E-Commerce Malaysia

I browsed todays InTech and Business Times (I think that’s what it’s called). Both were speaking on the same topic of e-commerce and its booming numbers. Much to my dismay, the article that spoke of the boom referenced to only the success of e-commerce in US. Now, when I read that article, it made me think. How do you convince the local public that e-commerce in Malaysia works and is safe?

Sure the numbers in US are booming and it shows that e-commerce does work but it doesn’t reach the local market well. I’m sure you’ll all say that if your revenue covers the local market loss than it’s alright. Well, it isn’t entirely alright because you aren’t doing any good to the local market in the first place but only for selfish gain. Malaysia might not be the safest place to trade online but there are methods to ensure safe online transactions. The online banking payments made on bank websites is one of them.

With the exception that no one hacks the website.

I would love to hear more in the media covering local e-commerce websites which are doing well. It’d also be great to know if the sales numbers generated were of local or international. Those numbers will prove whether or not Malaysia is venturing into an e-commerce era.

The last article of InTech documented the ease of getting things done via outsourcing. It’s great to hear news like that for a freelancer but it also hurts to know that most people think outsource is the best of the best because you get everything cheap. Anyway, I’d only like to focus on one part of the article. The writer mentioned how cheap it is setting up a website and emphasized on reasons having not to pay so much to a local designer to get the job done.

It’s rather disappointing to have notions like that in the media that people read and put in their head. I think now if freelancers ask why they aren’t being paid well? I’d just answer it’s because of propaganda like this that helps spoil the market. Propaganda that our own local newspapers never considered harmful to our local market.

The article written in the NST Business Times on running an e-commerce business was rather informative. Some pesonas to why most people abandon their shopping carts half way on a local website:

  • Unfriendly website
  • Inaccurte search
  • Prices aren’t in Ringgit Malaysia (RM)
  • Lack shipping information
  • Does not ship to Malaysia
  • ..etc

Now do you understand why is it important to feature local e-commerce websites in the country?

Malaysians use the Internet because they assume to find anything. They assume they can get what they want quick. They expect to not waste time just searching for something they know what they want. They expect the product(s) to be shipped locally and lastly, they’d prefer viewing prices in their local currency.

I’m damn sure there are a couple of successful local e-commerce websites. That’s excluding eBay or Lelong because what I’d really want to see are online shops than auction type websites.

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Posted by dannyfoo on July 19, 2005 | Filed Under News |

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Comments



21 Responses to “E-Commerce Malaysia”

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  1. Response #1 by 8dee on July 19th, 2005

    I think that online shopping will catch its trend once the shipping is cost effective and petrol shots up sky high.

    For the auction website, I am suggesting my website @ syiok.com – it is a Malaysia Classifieds website, where you can deal with the person yourself and it is free.

    I think that ecommerce will catch trend, it is just a matter of time. People will be able to search for price comparison with online store and even compare the price with the conventional brick and mortar shop. And then decides to buy from the cheapest.

  2. Response #2 by Tien Soon on July 19th, 2005

    E-Commerce in Malaysia, of course there’re successful examples. As far as I’m concerned, http://www.blooming.com.my and http://www.noel.com.my are doing quite well as e-florist.

  3. Response #3 by dannyFoo on July 19th, 2005

    Mmm.. Noel.com.my looks great. Though I find everything everywhere. There are quite a few florists online that I know. But what about other products like shirts or toys? Issit so much of a difference that people aren’t too worried about flowers compared to clothing?

  4. Response #4 by Hawk on July 19th, 2005

    Well considering that Malaysia is a pretty small country, and almost anything can be bought without going too far.. there isn’t much incentive for e-commerce here.

    As for the “how cheap it is to design a website”… it depends on who you are hiring. Web design and development is no longer what it was 5 years back. We are heading towards a semantic and accessible web, which would mean you need a professional to build your site.

  5. Response #5 by ireneQ on July 19th, 2005

    For clothing — I think it was either last year or the year before that I interviewed a partner of anassa.com.my — they sell what they term “lazewear” (pyjamas, sleepwear and stuff to be comfortable in at home). At the time of the interview, the company had just been set up. The partner I spoke to said they chose “lazewear” because there would be less concern about sizes & fit since it’s meant to be loose and comfortable anyway. She also said that they were negotiating with one or two boutiques to help carry the line but the bulk of the business was expected to be done online. I wonder how the company is doing now.

  6. Response #6 by dannyFoo on July 19th, 2005

    Well, they’ve got quite a nice looking website. Though I just found out it isn’t Firefox & Opera friendly. The dropdown is buggy on those browsers. I’m actually wondering if most of their sales are generated locally.

    And welcome back. :)

  7. Response #7 by ireneQ on July 20th, 2005

    Thank you, am happy to be back, except that I also have to be back in office tomorrow :P

  8. Response #8 by CS on July 20th, 2005

    i think the main problem is consumer’s confident on buying things from the internet. Malaysian still haven’t get use to “things are not always free from the internet” mentality. Of course, another major reason is security. If you can’t convince them(and have the reputation of) with 100% secure online money transaction, nobody is going to take the risk. Most of the banks in Malaysia don’t provide much service to cover the e-commerce area (easier payment type like BPAY in Australia)
    You can choose PAYPAL but that’s going to increase your cost.

    The only successful e-commerce business I know off is http://www.integricity.com.

  9. Response #9 by LcF on July 20th, 2005

    What’s most important about e-commerce? Pay and Receive money. Currently, Malaysian do not have budget and International online payment processing gateway.

    Though we can register U.S. service, but then it comes to problem when want to transfer the fund to Malaysia.

    I have been looking for local online clothes shopping site(not bra, lingerie or sleepwear, etc) but non available.

  10. Response #10 by dannyFoo on July 20th, 2005

    There isn’t a 100% secure online website if you asked me. Since reading the article of InTech yesterday, it did make me realize there isn’t any non-buggy OS. There just might be some that have less. With an ever growing technology world, solving bugs or holes in a system could become a routine business. So if you’re a white-hat hacker, you’re definetely in a good investment.

    @Liew:
    When you mentioned no International payment gateway, then how does one collect money if they’re using ZenCart of osCommerce with built-in VISA and Mastercard modules?

    Actually, people could just transfer money through online banking now. Just that it might be taking away the convenience every online business needs.

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