.
Although Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) was enforced in late 2013, more merchants start to take note in 2014 and Chris Tan from Chur Associates has some answers to how e-commerce business should comply to PDPA. We can't deny though that merchants are more concerned about GST coming April 2015.
More recently, Companies Commission of Malaysia or better known as SSM is cracking down on online merchants on Facebook and other social media, those who do not display their business or company details. On a side note, you can also read the overview of e-commerce legislation in Malaysia.
First anniversary of eCommerceMILO, e-commerce book, iStory
eCommerceMILO has continued to publish at least an article every week so far, among the highlights are infographic to understand online shoppers, and online merchants. In case you missed it, we have recapped our journey so far in our first year anniversary back in May 2014.
One of the milestones of eCommerceMILO was publishing a book with MPH dedicated to e-commerce success stories in Malaysia, the first of its kind here unearthing the usually low-profile entrepreneurs to the world (well, at least Malaysia).
It was also the experience interviewing the e-commerce entrepreneurs that prompted us bringing this "live" to the audience, hence the idea of iStory - our first ever event which featured Lelong.my co-founder and its successful merchants, Prado and Ookas (check event photos here).
E-Commerce in Malaysia: What can we look forward to in 2015?
We always like to say that eCommerce 1.0 is driven by AirAsia, eCommerce 2.0 is contributed by the emergence of deal sites, and eCommerce 3.0 is definitely the e-marketplace battle.
This year we have already witnessed the start of eCommerce 3.0 and the marketplace battle will only intensify with a number of key players competing for the merchants and consumers.
It is also expected that there will be #MYCyberSALE 2015, which we welcome the government's initiative to support e-commerce growth in Malaysia.
With more Internet access via smartphone thanks to the Chinese brands, mobile will become the majority in 2015 overtaking desktop. We are looking forward to more mobile-focused service and enabler, for example the recent release of LINE Pay.
GST will be merchant's biggest concern especially in the first half of 2015, not only the surrounding complexity but also the expected weaker retail sales in general.
Besides weekly articles at eCommerceMILO, we are planning for our next iStory talks by local e-commerce entrepreneurs, and a second e-commerce book perhaps?
Last but not least, we would like to wish all eCommerceMILO readers a very happy and prosperous year 2015!
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