Shopee MY hands free ad credits, sets aside RM15 million for SMEs

Shopee Malaysia has unveiled a RM15 million support package for sellers on its platform. The Shopee Seller Support Package aims to help local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and businesses in various sectors that have been adversely impacted by the Movement Control Order (MCO). It will include a digitalisation package to help new sellers kickstart their online selling journey, a seller fee subsidy to lower operating expenses, and a seller sales support scheme that Shopee has set aside RM6 million for. The package seeks to aid sellers by creating sales and growth opportunities, reducing operational costs and facilitating sustainable development through funding, subsidies and education.

Shopee launched the support package to counter two pain points for retailers, the first being that SMEs are looking to turn to eCommerce but are unfamiliar with how to do it. The second pain point is that many of Shopee's sellers are struggling with increasing costs and revenue loss from low sales volumes. With its digitalisation package, Shopee is looking to bring traditional business online. Under the package, all new sellers will receive RM400 in Shopee vouchers, RM200 in free paid advertising credits and free participation in its RM19 Free Shipping program for two weeks. According to the eCommerce platform, these measures will help ease their transition online, and generate a substantial volume of orders.

For existing sellers, Shopee will provide a discount of up to 45% on fees for sellers in its RM19 Free Shipping and Coins Cashback program. All sellers will also receive up to RM400 each in free paid advertising credits to get more exposure for their products and stores, and stand to benefit from RM100,000 worth of dedicated campaign vouchers every week. The advertising support is to help sellers drive sales during the Ramadan and Hari Raya period. Additionally, benefits such as zero registration fees, 0% commission for marketplace sellers and 0% listing fee will continue to be extended to all sellers on the platform. Shopee will also continue to absorb shipping costs. 

Ian Ho, regional managing director of Shopee, said the support package is meant to create a positive long-term impact, even post-MCO. "We hope these efforts will help local SMEs make up the loss in offline revenue, improve cash flow and most importantly, sustain their businesses. Above all, it is our sincere hope that this package would provide Malaysians the assurance that we are in this together, especially those who will soon be celebrating Hari Raya," he added.

Shopee joins the list of eCommerce platforms reaching to help SMEs. Last week, Lazada Malaysia unveiled a RM10 million support package to aid local SMEs from April to June 2020. Through the Pakej Kedai Pintar cash fund, eligible SMEs will be able to enjoy the services of a support team to onboard, train and develop customised sales campaign with them through Lazada University. Approximately 50,000 local SMEs are estimated to benefit from this cash fund. Meanwhile, ZALORA launched a new "Essential Supplies" category on its platform which sells items such as masks, skincare and dental products.

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