SINGAPORE - Farmers in Cameron Highlands, a cradle of Malaysia's farming industry, dumped hundreds of tons of produce in March after Covid-19 lockdowns shuttered wholesale markets and restaurants across the nation. They also gave Alibaba a chance to crack a difficult arena.
"Covid-19 is a catalyst of digital transformation in South-east Asia," Lazada Group chief executive officer Pierre Poignant said in an interview."When consumers build a habit, it doesn't easily go away. E-commerce will become a way of life." "Local SMEs are realizing that digitizing their business is the way forward to remain sustainable in the long-term, diversify their revenue stream, and market to the increasingly growing internet economy," Shah said.
In Indonesia, the largest and most promising market in the region, Alibaba-backed Tokopedia ranks as the top e-commerce company based on web traffic, followed by Shopee, Bukalapak and Lazada. Blibli is the online grocery leader, while"Shopee, Tokopedia and Lazada are playing fast catch-up," said Roshan Raj, a Singapore-based partner at research firm RedSeer Consulting.
Lazada acquired Singapore e-grocer RedMart in 2016. It struggled to meet demand and had to temporarily suspend new grocery orders in April to make adjustments. Poignant said changes made to RedMart helped the company serve 50 per cent more customers each day a month later.