Category: Business & Commerce

By LazBeat Staff, with additional reporting by Catherine Yang
Dec. 16, 2021

It’s a bright December day in Singapore, and the main shopping precinct of Orchard Road is aglow with the holiday spirit. This year, as part of the Orchard Road Business Association’s Christmas on A Great Street campaign, an all-new shopping experience is using digital technology to connect brands and consumers for real-life festive fun. Bathed in the warm and welcoming scents of renowned aromatherapy brands such as Pristine Aroma, the Lazada Pop-Up Showcase gives shoppers a chance to literally step into the world of LazMall and LazMall Prestige with in-person showrooms that display exclusive products from more than two dozen brands.

“We talked to different brands to get them to participate in this pop-up store. With their support, we managed to bring this to life and to see this wonderful pop-up with all these products,” said Josephine Wong, the manager of LazMall’s channels and experience.

The pop-up is split across two showrooms that run until January 2. At the LazMall showroom, guests can peruse items from popular brands such as Casio, Garmin, Lego, Metro, Muji, Playline Friends, Pristine Aroma, Rebecca Minkoff, Restrosuperfuture and WMF. During the campaign’s launch on December 1, shoppers were also treated to a preview of the Lazada-exclusive Dick Bruna x LeSportsac collection featuring beloved characters Miffy and Black Bear.

“The Lazada Pop-Up Showcase was the perfect opportunity to debut our Winter 2021 Dick Bruna Collection,” said Kien Koh, LeSportsac’s head of marketing and public relations for Singapore. “After months of connecting with our customers mostly online, it’s great to see the smiles on shoppers’ faces when they see our products in person.”

Meanwhile, at the showroom for LazMall Prestige, Lazada’s channel for premium labels, shoppers can browse through a carefully curated selection of products from the likes of Bacha Coffee, Bang & Olufsen, Estée Lauder, Furla, HERA, Lancôme, Longines, Michael Kors, Moët Hennessy, Sulwahsoo and Vertu.

Aside from the impressive line-up of brands, what sets the pop-up apart from traditional brick-and-mortar stores is the fact that it’s integrated within Lazada’s eCommerce ecosystem, using the platform’s technology to make holiday shopping even more fun and convenient. For example, instead of waiting in line for the cashier and then lugging their heavy purchases home, shoppers can simply scan a QR code next to any product to buy it online via the Lazada app and have it delivered directly to their doorsteps.

The showcase is the latest effort from Lazada to pioneer online-to-offline – also known as O2O – retail experiences across Southeast Asia. In April, the eCommerce giant unveiled Come Home to Lazada, a furniture and homeware pop-up concept at Singapore’s Raffles City Shopping Mall that brought together the joys of in-person shopping and the conveniences of online retail. The platform has also done a similar O2O pop-up at Thailand’s Siam Center shopping mall.

“After the amazing success of the pop-up event at Raffles City Shopping Mall earlier this year, we wanted to celebrate the expansion of LazMall Prestige, our premium product channel, on LazMall. And as the official eCommerce partner of the Orchard Road Business Association, there is no better way to connect with shoppers than in the heart of Orchard Road with an online-to-offline engagement,” said Lazada Singapore Chief Operating Officer Carey Chong.

Indeed, while eCommerce soared in popularity as a safe and even essential way to shop during lockdowns and other health and safety measures during the height of the pandemic, as more countries slowly open up and looked ahead to a new normal, O2O experiences offer an immersive way for brands and businesses to reach and connect with consumers.

“We are delighted to be part of this pop-up showcase. As the retail landscape continues to evolve, we are excited to partner with Lazada to explore more innovative ways to engage with our consumers both online and offline,” said Belinda Kwai, the global marketing manager of Bacha Coffee.

Being so much more than a point of purchase, the Orchard Road pop-up also features fun activations, such as an Instagram-worthy photo wall with Lazada’s heart-shaped logo, gift-wrapping workshops as well as a mystery-gift vending machine where shoppers can buy miniature products from top-tier brands for just SGD2 apiece. Lazada app users can also take advantage of a “Deals Nearby” function, which shows a list of participating F&B outlets in the area where they can enjoy discounts at in between their holiday shopping.

“We wanted to create something that could spread joy in Singapore this festive season,” explained Paige Lee, the strategic partnerships manager of Lazada Singapore. “With this pop-up, we hope that shoppers can find the perfect gifts for their loved ones and enjoy the holidays together.”

Nov. 16, 2021
By LazBeat Staff

While COVID-19 continues to impact Southeast Asia’s economy, it has also highlighted the resilience and ingenuity of humankind. This spirit has perhaps been best illustrated by small and medium-sized businesses owners across the region who have found innovative ways to tackle pandemic-related challenges.

Faiz Daffa Fathullah is one such example. The 19-year-old owns Antarestar, a store that sells outdoor and sporting equipment on Lazada Indonesia. At the beginning of the pandemic, his business suffered a loss as many popular hiking and outdoor activity sites were closed to stem the spread of COVID-19.

“I was thinking hard about how to survive in this pandemic era. I also didn’t want to lay off employees because during this pandemic, it’s hard to find job,” he said. Instead of feeling defeated, the young entrepreneur turned to Lazada’s Bocoran Peluang feature, which provides insights into potential and in-demand goods, and also researched market trends to develop new products that met emerging needs of pandemic-era consumers. “This strategy worked and helped increase sales so that we could survive,” Faiz said.

Entrepreneurs Empowered by ECommerce

Faiz is not the only entrepreneur who has harnessed the power of eCommerce during this tumultuous time. As the fourth wave of COVID-19 swept across Vietnam, Vu Duy Khanh, a Lazada seller for the past six years, opened his third store, Vuon Nha Me, on the platform to get high-demand agricultural products to consumers. Despite having no previous experience in selling fresh food products online, Vu said Lazada’s dedicated support and robust logistics network allowed him to deliver goods to consumers quickly and safely.

“The fourth pandemic wave in Vietnam has seriously affected the retail market. However, thanks to Lazada’s support, my stores can maintain a certain growth during this difficult time,” Vu shared. During the 11.11 one-day shopping festival last week, Vu’s new store sold more than 400 kg of vegetables and 4,000 eggs, recording a 150% increase in orders as compared to a normal sales day.

With its low entry barrier and its wide array of tools and resources, Lazada has become the go-to platform for many sellers, especially new ones such as Rizqi_Enterprise founder Muhammad Naqib Bin Othman.

“I wanted to enjoy the flexibility of running my own business and spending more time at home,” said Naqib, who recently left a decade-long career in the film industry. His store on Lazada sells children’s clothes to parents who are unable or reluctant to shop at brick-and-mortar stores during the pandemic. Aside from being able to set up this store with very little capital, Naqib has benefited from the many forms of support offered on Lazada, including training courses hosted by Lazada University as well as various marketing and promotional tools. These resources allowed him to get his business quickly off the ground, and despite only launching in June, he’s already participated in several mega campaigns, including 11.11.

WATCH: Six Entrepreneurs Share Their Stories

11.11: An Event with a Difference

As Southeast Asia’s biggest one-day shopping festival, 11.11 has become a major source of optimism for sellers amid the ongoing pandemic. In fact, this year’s 11.11 saw more than 800,000 participating sellers and brands, a number that was double that of last year’s.

Bangkok-based Nana Coffee Roasters, for example, started selling its beans online via Lazada after business at its physical locations plummeted due to the lockdown. Seeing promising results, Nana decided to take part in its first 11.11 this year as a way to recover from earlier losses and also to continue building up brand awareness. “We were very excited because we heard that this is the biggest event that Lazada hosts,” said Nana Coffee Roasters founder Wasin Kusakabe.

Being relatively new to eCommerce, he added that Lazada’s support has been crucial: “We’ve received a lot of tips and tricks on how to market and engage with our customers. It really helps to bolster our sales and our confidence in selling online.” This 11.11, his revenue skyrocketed by more than 5,000% compared to that of an average day.

The significance of 11.11 continues to be unmatched even to eCommerce veterans like Gesika Baylon. Baylon started her Philippines-based skincare store Greenika on Lazada in 2018 and took part in her first 11.11 the following year. “We couldn’t believe our eyes when we saw the results on our dashboard,” she said. While her business easily generates seven-digit incomes during weeklong mega campaigns, her biggest revenue of the year still happens during 11.11. “And it happens in just one day,” she said.

In the lead-up to this year’s 11.11, shoppers collected more than $410 million worth of Lazada Bonus vouchers. And to understand just how much this excitement means to sellers, one only needs to look at the amount of preparation online businesses have undertaken in the past few months. According to Lazada’s Digital Commerce Confidence Index, four out of five sellers revealed that they were increasing their inventory levels and 47% said they would bolster their workforces ahead of 11.11 and other mega campaigns. Buoyed by the year-end shopping festival season, 76% of the 900 sellers surveyed said they were expecting more than 10% sales growth this quarter.

“11.11 is the biggest campaign of the year. A lot of buyers come in and buy things, and the way they spend money is different from other campaigns or normal days because Lazada also offers a lot of attractive vouchers, discounts, giveaways and things like that,” said Liang Wee Ling, who operates the mother and baby products store 8miles on Lazada Singapore.

Liang spent four months preparing for this year’s event to ensure that she would have adequate stock and also packing capabilities. It’s a lot of work, but the benefits, she says, are more than worth it. Aside from the on-the-day boost to traffic and sales, 11.11 plays a crucial role in ensuring a business’ long-term success. Not only are sellers more likely to receive ratings for orders during 11.11, they gain exposure to more shoppers, many of whom have a high chance of becoming regulars.

These benefits are what make 11.11 a truly special occasion. As Liang put it: “You must join 11.11. It is something you cannot miss.”

By Thu Pham
Oct. 14, 2021

Nguyen Tan Xuan hadn’t planned on becoming an entrepreneur. As a small-town boy from Ben Tre, a province in the Mekong Delta area of southern Vietnam, he thought he found his dream job when he started working as a telecommunication engineer for a large Canadian firm in Ho Chi Minh City.

The job, however, turned out to be all-consuming, with many long days, late-night meetings and tight deadlines. The work was so demanding that it was impossible to even take any days off.

“I felt trapped,” Nguyen said.

Realising that corporate life was not for him, Nguyen started experimenting with starting his own business. It wasn’t easy at first; he tried selling watches and accessories through his personal Facebook page and later tried designing and selling anti-theft products for motorbikes, but both endeavours were short-lived and left Nguyen in debt.

These failed attempts, however, did not deter Nguyen, who saw eCommerce as a way to a better life. Having kept his day job, he was able to pay off his debts and try again, this time by selling healthcare equipment. This third endeavour finally brought Nguyen some success, and towards the end of 2018, he decided to join Lazada so he could further scale his business and grow his customer base.

“Lazada had started opening a channel for individual sellers. I signed up right away and became one of the first individual sellers on the platform,” Nguyen recalled.  

At first, he had to juggle his day job with managing his business on Lazada. After finishing work at the office, he would return home in the evenings to pack parcels and respond to customers’ questions. At that time, he only had about 10 orders a day. Wanting to improve his eCommerce know-how, he enrolled in some sales courses, where he learned about customer psychology and advertising techniques.

After six months of launching on Lazada, Nguyen became one of the platform’s top sellers. This gave him the confidence to expand into the household appliances category as well – a decision that has proven extremely beneficial to his business’ growth. Nguyen’s strong performance on Lazada has also enabled him to access a wider consumer base. Thanks to the success he’s found on the eCommerce platform, Nguyen was eventually able to quit his corporate job to fully focus on his business.

As a seller, Nguyen says that Lazada’s support and resources have been instrumental to his business success. For example, he often uses platform tools such as Seller Pick and Sponsored Display to boost his products’ visibility. Meanwhile, with the Flexi-Combo tool, he can offer free gifts to consumers, which in turn leads to more positive ratings for his store.

The young entrepreneur has also found tremendous success by participating in Lazada’s mega campaigns, which bring buzz, high traffic and a wide variety of seller tools. During the recent 9.9 shopping festival, for example, he received nearly 8,000 orders in just three days and managed to make triple of his regular revenue.

Even during the pandemic, Nguyen was able to use his online business to maintain his livelihood and continue reaching and selling to customers nationwide.

“This is very hard time for everyone but I can still achieve these huge orders with a lot of support from the Lazada operations team and Lazada Logistics,” he said.

Wanting to share the benefits of eCommerce, Nguyen became a mentor with Lazada’s LazMaster programme, which aims to connect successful sellers with new joiners as mentors and mentees, respectively.

“I want to make Lazada a helpful place for every seller, so they can easily start their dreams, their ambitions and develop themselves,” Nguyen said. So far, he has conducted two big learning sessions with 800 mentees and more than 10 small learning courses with nearly 300 participants. He is also a district leader of Binh Thanh, which has more than 600 seller members.

Now, at the age of 28, Nguyen is confident that he’s found his true calling as an eCommerce entrepreneur and has encouraged other young people to step out of their comfort zones to pursue their dreams.

“If you are passionate about business, then boldly pursue it. If I can do it, so can you,” he said. “Failures are always valuable lessons for us”.

Thu Pham is an associate in Lazada Vietnam’s public relations team.

Sept. 16, 2021
By LazBeat staff

The Southeast Asian eCommerce market is evolving at breakneck speed, and innovation, cutting-edge technology and premium customer experiences are essential in helping brands tap into this growth, speakers at the second edition of Lazada’s LazMall Brands Future Forum said.

The hybrid event, held on Sept. 1, welcomed in-person guests at the Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre in Singapore as well as virtual attendees who tuned into the livestream from all around the world. More than 3,400 guests in total attended the event. 

It was the first BFF to be held since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, and Lazada Group Chief Executive Officer Chun Li discussed the pandemic’s impact on what was already a fast-changing digital commerce landscape in Southeast Asia.

“The past year has not been an easy one for any of us. And I am sure we all experienced many firsts and also learned many lessons in both our personal and work lives. We have seen resilience and at the same time experienced innovation,” Li remarked during his welcome speech. “As we look to the future, I am very optimistic that all of the countries across Southeast Asia will be able to flatten the curve and emerge stronger than ever.”

Indeed, last year saw 40 million new internet users go online in Southeast Asia, meaning that 70% of the region’s population now have access to the digital economy. At Lazada, there are now more than 150 million monthly average users, and online transactions on the platform grew 100% year over year in December 2020. Last month, the eCommerce giant also released its first Digital Commerce Confidence Index, which showed that online sellers across Southeast Asia remained optimistic about growth prospects even during the pandemic.

This eCommerce boom has been reflected most pertinently through the rapid rise of LazMall, Lazada’s dedicated destination for authentic brands. The platform, which celebrated its third anniversary during this year’s BFF, is home to more than 32,000 local and international brands and has seen a doubling of new shoppers in the first half of 2021 compared to the year before.

The launch last month of LazMall Prestige for premium brands is further testament to the changing attitudes towards online retail; when Lazada was founded in 2012, shoppers and sellers alike were unsure about online commerce and used it mostly for low-priced items, said James Chang, who heads the company’s strategic accounts and retail. Nowadays, not only are consumers increasingly embracing eCommerce, they are more confident about purchasing bigger-ticket items across more categories online.

For brands, this means greater opportunities but also a more pressing need to go beyond utility and price-driven factors to create memorable purchase journeys for consumers. At Lazada, this is done by creating one holistic and synchronised experience across a brand’s go-to-market channels so that it has the resources, flexibility and agility to respond to customers’ evolving needs while also being able to effectively communicate its brand story.

Raymond Yang, Lazada’s chief product officer and head of platform operations, also took to the stage at BFF to explain how the company constantly develops and rolls out new solutions to empower brands to win big online. The platform’s partners have access to an extensive toolkit, which includes customisable storefront features, promotional and marketing solutions, livestreaming, loyalty programmes and special campaigns – all of which allow for better engagement, stronger customer trust and, as a result, greater success for brands, he said. Lazada also recently launched a new customer-insights data solution and is currently in the midst of upgrading its customer engagement management function to further boost brand partners’ performance.

“Leveraging Lazada’s capabilities in tech, data and logistics, and with our partners’ strengths in product assortment, marketing and customer engagement, our goal is to continue to win customers’ loyalty across Southeast Asia. We are fully committed to help our brands achieve long-term success within Lazada’s ecosystem,” Yang said.

This year’s event also featured the second BFF Awards Ceremony to celebrate the top-performing and most innovative global and Southeast Asian brands on LazMall. Recognising the incredible evolution of the eCommerce industry, especially amid the pandemic, the ceremony featured nine industry awards – four more than the previous edition – with honourees including the Estée Lauder Companies, Samsung, Nike, Coach, Lancôme for Lancôme Advanced Génifique Youth Activating Concentrate, Shiseido Group, Starbucks, Synagie and the L’Oréal Consumer Products Division.

As part of BFF, Lazada partnered with Handprint, a software company that helps companies with sustainability solutions. Through the joint initiative, approximately 14,000 trees will be planted at East Java Green Shield – West Bank 9 and Central Grove 6 at Situbondo, Indonesia. This will absorb 3,360 tons of carbon dioxide, which is equivalent to 13,440 return flights between Singapore and Jakarta.

BFF also set the stage for Lazada’s first year-end mega sales campaign, 9.9. This year’s campaign reflected a growing support for homegrown brands as well as consumer demand for enhancing wellbeing through engaging experiences, skincare and work-from-home essentials. About 125,000 logistics frontliners came together to ensure that customers received their parcels swiftly and safely. The fastest delivery only took 13 minutes in Indonesia.

In some markets, like Thailand, 9.9 was also a time of “mega-giving”. Under the LazadaCARES initiative, Thai shoppers redeemed enough coins on the app to donate 99,999 care packages to communities and people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Lazada Thailand partnered with nine brands to provide essential items in the care packages, which were then distributed by Lazada Logistics to nine charitable foundations to help the needy.

Featured image above: Lazada Group CEO Chun Li at the LazMall Brands Future Forum 2021.

By Anoushka Bhar
Sept 16, 2021

Malaysia is known for a rich cultural legacy that encompasses everything from architectural elegance to traditional arts and crafts. But as a result of the pandemic, Malaysia’s culture and arts industry has experienced a significant loss amounting to RM85 million over the past year. 

Due to this, many micro, small and medium enterprises in the arts and culture sector had to pivot their strategies to focus more on online efforts to stay connected to their customers. One such local MSME is Penang-based Batek-Lah Collection, an authentic traditional Malaysian batik brand that started its eCommerce journey on Lazada.

“From what I saw, traditional culture and arts were slowly dying out as younger generations were adapting to a more globalised and modern world,” said James Lim, the owner of Batek-Lah Collection. “Even prior to the pandemic, the interest in traditional and cultural arts like batik had been fading among Malaysians as they seemed more interested in buying and wearing branded goods. Today, not many people own even a single piece of batik clothing because it is perceived as old-fashioned and untrendy.”

To make batik trendy again, Lim took over his family’s business in 2012. Lim Trading had started out in 1980 as a wholesale batik supplier. Formerly a mechanical engineer, Lim, who was 27 at the time, had little knowledge of the centuries-old craft of batik and had to learn the ropes on his own, eventually revamping the wholesale business to become Batek-Lah Collection.

Batek-Lah Collection specialises in small-batch, handmade products produced by Malaysian artists and artisans. Lim’s products had been especially popular with foreign tourists visiting Penang, who appreciated traditional handmade crafts and helped spread the word about his store by posting online reviews on tourist sites. Unfortunately, when the pandemic hit and travel bans were imposed, sales dropped to almost zero.

Instead of viewing this as a setback, however, Lim took this opportunity to ramp up his digital strategy and also shifted his focus to getting local Malaysian consumers to appreciate the craftsmanship of batik. To reach young and digitally-savvy Malaysian consumers, Lim began actively focusing on the Lazada store he set up a few years ago. He began participating in seller campaigns and even experimented with digital tools on the platform, such as Seller Picks, a free feature that allows eligible sellers to boost their potential best-selling products on search pages. He also tapped into Lazada’s free shipping mechanism and Sponsored Discovery tool, which enables shoppers to discover products via Lazada’s search results or browsing similar products.

Meanwhile, to change the common perception among young Malaysians of batik being old-fashioned, Lim launched a new line that reflects the latest trends. The line features batik designs on sleek and stylish items, such as face masks, men’s short-sleeved shirts, women’s tank tops and zipped dresses. All these efforts have helped increase Batek-Lah’s visibility on Lazada, leading to a 30% growth in the store’s customer reach. 

“The ongoing pandemic and lockdown have certainly impacted the livelihoods of those in the culture and arts industry, including business owners and craftspeople. We hope to be able to provide more businesses, especially MSMEs in this sector, with a platform to showcase their art, help them build their online presence, reach new audiences, build their network and become more exposed,” said Darren Rajaratnam, the chief operating officer of Lazada Malaysia.

Featured image above: James Lim, the founder and owner of Batek-Lah Collection.

Anoushka Bhar is a senior manager in Lazada’s PR team in Malaysia.

By LazBeat Staff
Aug. 17, 2021

Despite the ongoing impact of COVID-19, businesses across Southeast Asia have expressed their optimism about growth and recovery prospects in digital commerce, according to a new survey conducted by Lazada Group.

The newly released Digital Commerce Confidence Index is an industry-first bi-annual report that explores the views, prospects and challenges of online sellers in Southeast Asia. According to the inaugural index, of the 750 merchants surveyed during the first half of 2021 from Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, 70% expected their business to expand by more than 10% in the third quarter of the year. Of these sellers, 33% said they were extremely confident that their sales volume would increase by more than 30%, reflecting their favourable sentiments towards the opportunities presented through digital commerce. Overall, on a spectrum from 0 to 100, the index achieved a score of 64, reflecting the optimism of business owners across the region.

While the economic effects of the pandemic continue to ripple across the world, the positive outlook of online sellers captured in the report point to the explosive growth of digital commerce and its role in helping businesses not only survive but thrive during challenging times. According to the index study, 52% of those surveyed experienced high-level business growth during the first half of 2021, as more consumers moved to shopping online from their homes.

Online sellers from the electronics and fast-moving consumer goods categories benefited the most from this boom in the stay-at-home economy, with 53% of surveyed merchants reporting strong business performance in the first six months of the year.

Growth momentum was also recorded across all other retail categories, fuelled in large part by sellers’ increased leveraging of technology and digital solutions, such as online shopping festivals and livestreaming, to overcome offline disruptions and continue connecting with consumers. The enhanced engagement capabilities of online shopping have in turn boosted sellers’ business confidence, especially among those in fashion – a segment that has long relied on the touch-and-feel interactions of offline retail but has increasingly embraced digital engagement tools with great success. While 48% of merchants in this sector said their businesses grew during the first half of 2021, 75% anticipated business improvement in the third quarter of 2021, with close to 40% predicting the growth to exceed 30%.

To best capture new opportunities in digital commerce, sellers highlighted the importance of developing unique and differentiated offerings, leverage technology to drive more user traffic, and to harness data insights effectively. To win in an increasingly competitive online environment, sellers will need to differentiate themselves by delivering greater value and enhanced experiences to consumers by leveraging technology to engage shoppers.

“We are excited to launch the Digital Commerce Confidence Index, aiming to shed more light on forward-looking indicators and sentiment among SMEs in Southeast Asia,” said Magnus Ekbom, Lazada Group’s chief strategy officer. “Many SMEs have embraced new technology and acquired digital capabilities to transform and future-proof their businesses. Despite the challenging health situation and ongoing challenges, our index shows that sellers remain both resilient and optimistic about the future.”

July 15, 2021
By Linh Chi Nguyen

When life gave him lemons, Pham Van Giang made lemonade. Only, in this case, he did it with lychees. Born into a farming family in Hai Duong, a province in northern Vietnam famed for producing the sweet red berry, Pham saw his livelihood threatened when the pandemic broke out. With his usual supply chains disrupted, he turned to Lazada to ensure the fruits of his labour could still reach hungry consumers.

As a proud member of Vietnam’s farming sector, Pham has always looked for ways to help agriculture grow and flourish with the times. To elevate the quality and status of locally harvested fruit, he spent close to two decades developing a large-scale lychee-growing model in his hometown of Thanh Son and encouraged more than 70 households to follow Global G.A.P. guidelines, a trademark set of standards for good agricultural practices. These efforts have resulted in lychees that are plump, luscious and completely clean of pesticide residue.

Hai Duong lychees have been loved by both local and overseas consumers, and the pandemic gave farmers like Pham a chance to explore and expand even further in the domestic market. In May, Pham joined an initiative between Lazada Vietnam, the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency, the Hai Duong Industry and Trade Department and the Hai Duong Agriculture & Rural Development Department to bring his home province’s agricultural specialities to shoppers across the country via eCommerce.

As part of the National Trade Promotion programme, the initiative aims to spotlight farm-fresh produce from Vietnam’s rural areas and also accelerate the digitalisation of the agricultural sector to ensure its long-term growth.

“Going online is not a short-term decision but part of a long-term strategy, and COVID-19 has accelerated this,” said Mai Xuan Thin, the founder and CEO of Red Dragon, a supplier who helped Pham and many other local farmers take part in Lazada’s initiative.

The initiative marked Red Dragon’s first time using a B2C eCommerce platform, and the results proved sweet, thanks to Lazada’s robust infrastructure, which allowed the platform to transport and deliver fresh lychees from the farms in Hai Duong to customers within 24 hours of harvesting.

Close to half a ton of Hai Duong lychees were sold within the first four hours of them being made available on Lazada, with some orders reaching customers in less than an hour.

Mai said that eCommerce has opened new opportunities for Red Dragon and the farmers it represents. “We will continue to bring more Vietnamese agricultural products to Lazada so that domestic consumers can enjoy locally grown yet world-class fruits in the fastest and most convenient way possible,” he said.

“In just a few days of our soft launch of the lychee products on Lazada, we have seen very encouraging results,” said James Dong, the CEO of Lazada Vietnam.

The fruit’s popularity on the eCommerce platform has boosted income for local farmers. Following the success in Hai Duong, Lazada launched a similar initiative last month to support farmers in Bac Giang, another Vietnamese province known for its lychees.

“Leveraging the technology and logistics capabilities and infrastructure that we have, we offer businesses pivoting online during this pandemic advanced digital solutions and services, as well as access to customers and a network that they did not have before,” Dong said. “This is a great start to what we hope will be a long-term collaboration for all the parties involved in this endeavour to delight Vietnamese consumers with delicious, fresh and healthy produce, and boost businesses for local brands and sellers that will help in the overall digitalization of the Vietnamese economy.”

Featured image above: Pham Van Giang tends to his lychee plants in Hai Duong province.

Linh Chi Nguyen is a senior manager in Lazada Vietnam’s public relations team, which is responsible for corporate communications and media relations.