You don’t have to be an avid shopper to know about #MYCYBERSALE. The chances are that you’ve probably already come across it or heard about it at some point. The reason for this is simple - since its inception, #MYCYBERSALE has taken the Internet by storm as Malaysia’s largest online sale.
Launched in 2014 by the Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), #MYCYBERSALE is an initiative to transform Malaysia into a digital economy by 2020. This year, #MYCYBERSALE is back and bigger than ever. Running from 3rd September 2018 - 7th September 2018, the 2018 edition marks the 2nd time The National ICT Association of Malaysia (PIKOM) will be in charge of it, after taking over from MDEC in 2017.
#MYCYBERSALE 2018
According to PIKOM chairman Ganesh Kumar Bangah, the aims of #MYCYBERSALE 2018 are in line with its theme of ‘driving growth through omnichannel commerce’. The event hopes to encourage micro-enterprises to “adopt an omnichannel approach for their businesses to reduce dependency on social media private messaging sales.”
The targets for this year are as such:
GMV: RM370 Million
Export Revenue: RM50 Million
Number of Exporters: 600
Number of Countries: 30
It is likely that just like every year, this year’s #MYCYBERSALE will once again exceed its targets.
Why is online retail so appealing?
With technological developments arising these days, having shopping take a digital turn seems like the only way forward if merchants want to stay relevant. This is especially so considering the increasing number of digitally savvy consumers. According to last year’s traffic breakdown, 64.86% of traffic to #MYCYBERSALE’s website was through mobile devices. This allows us to assume that shopping-on-the-go is a real phenomenon and customers are more inclined to surf the web on their handheld devices instead of their desktops.
A last day peak in traffic seen during #MYCYBERSALE 2017 also implies that consumers tend to participate in last minute shopping. And what online shopping allows that physical in-store shopping does not, is the ability to bookmark desired products, and return to it anytime after further deliberation has been done.
Furthermore, with online banking, PayPal, Cash on Delivery and a list of other online payment platforms, online shopping provides for a more comfortable shopping experience as customers are given a wider range of payment options.
However, it would be unfair to say that online shopping triumphs over in-store shopping, because it does not. Instead, they complement each other. It is as important to have a product on the web as it is to have it in-store. This allows customers to research about it, but also view it physically.
While there is immense potential for growth in e-commerce, there remains certain aspects of brick-and-mortar shops that online retail will not be able to replace. But this shouldn’t mean that merchants should opt out on taking their stores online.
How does #MYCYBERSALE help merchants?
When #MYCYBERSALE first launched in 2014, there were only 289 merchants. Last year, this number increased to 1,997. The 2018 edition targets 1,200 merchants with at least 50% of them expected to be exporters.
Participating merchants can be divided into two categories: micro enterprises and established companies.
For microenterprises, #MYCYBERSALE helps by offering them a platform to grow their brand and customer base in Malaysia and overseas. Last year’s edition saw the participation of 26 countries. This number is expected to increase to over 30 countries this year.
For established companies, the act of adopting e-commerce in their operations helps local companies to increase the size of their businesses by giving them greater reach than before.
Is online retail the future?
A recent FedEx-commissioned study revealed that Malaysia ranks 4th among nine Asian Pacific countries in digital platform implementation. We are also 3rd in adopting Industry 4.0 technologies. This shows that an increasing number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are adopting digital technology. And there is reason to believe that this number will only keep increasing.
For businesses, having an online listing is basically minimum investment and maximum exposure. It does not require much, but doing so caters to consumers’ need to research about products prior to purchasing them. In fact, it's common that if consumers cannot find a product online, they just might not buy it at all.
Overall, there is ample space for growth in Malaysia’s e-commerce industry. The direction that the nation is taking by emphasising on the digital economy seems to be one that is unavoidable. However, it remains a shift that is largely welcomed. And for that, it only seems suitable to say that exciting days lie ahead.
Now that you're enlightened, start getting more information on #MyCyberSale 2018 to prep yourself once the sale starts!