ASUS ROG Phone 5 Pre-Order Coming To Shopee On 19 March

Almost immediately after it was officially unveiled to the world, ASUS has begun accepting pre-orders for its new gaming phone, the ROG Phone 5 in Malaysia ahead of the phone’s release in April. At that time, the pre-order can only be done through physical dealers but that is about to change later this week as gamers will soon be able to pre-order the device via Shopee.

In today’s announcement, ASUS stated that the ROG Phone 5 pre-order on Shopee will take place on 19 March. That being said, the exact starting time mentioned on the listing is 11:59 PM on 18 March, in case you are really eager to book your unit.

Just like the initial early-bird units, gamers that pre-order ROG Phone 5 through Shopee will also receive ROG Kunai Gamepad alongside their new gaming phone. We have confirmed with ASUS Malaysia that the price of the phone for the Shopee pre-order program also remains as RM 2,999 for the 8GB/128GB setup and RM 3,799 for the 16GB/256GB option, despite the inaccurate figures stated on the listing.

ASUS Malaysia’s representative also pointed out that only 400 units will be made available through the pre-order program at Shopee. For those who are wondering about the higher-end ROG Phone 5 Pro and Ultimate models which will only be available in May, unfortunately, the company has no announcement for them at the moment.

Shopee Malaysia Rolls Out Next-Day Delivery In Time For 3.3 Supermarket Sale

Shopee Malaysia officially announced its next-day delivery service, just in time for its 3.3 Supermarket Sale that has just kicked off today. However, the service is currently only available in Klang Valley, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka, Johor, Perak,  Pahang, and Penang.

Bear in mind that next-day delivery isn’t applicable to all items – only the ones on Shopee Mart marked with the Next-Day Delivery tag. You will also have to place your order before 12:00 PM to use that option as orders placed after that will be considered as the next day’s orders, and will be delivered the following day.

Here is a handy table that explained the timing for Shopee’s Next-Day Delivery option:

While the service currently doesn’t apply to public holidays, it will work for weekends orders and deliveries. If your eligible order isn’t delivered by the next day, you’ll get a Free Shipping voucher to be used on your next Shopee Mart purchase. But as always, terms and conditions apply.

Shopee said its next-day delivery service is part of its larger efforts to shorten delivery times for sellers and buyers in Malaysia. Shopee Regional Managing Director Ian Ho claimed that deliveries that used to take up to 10 days, and longer in East Malaysia, have now been reduced to one to four days.

Those interested in trying out the next-day delivery service can do so now during Shopee’s 3.3 Supermarket Sale, which offers shoppers free shipping with a RM10 minimum spend, daily 50% off deals, and bargains from as low as 33 sen. Scheduled to end on 3 March 2021, so you can visit its official page for further details.

MCO-hit Petaling Street Shifts Online With Shopee’s Help For CNY 2021

Petaling Street is moving online this Chinese New Year to Shopee in order to adapt to the on-going MCO 2.0. Sadly but unsurprisingly, its traders were reported experiencing losses of up to 95% due to the ongoing restrictions on movement and economic activities. This collaboration with Shopee – called “Petaling Street Goes Ong-Line” – is aimed at enabling participating traders to market and sell their products nationwide.

Ang Say Tee, chairman of the Kuala Lumpur Hawkers and Petty Traders Association, pleaded with Malaysians to help the struggling Petaling Street traders.

He said, “The colourful and bustling Petaling Street is now completely empty as MCO 2.0 has restricted customers to visit our stores. Our members now have an oversupply of Chinese New Year paraphernalia, OX-related clothing and so much more.”

“With this partnership, we hope that Malaysians will support our Petaling Street vendors by purchasing their CNY needs from them and help us protect the legacy of Petaling Street. This Street is an important part of history which defines our multicultural nation. Please help us ensure that it does not go extinct,” he added.

With deals that start from as low as 88 sen, there is over 1,500 items offered by Petaling Street traders in a special “Petaling Street Goes Ong-Line” collection on Shopee, just in time for the Year of the Ox.

Shopee predicted that participating traders would enjoy a surge in customer traffic given that its 2.2 CNY Sale is currently taking place on the platform and will end on 13 February. If you’d like to know more or want to support the Petaling Street traders, head on to the Petaling Street CNY mini-site on Shopee Malaysia.

Selangor Kicks Off Another E-Bazar For Chinese New Year On Lazada and Shopee

The Selangor state government through Selangor Information Technology and Digital Economy Corporation (SIDEC) together with Invest Selangor have just launched yet another edition of Selangor E-Bazar on Lazada and Shopee.

This time around, the E-Bazar is being held in conjunction with the upcoming Chinese New Year. Starting from now until 7 March 2021, the state will be channelling RM2 million in digital vouchers on both e-commerce platforms.

While this would allow consumers to get their hands on products at a much lower price through participating E-Bazar CNY merchants, the whole idea is actually is to help businesses adapt to the ongoing COVID-19 situation. As noted above by the Menteri Besar of Selangor, Amirudin Shari, the state is targeting the participation of 25,000 SMEs as well as micro-businesses, including 12,500 new e-merchants for this edition of E-Bazar.

Businesses can start signing up now, the state said, but their business address must be registered in Selangor as well as meeting other criteria set by Shopee and Lazada. They can choose to register on either Shopee or Lazada or even both, the state said. After completing the form, they should receive a confirmation email from Shopee or Lazada in regards to their participation as a seller for this campaign.

The Selangor state government is clearly hoping that increased consumer spending will have positive ripple effects throughout the state economy. The state claimed that SMEs that participated in two E-Bazar campaigns in 2020 have managed to generate a total of RM1.39 billion to the economy through direct sales worth RM43.76 million which were initiated from the RM 3 million worth of vouchers that were placed into both E-Bazar editions.

For merchants that want to learn more about Selangor E-Bazar, do head on to SIDEC’s official website. As for those who want to take advantage of the discounts, just visit Selangor E-Bazar minisites over at Lazada and Shopee.

Shopee Launches Its CNY 2021 Sale

As Chinese New Year approaches, e-commerce platform Shopee has launched its 2.2 CNY Sale, which happens from now until 13 February 2021. The company said users are already typing in searches for “100 Plus”, “Chinese New Year decorations”, “bakkwa”, and more. Despite the ongoing pandemic and MCO, the festive shopping spirit seems very much alive.

As for the sale itself, Shopee users can look forward to daily 88% off discount vouchers, free shipping with a minimum spend of RM10, and bargains priced at a mere 8 sen.

Shopee will also be rolling out the daily RM8,888 Shopee Fortune Box, which features cash prizes ranging from RM0.88, RM8.88, RM88.88, RM888.88 all the way up to the grand prize of RM8,888. To stand a chance to win, users need to tune in to Shopee Live (the platform’s livestreaming feature) every day at 10pm. They can further increase their chances of winning by watching additional livestream sessions on 25 January and 2 February at 1pm.

The e-commerce company said that shoppers would be treated to lucrative deals on those two dates to mark the Pay Day sale and its first-ever flagship 2.2 CNY Sale, where users will receive an additional 88,000 free shipping vouchers applicable for purchases from as low as RM8, 50% Shopee Coins Cashback vouchers, and even more discounts.

Also, users will get up to 80% off on Limited Time Huat Huat Deals happening at 12am, 12pm, and 8pm on 2 February. In tandem with all this, Malaysians can play Shopee Games such as Shopee Farm, Shopee Bubble, Shopee Candy, Spin & Win, and many more, and win from a pool of 18,888,888 Shopee Coins.

Shopee: Consumer Tech Sales Grew By 4.5 Times During MCO 2.0

How are Malaysians spending their money during this MCO compared to the first one last year? E-commerce platform Shopee helpfully crunched its data to compare buying trends from the early days of both MCOs (11 January to 15 January 2021 vs. 16 March to 20 March 2020). Noting there were no signs of panic buying this time around, the online shopping platform said it saw strong numbers particularly in three categories: consumer tech, home improvement, and daily essentials.

Consumer tech is an obvious beneficiary of the ongoing pandemic and MCO, with sales in this category growing by a massive four and a half times (compared to the last MCO) to over 550,000 units sold.

As more people are forced to work, study or seek recreation at home, there is phenomenal demand for laptops, smartphones, tablets, network components, keyboards, printers and audio systems. Unsurprisingly, this tracks with global trends as well – PC sales saw their biggest growth in 10 years during COVID-strickened 2020.

Shopee also noted the local demand for affordable internet connectivity. After all, what’s the point of hardware if you can’t go online? To that note, close to 20,000 YES Kasi Up SIM cards were sold on the platform.

With more Malaysians staying indoors, there’s also a renewed interest in home improvement projects. Over 900,000 home decor items were sold, representing an eight times increase compared to last year.

And then there are the daily essentials. Five times more snacks (half a million units) such as biscuits, chocolates, dried fruits and nuts, and keropok were sold. Demand for meat, fish, vegetables, and fruits almost doubled to 85,000 units sold, while demand for pet food and treats tripled to over 330,000 units sold.

We can probably say that the significant increase in numbers is partly driven by how comfortable Malaysians have grown with e-commerce purchases and deliveries. Perhaps that’s another ‘new normal’.

Shopee Brings SPayLater To Malaysia: Currently Available For Select Users

Over in Indonesia and Thailand, one of the payment methods that are available for Shopee users over there is called SPayLater. In general, this particular method allows you to purchase products immediately and make your payment at another time.

As it turns out, the payment method has made its way into Malaysia although only selected users are able to utilize it at the moment. For Shopee Malaysia, there are four payments options provided under SPayLater which include Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) as well as monthly instalments that last two, three, or six months.

For the BNPL option, customers have to pay the full price of their purchase although they will not be charged any processing fee. On another hand customers that choose to pay for their items through monthly instalments, the processing fee will be 1.25% per month.

Regardless of their choice, they have to make the payment by the 10th of the month through ShopeePay e-wallet, online banking, or cash payment at 7-Eleven. Naturally, there is a late payment fee of 1.5% as well which is being charged on monthly basis.

According to Shopee Malaysia’s website, SPayLater is only available to Malaysia citizens that are at least 18 years old. It is not known when Shopee is going to make this payment option available to more users in Malaysia but it should happen very soon.