Capitalise On E-Commerce Platform To Propel Brands, Says BrandLaureate

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 15 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian e-commerce market is a potential business platform for companies to push their brands to the next level, The BrandLaureate said. Chief Executive Officer Chew Bee Peng said a report showed that Malaysia's total retail e-commerce market accounted for only two per cent of the country's total retail market, much lower than that of South Korea at 15 per cent. "The news report also said that last year, only five per cent of Malaysian businesses have adopted e-commerce, despite the country's internet penetration of 67 per cent in 2015," she said. She said in addition, 47 per cent of Malaysians were using smartphone to shop online last year, lifting the country into top three in mobile shopping in the region. Hence, Malaysian companies should take the opportunity to push their brands to another level through e-commerce, she said in her presentation entitled "2017 - What Should Brands Need to Know and Do" at the BrandLaureate Brand Seminar here, Tuesday. On companies that assume that their business or brand are not suitable for e-commerce campaign, she said business players could always look at the ecosystem of e-commerce. "There are so many areas that you can be part of, such as logistics and information technology which are closely linked to the sector," she said. Besides e-commerce, Chew encouraged companies to fully utilise social media to promote their brands. "The social media will take a stronger foothold as live streaming, which provides real time engagement, allows you to tell your brand story better," she said. Speaking to Bernama later, Chew said if the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) were to be ratified next year, Malaysian brands had to be more innovative in order to compete against foreign brands that would be entering the local market. "They have to be more innovative, stronger, tougher and more competitive in order to compete with the foreign brands. "Of course, they also have to be more alert on what is happening around and should not be complacent," she said, adding that there must always be a leader to drive a brand. "If one is complacent and not driving a brand, the brand will be just a name and stay there, without growing," she said. -- BERNAMA