Shopee
PETALING JAYA: In an era of digitalisation, trust and safety are paramount for consumers shopping online.
According to Shopee, the leading eCommerce platform in South-East Asia and Taiwan, safety takes centre stage when one shops online.
When selecting a platform for online shopping, the top factor that influences Malaysian buyers is their ability to have safe shopping transactions, such as secure payment methods, clear return and money back policies, authentic and verified products, and good customer service resolutions, it added.
“This is especially true for shoppers aged 35 to 49 years old, whereas younger shoppers aged 18 to 34 years old place greater emphasis on the popularity of the platform, with the assumption that if more people use it, then it’s safe, and the wide assortment of products available,” it noted.
The eCommerce platform early this month revealed vital findings in its latest survey #ShopSafeWithShopee.
The survey, among others, found nine in 10 Malaysians prefer Shopee for safe online shopping.
The survey also found that eight in 10 Malaysians feel that Shopee provides the best scam support when shopping online.
The #ShopSafeWithShopee month-long survey was conducted among 1,000 Malaysian shoppers aged 18 and above between August and September.
The study also found the features that give shoppers the most peace of mind on Shopee are, among others, the platform features that allow customers to verify sellers, such as four-to-five star store ratings, live demos on Shopee live stream, and seller chat functions.
The Shopee Mall features, such as genuine premium brands, money-back guarantees, and the authentic deals circle, as well as Shopee Guarantee, which releases money to sellers only when the customer confirms receipt of goods are other features that provide peace of mind to shoppers.
Shopee Malaysia head of marketing Kenneth Soh said: “We are committed to providing our shoppers with a safe and secure online shopping experience.
“The platform has a number of initiatives to protect our shoppers, including Shopee Guarantee, Shopee Mall, and our dedicated scam response team. We remain committed to building a safe and secure environment for our users for an enjoyable shopping experience.”
In terms of shopper-awareness levels about scams, 80% of shoppers considered themselves “sufficiently knowledgeable” to “very knowledgeable” about online shopping scams, whereas 20% have encountered situations involving counterfeit purchases, contact from suspicious sellers, or susceptibility to scams.
Fifty per cent of respondents were worried about data breaches (stolen account, hacked, and stolen bank details), and 20% are concerned by fake sellers and counterfeit goods.
In addition to the safety features offered by the platform, Malaysians also rely on social proof and other buyer endorsements when choosing a seller.
According to the survey, seven in 10 respondents said that other buyer endorsements mattered, with 33% looking at testimonials and reviews, 24% looking at store ratings, 12% looking at the number of loyal followers of the store, and 4% looking at top sales for the keywords searched.
The remaining buyers surveyed also check seller chat performance, cancellation rates and seller verification such as Shopee Mall, Preferred and Preferred+ tags to pick sellers.
This data suggested that Malaysians value the opinions of other buyers when making online purchases.
They are also likely to choose sellers who have been verified by Shopee or who have a good track record of customer service.
Social proof is important especially for buyers of automotive and fast moving consumer goods.
