Lazada Group has recently held its fourth edition of the LazMall Brands Future Forum (BFF) 2023 on 31 August 2023. The conference brought together industry leaders and Lazada’s partners from across Southeast Asia to exchange ideas and innovations aimed at enabling brands and sellers to thrive and offer a differentiated retail experience.
Some highlights shared at the conference include:
- In his opening address, James Dong, Chief Executive Officer, Lazada Group shared his confidence in the outlook for Southeast Asia’s digital commerce industry, which continues to be a main growth driver of the region’s digital economy. In line with this optimistic outlook, monthly active buyers on LazMall have increased by more than 3.5 times from 2019 to 2022. James also outlined Lazada’s commitment to growing a sustainable business and referenced key highlights from the company’s latest ESG Impact Report for financial year 2023.
- Jason Chen, Chief Business Officer, Lazada Group highlighted in his keynote address that the growing consumer demand for engagement, innovation and technology across Southeast Asia presents significant growth opportunities for brands on LazMall. Over the last year, LazMall’s traffic, buyers and order growth has accelerated, and its customer base has expanded across new, returning and loyal buyers. The LazMall store membership program is a key tool to increase user value, with the total LazMall store members reaching more than 13 million as of July 2023. LazBeauty Club members alone are contributing 30 per cent in category sales.
- Howard Wang, Chief Technology Officer, Lazada Group in his fireside chat with Jeffrey Towson, Managing Partner, TechMoat Consulting shared his insights on how Lazada is applying emerging technologies to unlock new innovations. During the session, Howard also unveiled the launch of Lazada’s latest AI-powered and augmented reality application, the Skin Test technology, across all six Southeast Asian markets. Beauty lovers are now able to run a skin diagnosis and analysis using their phone cameras to better understand their skin conditions: skin type and tone, sensitivities, as well as other skin concerns such as wrinkles, dark spots, the appearance of pores and more. Based on the results of the diagnosis, shoppers will receive recommendations for relevant products to address their needs and concerns.
In a panel discussion on How AI May Change Retail: Outlook to 2030, moderated by Connie Kwok, Partner, Bain & Company, one of the panelists, Jerome Hamlin, Head of Industry (eCommerce), Google shared some key industry trends that Google is seeing, including the growth of cross-border commerce and the increasing adoption of AI marketing solutions. Duangdao Mahanavanont, Chief Executive Officer, Sabina Thailand, also chimed in with how Sabina has been implementing AI for demand and inventory forecasting as well as distribution in the fashion industry. For businesses to successfully leverage AI, Gary Chu, Senior Vice President (Online International), The Estée Lauder Companies Inc., stressed the importance of developing talent and equipping them with the right skill sets.
In the panel discussion moderated by Jianggan Li, CEO, Momentum Works on Leveraging the Southeast Asian eCommerce Ecosystem to Win, Alvin Teo, Chief Partnerships Officer, Ninja Van, Olive Tai, Managing Director & Co-Founder, Synagie Group Asia and Europe, Sujith Rao, Managing Director Commerce (SEA), Publicis Groupe and Vincent Iswara, CEO, DANA Indonesia detailed their respective journeys to remain competitive in the industry through the use and adoption of new technologies. To conclude the discussion, the panelists underlined the importance of data-driven solutions for businesses to differentiate themselves in an increasingly competitive and complex ecosystem.
The BFF Awards 2023 honoured 24 top performing and innovative global and Southeast Asian brands on the LazMall channel, with Nike, Unilever and Samsung taking home the most coveted LazMall Brand of the Year Award. Meanwhile, Oldtown White Coffee was announced as LazMall Local Superstar Award (Malaysia) for the remarkable performance of their flagship online store on Lazada. For more information on the BFF Awards winners, please refer to the Annex.
LazMall BFF is one of Lazada Group’s key initiatives and contributions to building a healthy and vibrant eCommerce ecosystem that will benefit the wider regional digital economy. The 2023 conference held at Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre in Singapore was attended by more than 900 participants comprising partners, brand representatives and sellers from across the region. Participants also had numerous opportunities to explore Lazada’s tools, including experiential booths featuring Lazada Sponsored Solutions, Lazada Logistics, and LazMall’s Buyer Tools, as well as breakout sessions focusing on specific discussion topics.
On top of that, Lazada continues to collaborate with international brand partners and homegrown favourites to bring the best deals and irresistible online exclusive offers on LazMall for millions of online customers. This month, Ringgit savvy consumers in Malaysia will be delighted to shop online during the Lazada 9.9 Mega Brands Sale, happening from 9 to 13 September 2023. The sensational 9.9 Sale is packed with an amazing line-up of unbeatable offers from prestigious brands, fabulous rebates, and fantastic savings, including the 9 Wonders* – nine special daily deals, Mesti Beli offer, 9.9 Surprise Boxes*, Lazada Bonus of RM9 off* for every RM90 spent, Everyday Cashback of up to 99%*, Free Shipping* and many more, all with terms and conditions.