KUALA LUMPUR: Shopee Malaysia recently hosted the #RayaBersamaShopee forum on technology's importance in serving the underserved communities.
The forum, titled Towards a More Inclusive and Participative Economy, features OKU Sentral president and Malaysia National News Agency (Bernama) chairman, Senator Datuk Ras Adiba Radzi, Bank Islam chief economist, Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid, and Shopee Malaysia head of marketing campaigns, Kenneth Soh.
"During the pandemic, the Orang Kurang Upaya (OKU) was left behind. Messages sent from the digital side were not well perceived by the OKUs since there were no sign language interpreters for the deaf or narration for the blinds. So to be fair, when employers want to reduce the workforce in their company, they have to take the OKU's disabled condition into account and get other companies or associates to take them in," Ras Adiba said.
"The OKU's welfare matters most and they shouldn't be retrenched. The impact of retrenchment on the OKUs is more severe than those without disabilities," she added.
Meanwhile, Mohd Afnizam said that in the e-commerce section, the economy has gotten better since the lockdown during the pandemic.
"When we talk about the economy and international order being lifted, the tourism sector is expected to accelerate and become the main beneficiary. And looking at consumers' tendency to spend, a survey by iPrice indicated a spike in online search products made in 2019 and 2020. The tendency to spend and technology will further open more e-commerce opportunities," he said.
"The proliferation of e-commerce has allowed small businesses to be more agile in coping with operational challenges brought by the pandemic. Good measures of progress on this front are rising income and expenditure on e-commerce platforms," he added.
The #RayaBersamaShopee surveyed two thousand females aged 18 to 39 (48 per cent are 30 to 39 years old and 35 per cent are under 18 to 30 years old) from Klang Valley, Johor, and the rural areas of Kedah, Kelantan, Perak, Sabah, and Terengganu.
Between March 18 and April 18, 2022, each seller made close to RM1,000 each on women's fashion and accessories, and/or health and beauty products for the last Raya.
Therefore, they were able to provide for more than three household dependents on average.
Soh said Shopee's marketplace survey found that every local seller selling Made in Malaysia products supports on average more than five household dependents across the nation.
"Through our hyper-localised campaigns like #RayaBersamaShopee, sellers in rural areas can promote their products to consumers more easily. Our key differentiator is our localised strategy in digitalising rural communities and digital upskilling. That's how #ShopeeSapotLokal drives e-commerce growth sustainably and inclusively on behalf of all our sellers and the communities they support," he said.
The sellers said that their top preparations for this Raya are increasing stocks of inventory, offering festive discounts, and introducing new types of products according to consumer trends.
Moreover, 40 per cent of sellers expect 50 per cent or more sales growth for this Raya, and 70 per cent of sellers are utilising Shopee's Free Shipping Voucher.
Forty-eight per cent liked Shopee Ads followed by Shopee Feed and Bump Up products for the Shopee Seller Support features.
The #ShopeeSapotLokal initiative continues to support Shopee Malaysia's annual Seller Summit 2022 to bring together sellers online and in-person to share their experience on June 16, 2022.
The theme is "Level Up: Driving Growth Together" and Shopee University's e-commerce upskilling on marketing, sales, and operations will be shared in addition to industry expert insights.