New generations of Malaysians are shopping with purpose online as Shopee‘s marketplace data shows online consumers are three times more likely to buy products that promote smarter consumption in 2023 than in 2020.
According to Shopee data revealed on Wednesday, Malaysians are increasingly searching for keywords such as ‘pre-loved’, ‘pre-owned’, ‘warehouse clearance’, ‘demo unit’ and ‘thrift’ over ‘new’.
Over the last three years, Shopee marketplace saw consumers putting value-based shopping into practice with a total 1.4 million items sold that were demo units, warehouse clearance items with minor defects, bundled goods, and also pre-owned products.
50 percent of these were fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) categories baby and toys, groceries and pets, and health and beauty, 27 percent pre-owned fashion, 17 percent lifestyle items (home and living, outdoor sports, hobbies, games and books) and the remainder used electronics.
“Value-based shopping is clearly the future. Generation Z shoppers on our marketplace are telling us with their keyword searches that for every six times they look for something new, four other times, they are looking for something pre-loved, recycled, reused or display units,” said Kenneth Soh, Head of Marketing at Shopee Malaysia.
According to him, these shoppers are exercising their purchasing power in a very deliberate way, and it’s humbling to be able to meet the needs of this group of consumers by connecting them to sellers who are aligned with their values.
“Shopee makes it easy for Malaysian sellers with stocks to clear to list their pre-loved goods and describe and show users the conditions they are authentically in so that people can make smarter shopping decisions,
“In February 2023, we saw an estimated 15% increase in pre-loved SKU listings compared to the same month last year. We believe that we make it easier for our consumers to shop with more value online,” he concluded.
According to Shopee, the most popular warehouse clearance supplies were hand sanitisers as Malaysians increased their need for personal hygiene protection.
As households economized on spending, overstock but affordable skincare, cosmetics, and personal care products were hot in demand.
Unsurprisingly, shoppers also chose ‘pre-owned’ over ‘new’ with baby and children accessories, baby and children toys, and pet accessories that get outgrown with age.
Influencers’ content on Shopee Live has also been shifting to cater to value-based and purposeful shopping decisions, according to Shopee.
Throughout the last three years, livestream sellers recorded four times more pre-loved orders sold and twice as much live streaming content for pre-owned products compared to new products.
This could be attributed to the authenticity generated by influencers demonstrating pre-loved units in their genuine condition along with positive messages shaping sustainable mindsets.
Shopee is the leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia and Taiwan.
The firm promotes an inclusive and sustainable digital ecosystem by enabling businesses to digitalize and grow their online presence.
The firm is part of Sea Limited, a leading global consumer internet company. Sea’s mission is to better the lives of consumers and small businesses with technology through its three core businesses: Shopee, Garena and SeaMoney.