Cross-border e-commerce will be launched during Lazada's Online Revolution campaign at the end of November with the goal of adding 7 million products over the next year and 25,000 merchants by the end of it.
Aim to better satisfy customers
The 21st century started with a noticeable wave of globalisation that has changed core economic concepts. During the development process, the world is flatter and flatter in terms of commerce. It is now a level playing field, where all competitors have an equal opportunity and customers have access to a wide range of products and services locally as well as internationally. As a result, a perceptual shift is required for countries, companies, and individuals to remain competitive in a global market where historical and geographical divisions are becoming increasingly irrelevant.
Affirming its position at the forefront of e-commerce not only in Vietnam but also across South East Asia, Lazada inevitably has to keep up with the trading speed which goes beyond country's border. Since consumers' demands are becoming more complex, local products hardly meet all their needs. People are now able to buy items from across the ocean, and strong players are the ones who can embrace the potential and opportunities thrown up by this trend.
Lazada, as a top online shopping destination, has decided to expand its categories, adding cross-border products in its variable assortments. Cross-border products are the next advanced step in the development journey. It helps to claim strongly the obvious advantage of Lazada in category aspect. Cross border will enable items from all over the world to be bought and shipped to Vietnam through Lazada.vn. Joining hands with Lazada in this programme are some big names like Amazon, Alibaba, Taobao, and eBay, guaranteeing customers plenty of choice. The objective of having this new category is to enlarge consumers' product choice by providing them with an even wider range of day-to-day products as well as the best deals available. In future Lazada will continue to aim to be more and more involved in day-to-day necessity of its customers.
In future consumers can easily buy a range of goods like fashion products, watches and accessories at competitive prices, and later on home and living, home appliances and electronic products made by prestigious brands from China to Korea, Taiwan, Europe, and the US. Cross-border products will also come with the usual returns policy. As for warranty, it will depend mostly on the original sellers and on Lazada's regular policy.
Challenges to overcome
There are certain obstacles related to logistics, including import of products, inventory and delivery to customers, and in case items are returned, the entire process is repeated.
On top of that, as part of its effort to offer customers multiple options with best quality, Lazada is again the pioneer in cross-border e-commerce in Vietnam. Taking the early lead comes together with wounds and bruises. As crossborder is an erotic category to supply, Lazada will surely encounter difficulties in registration process and custom procedure in Vietnam. The additional operating costs are expected to be massive. However, with the goal of giving customers the best possible shopping experience, Lazada is willing to set a sprat to catch a mackerel. Expecting an increase in the number of orders for cross-border products, Lazada has put in place a system to limit the number of daily orders until operations prove to be scalable. As for consumers' expectations, Lazada lives to serve its customers and all challenges are transformed into innovative solutions to bring customers the best products at the most competitive prices and with the greatest convenience.
Why now?
The cross-border category is a part of Lazada's key strategic campaign - Online Revolution. It is Southeast Asia's version of Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Singles Day. First begun in November 2012 in Singapore and to last a month in six countries -- Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam --now, Online Revolution started on November 11 and will culminate in a three-day finale ending on 12 December. It offers attractive deals for customers brought through partnerships with prestigious local and international brands.