PHD Malaysia and Shopee create m-commerce toolkit

TweetPHD Malaysia and mobile-first social marketplace Shopee have partnered up to develop a ‘Plug N Play’ e-commerce and m-commerce Toolkit for brands to kick-start their mobile and e-commerce platforms.The PHD Shopee Toolkit includes PHD’s thought leadership on e-commerce and m-commerce which consist of its proprietary research studies covering consumer and media trends, as well as its fully integrated digital services. With increasing adoption and mobile penetration in this region, the thought leaderships will be offered to clients and brands accessing the viability of m-commerce.PHD will conduct a series of workshops, where brands will be enlightened on insights and data of the growing m-commerce market, as well as learning how they can leverage on digital and data marketing strategies to grow their business on the online platform.“Many brands are reluctant to invest in e-commerce infrastructure due to the high costs and long gestation period. However, there is a low-risk alternative by leveraging on our partnership with Shopee which provides a ‘plug and play’ model, essentially allowing brands to test and learn the nuances of m-commerce before deciding on a long term approach,” Jimmy Lim, general manager of PHD Malaysia said.Lim added mobile penetration in Malaysia has reached 136% in 2015, and the growth of connected devices has paved the way for a positive increase in the mobile commerce sector with at least 47% of Malaysians using their smartphones to shop online.Other studies from PHD also found that more Malaysians are looking for value and savings, thus the trend of online researching has increase, catalysing the growth of online and mobile shopping. In response to the slowdown in demand and decreased sales, many brands have had their budgets slashed and their resources cut back.“This will make it difficult for brands to determine what strategies to employ. M-commerce can help offset the resource cutbacks because starting a webstore or a store on the mobile platform is more cost effective than ‘brick and mortar’ expansion,” Lim added.“Our integrated digital services - from programmatic, data marketing management, search, social media and content - allow brands and sellers to reach their target markets efficiently, as well as providing an effective audience engagement platform. The PHD Shopee Toolkit is essentially a one-stop solution for any brand to launch their mobile store presence and webstore in the shortest time possible,” adds Lim.Ian Ho, regional managing director for Shopee said:"Shopee frequently conducts classes to educate our sellers on how to sell better. This partnership extends to PHD conducting workshops and talks for our Sellers to help them improve their digital marketing presence."