KUALA LUMPUR, 18 January 2021 - With the announcement of a second Movement Control Order (MCO 2.0) from 13 January until 26 January 2021, the trend of online shopping is once again in the spotlight.
Shopee observed that there has been an increase in traffic to its platform and shopping activities. However, there were no signs of panic buying as compared to the first MCO back in March 2020 where the spike in orders were dominated by the purchase of daily essentials such as food, face masks and hand sanitizers. Instead, Malaysians were seen to be actively buying consumer tech goods and home improvement tools on top of their growing demand for face masks, dry, processed, fresh and frozen foods, as well as health and cleaning products this time round.
Ian Ho, Regional Managing Director of Shopee explained that this was likely because Malaysians are more prepared and know what to expect during the MCO. “Unlike the previous MCO where daily essentials accounted for the bulk of the orders on our platform, this time round, the data revealed that Malaysians are also purchasing items to adapt to working and/or studying remotely as well as to spruce up the home. While the platform recorded strong overall growth, the quantum of growth recorded for the non-groceries categories appear to be higher.”
Shopee compared and analysed consumers buying trend data from the first MCO (16 March - 20 March 2020) against the first five days (11 January - 15 January 2021) from when MCO 2.0 was announced.
Essentials:
- With over 50 million daily essential products to choose from stores like Agrobazaar by FAMA, Tesco, Village Grocer, TMG Mart and Nestlé, five times more snacks such as biscuits, chocolates, dried fruits and nuts, and keropok amounting to half a million units were purchased.
- Shopee also noted that demand for meat, fish, vegetables and fruits almost doubled to 85,000 units sold.
- Similarly, demand for pet food and treats tripled with over 330,000 units sold.
For the home:
- With consumers spending more time at home, home improvement projects appear to be prevalent.
- This is as home decor products recorded an eight times uplift to over 900,000 items sold.
Work & Study-at-home:
- As working adults and students adapt further into working and studying remotely, it is not surprising that Malaysians are on the lookout for consumer tech goods.
- Items such as laptops, smartphones, tablets, network components, keyboards, printers and audio systems saw a growth of four and a half times to over 550,000 units sold.
- Malaysians also turned to Shopee to source for affordable internet connectivity solutions this time round to increase bandwidth at home. As a result, the YES Kasi Up SIM cards saw close to 20,000 uptake in five days.
CNY@Home: With the upcoming Chinese New Year celebrations, it seems that the festive shopping spirit remains undaunted. Products like ‘100 Plus’, ‘Chinese New Year decorations’, ‘bakkwa’, ‘Bird’s Nest’, ‘Abalone’, ‘Ox Family Matching T-shirts’ and ‘cheongsam’ appeared as the top 30 keyword searches amongst those celebrating CNY. These searches will only trend upward, especially with the launch of Shopee’s 2.2 CNY Sale which starts today till 13 February.
Shopee will be providing Malaysians with a dazzling array of products so all users are able to get their essentials safely from home and more with daily 88% off discount vouchers, free shipping with a minimum spend of RM10 as well as bargains priced at a mere 8 sen.
The Shopee 2.2 CNY Sale also brings users daily RM8,888 Shopee Fortune Box with cash prizes ranging from RM0.88, RM8.88, RM88.88, RM888.88 all the way to the grand prize of RM8,888 to be won. Just tune in to Shopee Live everyday at 10PM. Increase the chances of winning the Shopee Fortune Box by tuning in to additional livestream sessions happening on 18 January, 25 January and 2 February at 1PM.
Needless to say, Malaysians will be treated to upsized deals on these three dates to mark the start of the campaign, a Pay Day Sale and its first-ever flagship 2.2 CNY Sale. On these special dates, users will receive additional 88,000 free shipping vouchers applicable for purchases from as low as RM8, 50% Shopee Coins Cashback vouchers and even more discounts!
Additionally, get up to 80% off on Limited Time Huat Huat Deals happening at 12AM, 12PM and 8PM on 18 January and 2 February.
In keeping with its agenda to offer its users entertainment alongside shopping, Malaysians can play Shopee Games such as Shopee Farm, Shopee Bubble, Shopee Candy, Spin & Win and many more and win from a pool of 18,888,888 Shopee Coins.
