PETALING JAYA: E-commerce marketplace eBay continues to see Malaysia as an important part of its business as domestic sellers on the e-commerce marketplace saw strong growth in 2021 despite the challenging business environment due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
eBay Southeast Asia and India regional general manager Vidmay Naini said Malaysia is an important part of its business portfolio as the platform sees huge potential coming in from the country, especially in the auto parts, home and garden, and cell phones and mobile category segments.
"From that point of view, there is significant potential in some of these categories.
"I am personally bullish on the auto parts category that can drive growth for us from Malaysian small and medium enterprises (SMEs)," he told the New Straits Times after the launch of eBay Southeast Asia Small Business Trade Report July 2022 here recently.
Also present were the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) senior director Khairul Annuar Abdul Halim and Selangor Information Technology & Digital Economy Corporation (SIDEC) chief executive officer Yong Kai Ping.
Vidmay said that to drive growth in each market eBay operates in and encourage SMEs to export, the company is working with trade associations, the government and government agencies.
"For example, we are working closely with the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) in Malaysia and other agencies that facilitate SMEs' growth and exports.
"We are also working with the ecosystem players such as the logistics partners, content developers who can help create catalogues for the sellers and us, and people who can help our sellers improve their businesses," he said.
According to the report, in the auto parts and accessories category, Malaysian sellers have grown wheels, tires and parts sales by 29 per cent in 2021, while electrical and ignition parts have grown by 76 per cent.
There was also an increase in sales by Malaysian sellers on eBay in the cell phones and accessories category, with smartwatches increasing by 24 per cent, headsets by 33 per cent, and smartphones by 15 per cent.
Sports trading card singles in the collectables category increased exponentially by 109 per cent.
Meanwhile, Vidmay said there had been an increase of 81 per cent of SMEs exporting to four or more continents after being onboarded on eBay in 2021.
"The main goal of eBay in Southeast Asia is to enable SMEs to sell globally.
"The marketplace offers 142 million active buyers across more than 3,000 product categories, with market access to 190 markets.
"On eBay, export is no longer the privilege of large enterprises. SMEs in Malaysia can easily reach consumers in some of the world's largest consumer markets, such as the US, UK, Germany, and Australia, and become mini multinational corporations," he said.