IN Malaysia, shoppers have become accustomed to look forward to mega online sales on dates like July 7 (7.7), September 9 (9.9) or December 12 (12.12).
But it all started with Singles' Day, which falls on November 11.
In China, single university students would celebrate the day as a kind of "anti-Valentine's Day". Online retailer Alibaba would eventually popularise it as an online shopping festival.
Today, this shopping festival has evolved to be known as 11.11 or double 11, and has been highly localised to suit the needs of Malaysians. It now includes shoppertainment — livestreaming content and games, catered to entertain and bring joy to consumers — that goes beyond just transactional sales.
Back in 2012, when e-commerce platform Lazada arrived in Malaysia, the mere idea of shopping online was an unfamiliar concept. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and brands were still wary of it, as were Malaysian shoppers.
Despite being relatively unknown, Lazada introduced its first 11.11 sale in 2013, inspired by China's massively successful online shopping festivals, calling it Online Revolution Week.
And it was a hit.
The 11.11 date soon became synonymous with major deals, as more businesses hopped onto the trend and more shoppers began shopping online.
"Over the years, I've experienced that 11.11 has always brought in the most sales. In fact, November is usually my highest sales month, which is great because it makes it easy for me to plan for year-end stock clearance," shared Mok Chee How of 724 ROCKS, an established musical instrument and accessories store on Lazada.
THE 11.11 EFFECT
11.11 is a day where e-commerce peaks for the whole year, elevating the industry to new standards and benchmarks every year.
In 2020, Lazada surpassed its 11.11 shopping festival records, with over 40 million users and 400,000 sellers participating in the one-day sale across the region. Over 8,000 sellers, many of which were SMEs, made more than USD10,000 (RM41,600) within the 24-hour period.
"Our usual monthly sales range from RM45,000 to RM90,000, but last year we shipped out RM130,000 worth of sales just from the one-day event," said Brijesh Ratnani, who runs Rams Home Decor Sdn Bhd.
According to him, 11.11 has become a key event for many online sellers, and the successful ones spend almost six months preparing in advance for the date.
They use this time to secure orders, hire ambassadors and build traffic for their online page, in the lead up to the biggest sale of the year.
For some, the one-day shopping event is when they record their highest amount of sales for the year. For others, it's a chance to get every eyeball in the country looking at their business.
When traffic on Lazada peaks, it allows brands to market themselves to a whole new set of shoppers – a sale during 11.11 could potentially turn one-time shoppers into returning customers all-year around.
This has become known as the 11.11 effect for businesses.
Within 24 hours, a brand or product could be vaulted into popularity, allowing online sellers to skyrocket their businesses overnight.
"Previously, we had been a store just selling via Facebook Live. But with Lazada, we noticed that we were able to reach more people, since it was a more secure platform that protected buyers. In fact, our sales increased by 800% the first year we took part in the 11.11 sales," said Fiorella Ng Yuen Kuan of Fully Fishery Malaysia, whose company joined Lazada in 2020.
WHAT'S NEXT
Almost a decade after setting foot in Malaysia, Lazada has become a staple for almost every household in Malaysia, with more than one-third of the local population shopping on the app every month.
It has also become an avenue for aspiring entrepreneurs, brands and SMEs to expand their market and fulfil their potential in the digital world.
Ultimately, the 11.11 effect for businesses is here to stay. In fact, more than 76% of Southeast Asian online sellers are optimistic about their future growth, according to Lazada's latest Digital Commerce Confidence Index (DCCI) report.
The report indicates that businesses are looking to ramp up their inventories and staff levels to gear up for the upcoming year-end online festivals including 11.11.
By the end of 2021, it is projected that there will be over 350 million digital consumers in the region, compared to 280 million digital consumers prior to the pandemic in 2019. This is a huge opportunity for sellers to reach out to new digital consumers and drive sales and traffic to their online store.
"We are delighted to see the continued positive momentum and resilience among Southeast Asia online sellers, despite economic uncertainties. Driven by the strong optimism, online sellers are actively looking to hire more staff in Q4. It is very encouraging to see from our study that the growing digital commerce industry is acting as a powerful catalyst to open up opportunities for job creation, propelling the recovery of local economies," said Magnus Ekbom, chief executive officer of Lazada Malaysia.