While the western markets are the battleground of choice for western FBAs, we look at how you can boost your potential into expanding your business in a fast-rising online consumer market in Southeast Asia (SEA).
We talked with Andy, who for the past year, has given 300 workshops and 40 masterclasses as an Amazon sales trainer and consultant in South East Asia. He teaches sellers in the Southeast Asian region primarily in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines, including Hong Kong and Taiwan.
While SEA consumers are still catching up with their European and Western counterparts when it comes to online spending, one must not think that they prefer the cheapest price over product quality. And while they still go for the more traditional approach in shopping for items, they are becoming a fast-growing market for online sellers both locally and globally.
Lazada and Shopee: The Amazons of the Southeast
New platforms like Lazada and Shopee are two of the biggest online shopping platforms in Southeast Asia as of the moment. Lazada, owned by Chinese giant Alibaba, and Shopee, born in Singapore, lead the way in making online business transactions easier for the region’s consumers.
Andy adds that because of the use of local and global fulfillment methods like Lazada, both sellers and consumers are now having a smoother and more efficient way of doing online business with each other.
While Lazada and Shopee may not have huge fulfillment centers right now, sellers can use them to ship products all over the region for a cheaper price. Sellers can also use the local fulfillment centers across Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia to stock up their products much like an Amazon Fulfillment Center.
Western and European sellers are starting to see the potential in growing their business eastside and are now taking interest in making their products available on the Lazada and Shopee platforms. They are now seeing these two companies as an additional platform to Amazon.
Andy tells us that Lazada and Shopee use the English language for their interface. For countries like Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia where the local language is used primarily, language translation apps are always there to help consumers with their transactions.
Andy reckons that with all the things happening in China right now, he himself is exploring for more sources and products in the South East Asian region rather than China alone. And with the Lazada and Shopee platforms getting stronger by the day, it might be worth a look for western and European sellers as well.
Andy can be contacted through his YouTube account for more details and insights on how to grow your business in the Southeast Asian region.
Check out Andy’s YouTube channel where he constantly shares various Amazon-related content. If you want to get in touch with him, feel free to contact him at FBAulous@gmail.com.
About Andy:
Andy is an Amazon trainer, who for the past year, has given 300 workshops and 40 masterclasses as an Amazon sales consultant in South East Asia. He teaches sellers in the Southeast Asian region primarily in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines, including Hong Kong and Taiwan. He also runs a successful YouTube channel where he shares Amazon-related content.
