KUALA LUMPUR, July 7 — The Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry has partnered with Shopee to launch the Buatan Malaysia campaign on the e-commerce giant to ensure an impactful and effective campaign this year.
The campaign is part of the government’s Kempen Beli Barangan Malaysia initiative that was introduced to rejuvenate the national economy by encouraging Malaysians to buy local first.
Under the partnership, new incentives that support the digital acceleration growth and economic impetus for Malaysian sellers and Malaysian-made products will be rolled out.
Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Alexander Nanta Linggi launched the campaign at Shopee’s headquarters here in Mid Valley City today.
Following a successful debut last year which saw a 330 per cent increase on the average daily order of Malaysian-made items, this year’s campaign offers five times more products on the platform.
Last year, 400 sellers participated in the campaign with over 2,300 products but this year, 4,000 sellers have come on board for the Buatan Malaysia campaign with more than 11,500 products.
Shopee Malaysia Fast Moving Consumer Goods head Tan Ming Kit said the numbers indicate a growing demand for Malaysian products.
“What we need to do is give them (sellers) enough visibility and exposure so people are able to search for (Malaysian products) to help our local sellers grow even more,” Tan said.
To further facilitate this growth, Shopee has also launched a micro site known as Buy Malaysia which spotlights homegrown products and local businesses.
The in-app portal is easily recognisable thanks to the tricoloured Jalur Gemilang icon that is used to indicate Malaysian-made products.
This campaign which is in its second year, has a myriad of items including groceries, health and beauty, fashion, household necessities, games, books and automotive products.
Alexander said the Covid-19 pandemic which swept across the country and the globe in the past few months has disrupted the livelihood of many, affecting businesses, especially vulnerable micro-small and medium enterprises.
But despite the major health, community and economic challenges, he said the movement control order which was implemented by the government brought to light stories of the people’s resilience in the face of adversity and the role of e-commerce entities such as Shopee in aiding the country’s economic recovery.
“It is clear that the government needs to strengthen public-private partnerships with online marketplaces to accelerate digitalisation and make sure that no entrepreneurs, especially our small-and-medium-scale entrepreneurs (MSMEs), are left behind,” he said.
On the role of the campaign, Alexander said the national campaign has always been synonymous with the Malaysian identity and also paved the way for many Malaysian brands to achieve success.
“As the number one and leading e-commerce platform in Malaysia with over 20 million app downloads and 800,000 online entrepreneurs, we believe that Shopee is the right partner to work with in order to revitalise the economy, create job opportunities and promote Buatan Malaysia products not only to consumers in Malaysia but all over the world.
“We believe our renewed collaboration will help drive the nation’s economy forward with ambitious targets to generate increased orders and diversify the pool of Buatan Malaysia products and services,” he said.
Source: https://www.malaymail.com/news/life/2020/07/07/domestic-trade-and-consumer-affairs-ministry-shopee-team-up-to-boost-buatan/1882371