THE Covid-19 pandemic has shed its light on the need for a more contactless approach to daily tasks such as the exchange of money for goods – encouraging the nation’s acceleration towards digital and cashless payment adoption.
According to the Bank Negara Malaysia annual report 2021, ewallet transactions increased by 74.4% to RM1.1bil from the year before, with more merchants accepting e-payments as the number of merchant registrations for DuitNow QR service increased by 59.4% to 1.1 million by end-2021.
For Shopee, this spurred the possibility of helping local businesses to capture new opportunities through convenient and secure cashless payment options such as ShopeePay and ShopeeFood in the Klang Valley, Johor Bahru, Penang, Sabah and now in Ipoh.
Four local entrepreneurs share their journey on how they digitalised their businesses, which increased growth and awareness surrounding their establishments:
4 Beans owner Nelson Loh.
Family ties bind, even from afar
Thirty-year-old Nelson Loh started his entrepreneurial journey two years ago with the desire to start his own business and carry on his grandfather’s legacy of making tau foo fah, serving “creative” variations of the desserts ranging from their best selling signature tau foo fah with seven toppings, to modest American cuisine.
He joined ShopeeFood early this year – which is being used in two out of his six stores – where he noticed a positive influence on both in-store and delivery orders.
“Offline payment vouchers from ShopeePay as part of the many campaigns have brought a rise to our (offline traffic), with new and existing customers as they are constantly on the lookout for perks, vouchers or discounts.
“(Meanwhile) the presence of ShopeeFood in Johor has helped grow our delivery orders and it also serves as an alternative to other food delivery companies,” he said.
AnMour Cafe director Alexander Lim.
A love affair with food
Alexander Lim, 32, has expanded his business to 11 outlets in Johor alone, with plans to take on the Klang valley soon with his best sellers like salted egg yolk chicken chop and honey glazed pork chop.
Lim noted the importance of the e-wallet payment and delivery apps during the pandemic as more people would opt to avoid physical contact. The apps also offer him streamlined services as he manages multiple outlets.
“Shopee is known by many and many believe that it has a large database of users with a clear reputation in the different markets.
“Also, we wanted to provide customers with alternatives in terms of getting their meals with a more convenient and secure platform like ShopeeFood,” he said, adding that he started leveraging the platform this year.
Uncle Lim Delivery owner Jeanne Tan Ji Jiun.
Winner, winner chicken dinner
Jeanne Tan, 33, started an online food delivery business in 2018 serving ayam penyet and salted egg chicken among others.
While not new to the food delivery system, Tan has been observing significant results with ShopeeFood since its launch in Johor.
“We are always open-minded and digitalising our business as it allows us to target the younger generation who is our customer base.
“(With ShopeeFood) it is easier for us to handle cash transactions and to reduce bank visits, (encouraging) minimal physical transactions,” she said.
Chance Holding Sdn Bhd & Chatto Tea founders Terence Lee (left) and Gan Shun Fen.
Duo taking on the world
At 34, Johor-born Terence Lee has seen the growth of his brands to 30 branches in Malaysia with successful expansion overseas – in Canada, Australia and Brunei – since it began in 2017.
Lee opined that digital wallets and food delivery apps are the future and advised entrepreneurs to “continue to come out with interesting products to be featured in food delivery service and encourage customers to use ewallet so that less cash is safer and easier to manage for the outlet.”
Unlike his fellow Johorean entrepreneurs, he started to use the ShopeeFood when it first launched in the Klang valley in 2021, when he discovered that the platform: functions and features were “friendlier” for most of his customers to use.
Enjoy your favourite food at home
ShopeeFood connects Shopee users to various eateries, from popular joints to local street food stalls, at the best value. ShopeeFood is available in Klang Valley, Johor Bahru, Penang, Sabah and with the new addition in Ipoh, Perak.
