How does online and offline retail look like in the future? At its annual flagship seller summit WECOMMERCE 2019, Lazada Malaysia showcased concepts of “New Retail”–what selling and shopping could look like in the future, powered by Alibaba-backed technologies.
Themed “Reinventing eCommerce” and focused on creating sustainability and future-proofing the digital economy, the one-day summit was held at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC). The summit saw the coming together of 2,000 participants consisting of retail and e-commerce experts, global traders, sellers and entrepreneurs around the region to share best practices, upskill themselves, network through business matching sessions and discover new retail concepts.
Participants met with traders and suppliers from ASEAN, China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand to discuss business needs and also saw sneak peeks of upcoming outfits from Malaysian designers.
They also got to preview make-through AR mirrors and shopped for their favourite snacks at a futuristic cashless mart, among other things.
Lazada reported a staggering 97 percent growth in new sellers on the platform since its last seller conference last September. The highest growth according to states are Kelantant (137 percent), Labuan (121 percent), and Kedah (116 percent).
In its journey to building a conducive and diverse seller community across the nation, Lazada developed an official seller community of Facebook. The group has seen close to 80 percent growth in members since debuting in September last year.
With the rapid growth of sellers, the group has become almost self-sufficient; sellers are now more empowered and are less reliant on the platform’s community managers.
Building on this empowerment drive, Lazada is actively championing initiatives and innovating ways to engage with consumers. The platform 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 programmes to increase the adoption of e-commerce amongst local SME’s. This is also in line with the government’s “Buy Malaysian” initiative.
WECOMMERCE 2019 showcased future retail concepts that offers new ways for sellers to engage with customers; through integrated offline and online capabilities to create new experiences for customers.
Lazada said e-commerce shouldn’t be seen as a threat to the traditional brick-and-mortar business. Instead, both can co-exist through “shoppertainment” and cashless solutions. “New Retail” explores more tangible ways for consumers to “experience” products from the comfort of their own homes, or on-the-go. This builds greater confidence, trust and ultimately brand loyalty.
