Think about your own consumer experience for a moment.
Which interests you more: checking out a sale or joining a “shopping festival”?
If the latter choice appeals, you’re not alone. And yes, “shopping festivals” are real and regular occurrences — presented by a relative newcomer in the e-commerce world.
Lazada, a marketplace backed by China’s Alibaba Group Holding Limited, has performed a feat. They have harnessed the enjoyment traditionally felt in brick-and-mortar shopping and infused it into the online shopping experience. And it’s proving wildly successful.
Launched in 2012 and headquartered in Singapore, Lazada commands a significant presence across Southeast Asia — in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The company operates fulfilment centres across 17 Southeast Asian cities. Its marketplace is the #2 most-visited website in Singapore and captures 23% of the web market share in that country.
LazMall, the largest virtual mall in Southeast Asia, where over 18,000 international and local brands and sellers can directly engage with and create a customised experience for their buyers, was launched on the platform in 2018. It also offers an exclusive personalised portal, LazMall Prestige, where premium brands deliver a holistic branded shopping experience that integrates their unique offline privileges and offerings through Lazada’s platform.
All of this activity supports Lazada’s ambitious goal to serve 300 million customers by 2030.
Shoppertainment
Lazada is well known for its massive sales, annual events and unconventional approach to attracting and engaging shoppers. Instead of focusing solely on the typical individualised browse- or search-to-buy online purchasing process, Lazada organises online events, referred to as “shoppertainment,” as shared experiences among its consumer groups, with broadcasts of live entertainment, celebrity appearances, online games, musical performances and more.
Lazada’s signature “shopping festivals” include:
- An annual birthday sale in March
- Mid-year campaigns during summer months
- 9.9, also known as LazMall‘s anniversary
- 11.11, Lazada’s biggest shopping event with the best prices coinciding with Singles Day in China
- 12.12, the final holiday/end-of-year sale
Their 11.11 event in 2020 broke records, with more than $11 million in sales in the first 100 seconds and $100 million in sales in the first hour. It also drew 40 million visitors overall to the site.
Selling Strategies
Joining this rapidly expanding marketplace can generate opportunities far into the future. Top product categories on the site vary according to location, but generally include:
- Baby products
- Toys
- Electronics
- Cosmetics
- Sports and outdoor products
- Fashion and apparel
- And more
Lazada does place some restrictions on what sellers can offer, such as secondhand or previously used goods, certain religious and political items and counterfeit products.
It’s important to know that Lazada focuses heavily on consumer behavior and incentives, and its online catalogue operates on an algorithm that continually updates the brands it presents based on current trends, consumer feedback and reviews, popular searches and more.
One critical area for sellers on Lazada is the Content Score. This feature can help you identify actions to improve your search ranking and sales. To improve visibility on the site, ensure your have optimised content in these areas:
- Mandatory attributes
- Product images
- Product description
- Key product information
Rithum supports sales activity on Lazada by providing a centralised platform from which you can manage and update your product catalogue, customise your listings and content, automate tedious tasks, monitor sales and feeds and more. Interested in learning more about how you can sell on the Lazada marketplace? Check out our tip sheet and contact us to discuss how you can join this dynamic and growing platform.
