The reasons for the growing popularity of mobile shopping are related to a combination of factors: increased reliance on smartphones as an indispensable go-to tool; more products on offer; new players, and new apps that promise even more speed, ease, convenience, options, and incentives.
Hoseok Kim (picture), the CEO of 11street (Malaysia), shared some of the other insights gleaned from the company’s Online Shopping Index. He summarizes the main reasons behind the mobile shopping surge in Malaysia:
- Easier access for anytime, anywhere convenience
Hundreds of thousands of products covering everything from consumer electronics to fashion, from groceries to cosmetics, from kid and baby products to services such as vouchers and much more, are now just a mobile screen click away. Consumers needn’t spend hours out of their busy schedule to shop. They save money on petrol or transportation without the hassle of traffic jams, queues and frustration that comes with it. Items purchased are delivered right to their door – at the home or office – and at a convenient time.
- Exclusive offers
Companies are constantly providing incentives and inducements in the form of promotions, discounts, and shopping credits exclusively for mobile users. In fact, there is an active market for digital coupons with over 16 billion coupons redeemed worldwide in 2014. The expected rate is set to increase by up to 31 billion in 2019.
- Engaging functions
Visually engaging displays of products are giving way to more dynamic, interactive content, where shoppers can browse, comment, and share interesting finds with their social circles. At 11street, shoppers are offered a full camera function-enabled product review mode, which allows them to view and post comments with photos for a fun shopping experience. App functions such as ‘first-hand news’ push notifications also provide shoppers with advance notice of upcoming sales.
- User-friendly interface
Mobile apps that come with user-friendly interface enable consumers to access a desired range of items quicker, with set filters for an intuitive and interactive experience. In fact, it is due to these conveniences that mobile shopping have become a part of the Malaysian lifestyle of which consumers mostly go online when they would like to make a purchase, or conduct pre-purchase research .11street for example, has an ‘Event Page’ which summarizes all the promotions making it much easier for shoppers to access hot selling products and services and to see the most price- competitive deals from the moment they log in.
- Simplified yet secure payment processing
Majority of mobile apps today are designed to accept credit cards and bank transfers for online transactions. Shoppers can also view their membership benefits, check their order status, and utilize their discount coupons while shopping on-the-go. As there has been increasing concern on mobile data security, 11street employs various security features that include an ESCROW system to put shoppers at ease. The ESCROW system releases payment to sellers only when the customers receive their products in good condition protecting them from frauds.
11street in Malaysia is hosted by Celcom Planet Sdn Bhd which was established in November 2014. Celcom Planet is a joint venture between Celcom Axiata Berhad (49%) and a leading Korean e-commerce online marketplace provider, SK Planet Ltd (51%). SK Planet is a wholly-owned subsidiary of mobile operator, SK Telecom.
Established in Korea since 2008, 11street is now one of the top global e-commerce marketplace providers with 400,000 sellers serving over 30 million consumers worldwide. 11street also has a presence in Turkey and Indonesia, known as n11 and elevenia, respectively.
