July 12, 2021 
Ever since the COVID-19 has hit us hard, the reliance on digital mode has been on a surge. People go online to shop for essential goods and prefer contactless payment mode to avoid exposure. The truth being said, lockdown and social distancing measures have accelerated the growth rate of e-commerce platforms. Traditional offline businesses are now transiting online as the brick-and-mortar system is losing its spark in recent times. Sellers, no matter how small it is, are pacing up with the acceleration of digitization and learning how to sustain in these unprecedented times.
Here are five reasons every traditional business should invest in the e-commerce retail platform
- More people are buying and spending more online
- Integration of offline and online shopping experience
- Setting up a brick and mortar system is quite expensive
- Massive audience reach
- Customer data analytics lets you enhance your marketing strategy
Many of Southeast Asia’s E-commerce platforms are coming to the forefront to make a more sophisticated digital retail ecosystem for the world as a whole. Shopee is one such E-commerce retail platform that has launched a variety of programs to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across its markets. From offering financial benefits to providing resources to imparting practical skills, Shopee has been dedicated to assisting small or local businesses to flourish digitally and come on board. Integrated to aid payment and logistic services, and meet the needs of a mobile-first economy, it is a hub for business planning to move on online platforms.
In its continuity to help small businesses drive sales online, Shopee offers a range of tools to obtain shopping insights. This giant E-commerce platform teamed up with Google to launch Google Ads with Shopee, a first-of-its-kind marketing solution for brands to generate traffic.
Shopee’s E-commerce Booster Package
In Singapore, Shopee’s E-commerce Booster Package is one step to help SMEs leverage financial relief. The E-commerce Booster package will help offline retailers establish their online business in Singapore and provide them with information and tools on how to get started. In collaboration with Enterprise Singapore and other e-commerce players, Shopee’s E-commerce Booster Package provides numerous benefits to the business owners including lowered advertising and free shipping, among many others. Brands on Shopee are given access to intense marketing tools to accelerate their traffic, create meaningful relations with their customers, manage and measure the progress of their marketing campaigns.
Solutions offered by the e-commerce platforms under the e-commerce booster package
- Content development (product photoshoot, copywriting, product packaging)
- Product listing (setting up of merchant store, uploading of content, store decoration)
- Channel management ( pricing, promotion/campaign planning, inventory management, data analytics)
- Fulfillment (warehousing, fulfillment by e-commerce platforms, integration with last-mile logistics providers)
- Advertising and promotion (e.g. cross-channel marketing campaigns, onsite/in-store marketing campaigns)
- Workshops on how to improve e-commerce capabilities
Eligibility for the e-commerce booster package
The brands or retailers can apply for the Ecommerce booster package with one of the appointed e-commerce platforms. It must not have an existing account with its appointed E-commerce platforms.
But there are conditions that retailers need to fulfill before they apply for the package:
- Business entities should be registered/incorporated in Singapore. The company’s registration date should be on or before 30 April 2021;
- Group annual turnover not exceeding $100 million per annum based on the most recent audited report, or group employment not exceeding 200 employees;
- Need to have a minimum of 30% local shareholding;
- The Singapore Standard Industrial Classification (SSIC) code starts with 47 is a must.
About Vinculum Group
Vinculum Group is a Global Software Company enabling OmniChannel Retailing that helps brands and retailers to accelerate and reach customers across E-commerce platforms globally.
