Shopee reveals future of E-commerce with Malaysian influencers
Scroll your way through any social media or shopping platform and you’ll likely encounter an influencer attempting to sway your mind with a livestream and odds are you’ll be persuaded to stay and buy something. To make sense of this shopping zeitgeist, Shopee has just hosted an online forum with key influencers as well as Kenneth Soh, Head of Marketing Campaigns at Shopee Malaysia to share the future of E-commerce with Malaysian influencers and how they play a role in the new landscape of how people buy things online.
What is the future of E-commerce with Malaysian influencers?
“On Shopee, we have an ecosystem of trusted influencers — they are fellow users and sellers themselves who provide authentic experiences during Big Campaigns. While thousands of buyers watch Shopee Live daily, not everyone watches solely for shopping purposes. In fact, 27% of our surveyed buyers watch Shopee Live for entertainment and educational content. For example, in Shopee Live’s “Mum’s Club Show” programme, communities of mom influencers speak about health topics related to other moms, kids, and even kids with special needs.“ said Kenneth Soh.
“This is an increasingly important channel for sellers to drive conversion on the marketplace. Our data shows that 75% of surveyed customers follow influencers’ tutorial videos in order to solve problems and expand their product knowledge,” adds Kenneth.
Among the key highlights shared during the forum were the fact that 75% of surveyed customers follow influencers’ tutorial videos to solve their problems while 27% of our surveyed buyers tune in to livestreams e.g. Shopee Live and videogame livestreams for entertainment. Interestingly enough, 75% of Malaysians indicated that when it came to choosing who to follow, connection (via meaningful and dynamic relationships/interactions) was more important than influencers staying on trend
Speaking on the future of e-commerce, influencers Nikki Wong (shop owner of Bitcraft) and Syazwani Md Saad (a reviewer on home and living products) both agree that listening with empathy and developing personalised content are important for building long-term customer loyalty. Nikki shared, “Consistency breeds familiarity, familiarity breeds confidence, and confidence breeds sales. I don’t have the intention of going live just to get sales, but to share something good with my followers as I would to a friend.” Nikki is part of Shopee Live’s All Stars community, an active and supportive group of influencers who frequently share product reviews, DIY tips, and even feedback on each other’s livestream feeds.
In a survey of 2,459 buyers and 1,035 sellers conducted between 28th September to 26th October 2022, 75% of Malaysian shoppers shared that they wanted to feel more connected through bonding and interacting with followers, fostering strong brand relationships and staying relevant. To wit, Shopee encourages influences to be authentic in their content and engagements. You can check out the discussion in detail here https://youtu.be/K9s2nHxpSKE
