HTC Malaysia is collaborating with Shopee to launch its affordable mid-range handphone, the HTC Desire 12 and Desire 12+ on the e-commerce marketplace.
Besides the launch of these latest products, HTC will launch its official e-store on Shopee.
HTC marketing manager Cherry Ong said this is the first time for the consumer electronics company to have an official e-store in Malaysia.
“We cannot deny that there has been a change in consumers’ behaviour and this (e-commerce) is something we would like to try.
“Jumping on e-commerce platforms like Shopee is a new marketing approach that we are taking,” she told The Malaysian Reserve yesterday.
She added that Shopee stands out among the e-commerce platforms due to its rapid growth.
“At the same time, looking at the growth of e-commerce today, we have evaluated the situation and the best decision is to collaborate with Shopee,” Ong said.
She said with the collaboration, HTC will provide a competitively priced HTC smartphones, especially for the latest Desire 12 series.
Presently, Shopee has about 300,000 sellers and 400 brands on its e-commerce platform.
Meanwhile, Shopee regional MD Ian Ho said the majority of the sellers on its marketplace comprise small and medium enterprises who are also selling on other social media plat- forms such as Facebook and Instagram.
“With that said, when it comes to brands, we are very selective as we only recognise mostly international brands,” he said.
Ho said what distinguishes Shopee from other market-places is that it does not charge commission to its sellers.
“By doing this, it allows merchants to reduce their operational costs. We also do not charge shipping fees to our consumers as it will remove doubts of buying the products and improve buyers’ experience,” he said.
Shopee has about nine million users on the platform and it has recorded a gross merchandise value of US$4.1 billion (RM16.03 billion) in seven countries. The marketplace is also riding on the mobile craze.
“With nine million shoppers on our platform, 90% of them are purchasing on their mobile phones. So, we are captivating more of the mobile-centric audience,” he said.
HTC Desire 12 and Desire12+ will be available for pre-orders on the e-commerce platform at a special price of RM599 (recommended retail price [RRP] RM734) and RM729 (RRP RM899) respectively on April 26, from 9am onwards.