NOBODY could have ever predicted the present pandemic-hit economy, but for chartered accountant Ooi Zhi Wei, the success of his Shopee store is a godsend in helping his family business expand.
Having seen the success of his parents’ herbal medicine business growing up, it made Ooi more ambitious at building his own empire.
“My parents started the business from scratch, they were petty traders in the morning market previously,” he said.
“So, I felt that if I wanted to build my own empire, I should start a separate business instead of taking handouts from my parents.”
When the ACCA graduate returned home from overseas back in 2018, he was looking for a fresh start after having spent time working for a plantation company.
“My parents’ medicinal store, Win Hin Trading in Ampang was doing very well at the time. They were one of the biggest suppliers in Seremban,” shared Ooi.
“I saw potential in healthy food, particularly dried nuts and dried fruits. I talked to them about supplying some to me so that I could set up a store online, which they agreed.
“Today, I am working with other suppliers from all over the world to source for my dried fruits and nuts business,” he added.
Money-making features
Ooi’s online business generates an average of RM2 million in revenue per year, where he was even able to make about RM12,000 in sales in the first month of the store being public.
Customers can find his store by searching ‘Ooizhiwei1171’ on Shopee.
“Why I considered starting my business on the platform is due to the ease of use. Setting up a store on Shopee was really easy,” he said.
“I also factored in the marketing costs – my products are generic, and there is little differentiation between one brand of oil free cashew nuts to another.
“As such it would take a lot to build my own e-commerce platform and market the platform to generate traffic,” explained Ooi.
He further noted that Shopee has a ready customer base in the double-digit millions range so it seemed like a no-brainer.
“I have products that have market demand, but I do not have access to customers.
“As a marketplace, Shopee was able to create the needed visibility to my products and connect me to the target customers that are actually looking for the items I offer.
“This dynamic type of reach is why I chose to be on the platform,” he added.
Sharing more about how Shopee was able to turn his store into a lucrative business, “Things soared the day I discovered Shopee Ads”.
“While I was trying to go through the analysis to find out why customers buy from my store, I discovered Shopee marketing in which I could place ads on the platform, and it will advertise my products to those who are looking.
“I placed about RM1,000 worth of ads, and unexpectedly I managed to close the month with RM36,000 worth of sales,” highlighted Ooi.
“I have explored advertising on other platforms previously and discovered that the ROI with Shopee ads is between 3-10 times better,” he noted, adding, “I also received an award last year from J&T because I ship a lot of parcels!”
Vibrant marketspace
“Shopee managed to draw millions of people onto the platform. It also allows sellers to connect with our customers via Shopee Live – I have been using it since 2019 and I can tell you that it is a very powerful platform,” said Ooi.
“I run weekly Shopee Live sessions where I am able to interact and talk to 10,000 people at one time.
“On top of educating people about my products, I tell a lot of jokes and keep the audience entertained.
“I think that contributed greatly to my business as people keep coming back every week to listen to my jokes,” he shared.
“I also discovered that people start buying from my store after coming back to watch my Shopee Live 4-5 times.
“There may be people who may not buy but their presence is good and for the Malaysian audience, you need a good crowd to attract more crowds,” he added.
On plans for his future: “I read a book written by Robert Kuok, there was a special mention of Indonesia as it is a huge country with huge potential. As such I think that is one country that I could move into. So, yes …I have expanded to Indonesia!”
Ooi entered the Indonesian market with Shopee instead of another local app because “… I believe in the platform, and it already feels like it is home to me”.
“My Shopee store in Indonesia, currently managed by my in-laws, managed to get orders the first day we launched our store.
“Now sales would come every three days, and this is with minimal effort.
“My plan is to invest a little bit more on Shopee Ads and run more Shopee Live shows in order to drive the crowd,” he shared enthusiastically.
“Ultimately, I would like to expand my business to all over Southeast Asia!”
A daughter’s sacrifice yields a tasty return for her family
For Nur Farah Hanim Saimi, 24, it was the shuttering of her mother’s kek lapis store, Intan Kek Lapis Sarawak, due to the first MCO in March 2020, that led her to move back to Kuching and put her studies on hold due to financial constraints.
Her mother’s shop, which was strategically located at the Kuching waterfront, was right in the tourist area and had been doing well prior to the pandemic, but now the family had little to no income, as her father was retired and her mother, Noreza Johari, was the sole breadwinner.
It was on the advice of a friend that Nur Farah, then a final year ACCA student, decided to open a Shopee store to take the family business online.
The store attracted some of their old customers and new ones – and within just three months, the family business managed to get back up on its feet, with Farah now looking forward to returning to college in the near future.
Initially, Nur Farah was sceptical about taking Intan Kek Lapis Sarawak online as they had no luck with other online selling platforms before this, but with the ongoing travel and movement restriction, felt they had nothing to lose, as they did not keep stock and could make the cakes fresh as they receive orders and ship them out. They launched their Shopee store a few weeks before Hari Raya.
“Unexpectedly, we received our first Shopee order right after the Shopee store was launched!
“At first I thought it may be just a one-off thing as I still held the belief that Kek Lapis Sarawak is something only tourists bought as souvenirs. However, I was wrong! Orders started coming in and soon we had a regular flow of orders and were getting requests for more flavours.
“Now, our Shopee store is able to generate a revenue of above RM5,000 per month!
“I was even surprised that our customers were willing to wait for more than a week to receive the cakes and they are leaving comments like 'keep up the good work' and these comments are what keeps us going.”
She feels that the online double digit sales campaigns really helped with their sales.
“In fact, I think during the 6.6 Awesome Sale we received 67 orders within a day! It was a very tiring but exciting day for my mother and I.
“We actively participate in sales campaigns now especially when the campaign offers free shipping to our customers. I think free shipping is important given that we are based in Kuching and our customers are in West Malaysia. Shipping costs can be expensive."
Now that the family finances are stabilised, Nur Farah is happily looking forward to going back to Kuala Lumpur to complete her ACCA studies to become an accountant.
Supporting new e-commerce entrepreneurs
According to Zed Li, senior manager (business development) Shopee Malaysia, there is a lot of support for new e-commerce sellers getting started on the online selling platform.
“Many sellers start off with a small capital and they need to consider their capital and operational expenditure even when it comes to running an e-commerce business.
“Therefore, we have been providing various Seller Support Packages to help new and budding e-commerce entrepreneurs to propel them forward and guide them to be self-sustainable.
“Additionally, we do not impose commission fees for the first 99 orders to help sellers ease into and familiarise themselves with selling online.”
To help sellers, Shopee has a free seller workshop, Shopee University, which equips sellers with knowledge to sell and succeed in e-commerce. There are about 50 classes a month which are conducted online in English, BM and Chinese.
These special classes are catered to new and seasoned online sellers to guide them on everything from store set-up, to sales, marketing and operations as well as how to keep growing their business on Shopee.
There is also a variety of marketing support in and out of the Shopee app to help sellers connect with their extensive user base.
Li says that payment and logistic solutions are also in place to help sellers focus on managing and growing their business.
“For example, sellers can manage product inventory, delivery fulfilment, track payments, get insights of their store performance, traffic, conversion rate, and consolidate their accounts directly on Shopee via the Shopee Seller Centre.
“Apart from our own fleet, sellers can choose from the many 3 Party Logistics partners on the platform such as Pos Laju, DHL, J&T, Ninja Van and CityLink to fulfil their delivery needs. They simply need to print the auto generated airway bill from the Shopee Seller Centre when an order comes in and drop off the parcel at the nearest drop-off point.
“Our vision is to make e-commerce for everyone. So we’re constantly enhancing the platform to serve all segments of the market and this translates also in the payment methods we have enabled for users on the platform. Payment can be made using credit and debit card, online banking, ATM transfer, ShopeePay mobile wallet, cash payment at 7-eleven and KK Mart as well as Cash on Delivery. By doing this, we are also giving the opportunity to those without banking facilities and products a chance to utilise e-commerce. With more buyers, sellers too are able to grow their market size and sales."
For those who are looking to expand their business internationally, Li says sellers could take part in the Shopee International Platform programme. SIP allows sellers to sell on overseas Shopee platforms and promote their products on an international level. Currently, Singapore serves as the pilot market.
“We are beginning to see a lot more state delicacies on the platform in the last one year. Just to name a few - keropok lekor from East Coast, tahai from Sarawak, Amplang from Sabah, Harumanis from Perlis, Dodol from Melaka, putu kacang from Perak, Tau Sar Pneah from Penang, palkova from Brickfields KL and more.
“Besides food, today we see an increasing number of locally produced rattan and wood furniture now being sold on Shopee.”
Shopee together with the Malaysian government is co-funding the Shop Malaysia Online Campaign Ringgit-to-Ringgit which will reward buyers with attractive discount vouchers, cashback and free shipping when consumers choose to purchase from local businesses. Look out for the 'ShopMalaysia' on the sellers’ store and listings.
As SMO coincides with the Shopee 7.7 Mid Year Sale, Malaysians are in for an upsized treat. Apart from the SMO perks, Malaysians can also enjoy free shipping with no minimum spend required, 120% Coins Cashback, 7.7 million vouchers and gain savings of up to 77%. There will also be games where users can earn from a pool of 27 million Shopee Coins and win a PlayStation 5 during the 7.7 Mid Year Sale happening till 7 July. – The Vibes, July 5, 2021
This article is written in collaboration with Shopee
