Shopee, Meta, launch affiliate partnerships on Instagram in Asia

- Affiliate partnerships on Instagram are available for creators across Southeast Asia and Taiwan

- Builds on the success of Facebook affiliate partnerships

- Creators can earn commissions by sharing Shopee products on Instagram

Creators in Southeast Asia and Taiwan will be some of the first outside of the US to sign up for affiliate partnerships from Shopee on Instagram.

Source: Shopee and Meta. Shopee and Meta today announced the launch of affiliate partnerships on
Instagram for creators across Southeast Asia and Taiwan.

The initiative from Shopee and Meta enables eligible creators in these locations to connect their Shopee affiliate account to Instagram, discover Shopee’s affiliate products and share recommendations with their audiences through Instagram Reels and Feed content. When Instagram viewers complete qualifying purchases on Shopee, the creators are eligible to earn commissions. 

The expansion builds on the success of Facebook affiliate partnerships, launched in 2025. As of March 2026, more than 5 million creators globally have connected their Facebook account to their Shopee affiliate account, with around 50% of onboarded creators new to the Shopee Affiliate Program. These numbers highlight the partnership’s success in attracting and enabling a new generation of affiliate creators.

Through this partnership, Meta and Shopee are making it easier for creators to monetise product recommendations, while helping shoppers discover relevant products through the content they already engage with. 

“Our success with Meta on Facebook affiliate partnerships has shown how powerful creator-led commerce can be when content, trust and shopping come together. We are excited to build on this momentum with Instagram, giving creators more ways to earn from product recommendations across Reels and Feed, while helping shoppers discover and purchase Shopee products more seamlessly. 

"This is part of Shopee’s broader commitment to supporting creators, sellers and brands as content becomes an increasingly important part of the online shopping journey,” said Peggy Zhu, Executive Director, Brand and Growth Marketing at Shopee.

With affiliate partnerships on Instagram, eligible creators can:

● Connect their Shopee affiliate account to their Instagram professional account

● Discover and select Shopee affiliate products to recommend in Reels and Feed content 

● Showcase multiple products in a single piece of content, with a shopping icon and a “commission eligible” label, enabling viewers to easily identify featured products and enjoy a more seamless journey from discovery on Instagram to checkout on Shopee

 ● Earn commissions when viewers complete qualifying purchases on Shopee 

Early signals from the initial Instagram Reels rollout have also been encouraging. Across markets, creators have shown strong early interest in using short-form content to share product recommendations with their audiences. 

Meta and Shopee are committed to protecting user data. Account linking and affiliate activity data are processed in accordance with applicable data protection laws, and creators maintain control over their connected accounts at all times.

“As a creator, I’ve always used Instagram Reels to share product recommendations in a way that feels personal and useful for my followers. Affiliate partnerships on Instagram make this even easier because I can add Shopee products directly to my Reels, helping viewers find what I’m recommending more quickly. It also gives me more opportunities to earn from the content I already enjoy creating,” shared Ekida (@ekidarehanf), a content creator from Indonesia.

Shopee and Meta are also testing an affiliate ad solution in a limited rollout starting with selected Southeast Asia markets, with a view to expanding over the coming months. With the creator's consent, Shopee sellers and brands can amplify select affiliate content as clearly-labelled paid promotions, with Meta's ad system helping to reach relevant audiences. This gives sellers and brands a seamless way to amplify creator content that is already resonating with audiences, driving greater reach and return on investment. 

"By bringing affiliate partnerships to Instagram with Shopee, we're creating more opportunities for creators to earn from the content they love making, while helping businesses of all sizes reach new customers. The strong adoption we've seen on Facebook shows the real demand for tools that turn creative content into meaningful commerce," said Nicole Tan, MD, Meta Singapore. 

Details 

Affiliate partnerships on Instagram with Shopee in Asia are now available to eligible creators in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines.

Thailand’s biggest Dota 2 tournament is the final ESL One for 2024

ESL FACEIT Group (EFG), the leading esports and video game entertainment company, today announced ESL One Bangkok 2024 powered by Intel, a US$1,000,000 Dota 2 tournament that will take place in Bangkok, Thailand, from December 9 to 15. 

Source: EFG. Poster for ESL One Bangkok 2024 powered by Intel.

Featuring twelve of the world’s best Dota 2 teams, this year marks the first time the global Dota 2 tournament has been hosted in Thailand. The tournament heralds the return of ESL One powered by Intel to the Asia-Pacific region after a successful iteration in 2023. Over 335,000* concurrent viewers tuned in online last year to watch Azure Ray win in front of a sold-out crowd in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

“We’ve had Bangkok and its amazing fans on our shortlist for some time, and are super excited to finally have the opportunity to be able to bring world-class Dota to this passionate fanbase,” said Tobias Fjellander, Product Manager, Dota 2 at ESL FACEIT Group. 

“We’re looking forward to welcoming Dota 2 fans from Thailand, Singapore and the region to Bangkok this December, for what’s set to be the biggest Dota 2 tournament ever hosted in the country.”

ESL One Bangkok 2024 powered by Intel will kick off with open qualifiers from November 11-14, followed by closed qualifiers on November 15-17. Eight teams from the closed qualifiers, along with four teams from the ESL Pro Tour leaderboard, will advance to the group stages, played out across December 9-11. The best eight teams from the group stages will advance to the playoffs, with the final three days of the playoffs held live in Royal Paragon Hall, Bangkok, December 13-15.

Details

Tickets to watch the ESL One Bangkok 2024 playoffs across December 13-15 are now available, with ticket prices starting at S$61 for three-day tickets. Premium add-on tickets, featuring an event goodie bag containing an event tee, mousepad and collectible coin, cost S$58. 

In addition to watching the playoffs live, ticket holders will also gain access to additional activities, including exclusive signing sessions with pro teams, a Dota 2 cosplay showcase featuring local cosplayers, and access to partner booths.

Fans can purchase tickets via https://esl-one.com/bangkok/.

Visit pro.eslgaming.com/tour/dota2/ for updates.

*According to escharts.com

Kramnik to play Alcántara in rematch on Chessarena.com

Source: World Chess. Kramnik (left) will replay José Alcántara (Jospem, right) in August 2024.

World Chess, a chess organisation committed to enhancing the global mass market appeal of chess, will host Clash of Claims 2, a chess rematch after the first Clash of Claims between Vladimir Kramnik and José Alcántara ended in controversy. The event will feature live commentary from prominent figures in the chess community and interactive segments for viewers.

Kramnik, the 14th World Chess champion, has been actively sharing evidence of what he believes indicates cheating in online chess tournaments. With the ease of access to software that could help players cheat, the results of some online tournaments have led to accusations of deception.

Following Kramnik’s claims, a hybrid approach was suggested in June this year with Kramnik playing against Grandmaster José Alcántara, a well-known online chess player, in a three-day chess event. This first Clash of Claims event was held in Madrid and was a hybrid mix of in-person board games and online matches via the Chess.com platform.

Due to technical issues with Chess.com, World Chess has invited the players to return for Clash of Claims 2 in London from 19 - 21 August 2024, hosted on its Chessarena.com platform. This rematch will have stringent physical and online anti-cheating methods in place to address previous alleged shortcomings. Chessarena.com is the only online platform that has an anti-cheating engine approved by FIDE, the international governing body of chess.

Chessarena.com plans to leverage this event to highlight new platform features, including the introduction of in-game emoticons, and to run a Clash of Claims 2 promotion for new subscribers.

Ilya Merenzon, CEO of World Chess said: “We are so excited to welcome these two renowned players, once again, to the stage to battle it out in London.

“World Chess and the FIDE Arena are looking forward to resolving once and for all the fair play allegations raised by Kramnik, and to enhance the reputability of online chess tournaments.

“We are confident Chessarena.com will provide advanced anti-cheating measures and a superior platform from which the games will be hosted.

“Online chess is going through a major transformation right now. We are possibly witnessing the ultimate way to address all anti-cheating allegations — by taking an online dispute to the physical board, marking a truly hybrid approach.”

Sing! Men's Chorus launches virtual choir performance

Singapore's all-male choir Sing! Men’s Chorus (SMC) has marked the resumption of arts performances in Singapore with the launch of its first virtual choir project, Why We Sing. The music video, on SMC's YouTube channel, was two months in the making and embodies a very powerful message of hope – that the local arts community can reach a new normal where society recognises performance arts, including music as essential to community development.

SMC's Choral Director Gregory Chen said such projects are important to keep engagement and conversation going on the importance of the arts in Singapore. He selected Why We Sing by Greg Gilpin, a US-based composer, arranger and choral conductor, to be the first virtual project for the choir as it reminds us of why music is important to our souls, and to connecting with others, especially at a time when it is tougher to have physical meetings. Lyrics in Why We Sing allude to soothing souls and bringing "together lives that have been torn apart", referring to the singing as a "neverending gift that circles back again".

"While the number of arts professionals may be relatively small, the total arts community that includes schools, religious communities and countless other voluntary enthusiasts far outstrips that number. Their collective activity fosters firm friendships, responses to meaningful causes and a gentler nurturing energy that not only entertains but also inspires, supports and promotes charity among people outside of their organisations in ways that laws, politics, science and money cannot buy. To ignore their vital role in society is to underestimate their value within their communities and to commit a disservice to the needy and underprivileged,” shared Chen.

SMC has a cult following among the choral community for its entertaining annual concerts as well as other projects. The Chorus has put up at least one full concert every year, with the exception of the 2020 season, when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down all possibilities of group rehearsals from being carried out. With the new normal in place, the choir will now take its performances online, and plans to roll out more virtual content for its growing global fanbase.

SMC, formerly known as the Singapore Men's Chorus, was formed to provide an avenue for those interested in male chorale and present another form of choral music for the public to enjoy. It all started with a chance meeting at a wine-tasting party between two men, Todd Katschke and Jason Ong, both of whom had been active in choral music for many years. Since there was no men's chorus in Singapore, Katschke and Ong decided to plug the gap. SMC was born with 11 members in 2005, and has grown to over 30 members today. Members hail from all walks of life, and from vastly different musical backgrounds. For some members, SMC has been the first training ground for choral music.

Details:

 

Watch Why We Sing. It is dedicated to the Singapore arts community.

Following the release of Why We Sing will be a documentary giving a peek behind-the-scenes of what it takes to put together a project of this nature, especially under the tight restrictions of the last few months.

Lark Technologies offers Southeast Asian business free collaboration tool

Singapore-based Lark Technologies has made its all-in-one enterprise-grade work tool for seamless remote collaboration free across Southeast Asia.

Available in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, Lark offers unlimited video calls and online collaboration among other features to enable seamless collaboration. Lark can help customers check team members' schedules within a chat, launch a video call from a calendar event, and co-edit a document during video calls.

Joey Lim, Commercial Lead, APAC, Lark, estimated that 90% of employees in the Asia Pacific region are currently working from home, and said the company is helping customers get their best work done even when their teams are not physically together. "It's never been easier to start remote working," she said.

“With remote working in place, organisations are grappling to ensure that their employees remain productive while working remotely. The same also applies in schools and universities where educators are working hard to ensure that their students can continue to learn wherever they may be,” she added.

“In light of the situation, we saw the need to provide accessibility to digital collaboration tools and have begun offering Lark for free, ensuring that any organisations regardless of size can operate effectively with no additional cost.”

The suite consists of Lark Messenger, Lark Docs, Lark Calendar, Lark Video Conferencing, as well as Lark Workplace which integrates third-party applications. All functionalities are available in a single app, which is available on Mac, PC, iOS, and Android. The platform is hosted on AWS.

Lark's free version comes with:

- Lark’s Messenger supports chat groups for up to 5,000 members
 
- Online collaborative documents including spreadsheets for up to 50 editors simultaneously, and 2,000 viewers at a time 


Lark Docs supports inserting rich multimedia content, including images, videos, charts, and even group chats and polls. Using the Comment feature, users can have conversations about specific parts of a Lark Doc or specific cells of a Lark Sheet. Document-sharing permissions are supported. All changes are saved in the cloud in Lark Drive.

Source: Lark. Get translations in a preferred language automatically.

- Chat and documents can be automatically translated into a preferred language. Over 100 languages are supported

"In Southeast Asia we might be using English as a business language but we also know that everyone has their own native language," Lim commented. "We get the best ideas from people when they are comfortable with the way they communicate."

- 200 GB of cloud storage

- A smart calendar that allows users to display multiple calendars and check team mates' schedules.

From any calendar event, users can launch a chat group from Lark Messenger and an agenda doc from Lark Docs.

- Unlimited video calls with advanced screen sharing. Lark Docs can be shared from desktop or mobile and co-edited during a video call. External participants can be included

- Unlimited third-party app integrations, from Jira to Asana and Salesforce. 

- An Open Platform enables users to build their own apps and bots. One such app that was developed in reaction to the COVID-19 outbreak is for health-tracking. Available free to Lark customers, it records users' physical locations and health status.

- Customisable attendance/approval workflows for work activities such as approvals, reimbursements, leave, and attendance

In addition, Lark has just launched a livestreaming feature that can reach millions of people. Possible use cases can include senior executives delivering a speech to employees around the world, or teachers giving lessons to their students remotely.

Businesses who need more features such as encryption or more storage can upgrade to a paid enterprise version.

Lark's customers include Accenture, Dentsu and Robert Half.

Explore:

Try Lark

SEA middle class to account for lion's share in digital consumer growth by 2025

Increasing choice, better Internet access, and rising affluence will continue to drive more spend online in Southeast Asia, according to Facebook and Bain & Company. The two released a follow-up to the 2018 study on Emerging Middle Class in the region.

The new study, titled Riding the Digital Wave: Southeast Asia's Discovery Generation, looks at how the behaviours of today's digital consumer is reshaping online spend in the region.

The study surveyed 12,965 respondents across Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, and interviewed 30+ CEOs and venture capitalists in the region. It shows that the emerging middle class in Southeast Asia will account for 70-80 % of the growth in digital consumers by 2025.

According to Bain, from 90 million digital consumers in 2015, the region grew 2.8x to 250 million digital consumers in 2018. By 2025, there will be 310 million digital consumers in Southeast Asia. By then, the study estimates, online spending will outpace the growth of digital consumers by a factor of three, with clothing and personal care emerging as two of the leading categories.

Discovery is all-important as 67% of respondents said they do not exactly know what they want to purchase before they shop online, with more than 50% of respondents saying they learn about new products and brands via social platforms. Southeast Asian shoppers showed a strong preference for omnichannel, with over 80% saying they compare prices across online discovery platforms and in-store before they make a purchase decision.

Over 40% have tried an online store they have never heard of in the past year. The top three reasons for making an online purchase were positive reviews from other users, good deals or promotions and interesting products.

"There is no longer just one way to shop and nobody shops the same way twice. The key takeaway is that designing for discovery is absolutely crucial, given that customers engage with a business through multiple channels at the same time. In Singapore alone, 75% of the respondents said that they are either open to other brands or will buy from multiple brands when shopping online. This means businesses of all sizes, including specialty players have a significant opportunity to compete on a larger scale in Southeast Asia," said Sandhya Devanathan, Country MD, Facebook Singapore.

Beyond discovery, the study shows the potential of building brand loyalty and growth as there is no dominant player in the e-commerce market. Southeast Asia's savvy consumers shop-hop across 3.8 platforms on average before they make a purchase decision.

Creating customer rewards through loyalty programmes is therefore an imperative, Facebook and Bain said. In the study, respondents with a loyalty programme indicated they were 1.5x more likely to be a promoter than those without a loyalty programme. Loyalty members were 45% more likely to make recommendations across categories, 25% more likely to have higher purchasing frequencies across categories and 20% more likely to have higher spending across categories.

"Brands need to be very savvy and re-imagine their marketing and trade spend to be in sync with the ever-evolving omnichannel consumer journey. They also need to build new muscles to ensure a positive online shopping experience to their digital consumer," said Praneeth Yendamuri, Partner at Bain & Company.

Microsoft: Singapore Millennials impacted greatly by online risk

- Millennials and teenagers are the hardest-hit by online risks in Singapore, a new Microsoft study has revealed.

- The most common type of online risks faced by the Singapore respondents include sexual risks (68%); hoaxes, scams and frauds (61%); behavioural risks (54%); and unwanted content (45%).

- Many of those who have been a victim of online risks said that the perpetrators were people that they knew.

- In terms of their propensity to seek help, only slightly over half (55%) of Singapore teens said that they would reach out for help following an online risk encounter.

In observance of Safer Internet Day (5 February), new Microsoft research has revealed that Millennials (aged 18 to 34) and teenagers (aged 13 to 17) in Singapore were the hardest hit by online risks compared to other consumer groups. 

Source: Microsoft. Figure 1: Microsoft Digital Civility Index featuring the 22-country ranking.

According to the 2019 Microsoft Digital Civility Study, 69% of Millennials and 66% of teenagers in Singapore have encountered at least one form of online risk – including exposure to unwanted contact; hoaxes, scams and fraud; behavioural risks and sexual risks – in their lifetime, ahead of the Generation X (59%) and Baby Boomers (48%).

The study, which placed Singapore 10th out of 22 countries for the rate of exposure to online risks, also found local teenagers to be less likely to seek help compared to others. Teenagers here faced an average of 2.6 online risks in their lifetime, with teenage girls being more vulnerable, averaging three online risks compared to the 2.2 faced by teenage boys. Millennials, on the other hand, averaged 2.5 online risks, significantly higher than the Generation X and Baby Boomers, who averaged 2.1 and 1.4 online risks respectively.

Conducted with 11,000 respondents in 22 countries, including 500 Singapore adults (aged 18 to 74) and teenagers in May 2018, the Microsoft Digital Civility Study was specifically designed to uncover insights into consumers’ lifetime exposure to a wide range of online risks, to shed light on the impact of online risks to their wellbeing, while informing them about how to stay safe and secure online.

Having yielded insights that 63% of Singapore respondents have encountered at least one form of online risk in their lifetime, lower than the global average of 66%, the study placed Singapore 10th out of 22 countries for the overall rate of exposure to online risks.

Encountering offensive content and fake news stood out as top online risks in Singapore. While the overall incidence of exposure to online risks for Singaporeans was lower than the global average, the country stood out for its rate of exposure to specific types of risks. According to the study, the most common type of online risks faced by the Singapore respondents include:

Sexual risks: Receiving unwanted sexual messages or images topped the list with 68% of the local respondents saying that they have encountered this situation before, higher than the global average of 67%.

Hoaxes, scams and frauds: Encountering fake news came in second, with 61% of local respondents saying that they have encountered this situation before, higher than the global average of 57%.

Behavioural risks: Being called offensive names came in third, with 54% of local respondents saying that they were called offensive names before, higher than the global average of 51%.

Unwanted contact: Being contacted by a stranger to collect personal information came in fourth, with 45% of local respondents saying that they encountered this situation, higher than the global average of 42%.

And while 29% of the online risks encountered by Singapore respondents came from strangers, 41% of these risks came from people that the respondents knew, including online acquaintances, casual acquaintances and co-workers. Additionally, 24% of the online risks encountered by Singapore respondents came from their own family and friends.

Overall, Singapore respondents expressed lower levels of pain from the online risks encountered. Sixty-four percent of the respondents reported mild to moderate pain, with only 15% reporting severe levels of pain from their online risk encounters.

Microsoft notes that the results show that more needs to be done to help local teenagers seek help when facing online risks. According to the research,  51% of Millennials and teenagers reported moderate to severe pain following their online risk encounters. The pain experienced can include widespread emotional, psychological as well as physical pain.

The study additionally revealed that only slightly over half (55%) of the Singapore teens would reach out for help following an online risk encounter. Thirty-two percent of Singapore teenagers who have encountered such risks would ask their parents for help, lower than the global average of 42%; while 23% would ask an adult for help, lower than the global average of 28%.

“As we continue to interact with and in the digital world, we can no longer sit back and allow these online risks to have a negative impact on our lives. Each day, we are being bombarded with unsolicited online content ranging from emails sent by unknown third parties to the circulation of fake news and unwanted sexual messages. And these represent just a fraction of the common scenarios that Singaporeans face in everyday living. 

"Today on Safer Internet Day, it’s time for us to take a stand. By participating in the Microsoft Digital Civility Challenge and committing to making the four digital civility ideals a reality, we can do our part to help a build a better and safer digital environment for everyone,“ said Richard Koh, CTO, Microsoft Singapore.

On Safer Internet Day, Microsoft is encouraging all Internet users to take part in the annual Digital Civility Challenge and practise the four digital civility ideals to create a more positive online environment for everyone:

Living the golden rule: I will act with empathy, compassion and kindness in every interaction, and treat everyone I connect with online with dignity and respect.

Respecting differences: I will appreciate cultural differences and honour diverse perspectives. When I disagree, I will engage thoughtfully and avoid name-calling and personal attacks.

Pausing before replying: I will pause and think before responding to things I disagree with. I will not post or send anything that could hurt someone else, damage someone’s reputation, or threaten my safety or the safety of others.

Standing up for myself and others: I will tell someone if I feel unsafe, offer support to those who are targets of online abuse or cruelty, report activity that threatens anyone’s safety, and preserve evidence of inappropriate or unsafe behaviour.

Users can also encourage their friends and family on social media to join in the challenge with the hashtags #challenge4civility or #Im4digitalcivility.

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Find out more ways to get involved

Media Literacy Council of Singapore launches Better Internet Campaign

Source: Media Literacy Council. From left: Chong Ee Jay, Manager of TOUCH Family Services and a member of the Media Literacy Council, a former victim of cyberbullying who subsequently cyberbullied in retaliation; Tan Chee Wee, Executive Director, Media Literacy Council, and Lock Wai Han, Chairman, Media Literacy Council.

Singapore's Media Literacy Council (MLC) recently celebrated Safer Internet Day (SID) on February 7 with the launch of the Better Internet Campaign. The campaign will run till 31 May 2017, focusing on current cyber wellness issues of cyberbullying, discernment and excessive screen time. 

The MLC partners industry, community and government to champion and develop public education and awareness programmes relating to media literacy and cyber wellness. The council has spearheaded the campaign for the fourth time since Singapore’s participation in the global initiative in 2013. This year ,campaign activities include a series of on-ground engagements and broadcasts on mainstream and social media to bring more awareness and discussions about various issues around the areas of focus.

MLC has adopted the campaign tagline Do What’s Right Online, Be the Change for a Better Internet. A showcase of real-life stories profiling a diverse range of individuals who have personally experienced cyber-wellness issues (including students, educators, counsellors, perpetrators and victims will also be available at the campaign website. A series of social experiments covering these issues will further be conducted to generate awareness, conversations and reflections on the issues.

Lock Wai Han, Chairman of the Media Literacy Council, said: “The Internet and mobile devices have become an integral part of our lives, especially among our young people. It is therefore critical to encourage our youths to be positive online, while giving them the resilience, knowledge and support they need to navigate online risks. With the proliferation of news sources online, we need to be discerning to distinguish between falsehood and the truth, to avoid falling prey to scams and fake news.” 

Chong Ee Jay – Manager, TOUCH Family Services, and Member, Media Literacy Council, a former victim of cyberbullying who subsequently bullied back in retaliation, said that online interactions should be governed by sensitivity to others. "Basically, it is a question about good manners, and what is acceptable between family and close friends. Some remarks can be hurtful and we must be mindful about this, especially when it is a sensitive subject of say, how a person looks, his/her size, etc. This applies whether online or offline," he commented.

That said, cyberbullying is even more of a problem compared to face-to-face bullying for several reasons, noted Chong. "The cloak of anonymity online often creates an enhanced false sense of security or empowerment which results in users often becoming seemingly bolder or adventurous online to do things which they often may not dare or be willing to try out in real life.," he explained. "Cyberbullying is one clear example where bullies resort to hiding behind their keyboards to make hurtful comments rather than resolving the matter in person. That's why often in cyber bullying cases, anyone can be the bully."

If someone is being cyberbullied, creating a supportive environment is essential. "Often many are hurt by the comments. However not all victimised cases end up depressed or in a despondent state. Some whose personalities are more resilient, or those who have better management of their emotions and have healthy social support from friends and family, tend to cope much better in the face of cyber bullying," said Chong.

Chong also advises against running away from it all through deleting social media accounts, for example. "Running away would not solve the problem. In fact more often than not, it sends the message to the bully (or bullies) that he/she/they have 'succeeded'. An alternative proposition would be to block or delete the bullies from your social media friends' list. Minimise possible social contact with the bully until you are better able to manage your emotions," he said.

Getting a respected third party to offer a balanced perspective can also help, as it did in Chong's case. "Our teacher/counsellor stepped in and reasoned with the both of us who were involved in the matter. I realised that by retaliating (against) the cyberbully, I became a bully myself. Both of us then realised the value of our friendship and how silly the whole matter had become as our ‘battle’ was in full view of our other friends, too. We stopped hitting out at each other via the Internet after that. We remain friends till today," he shared.

"As adults, resolve it face to face and talk it out, or seek help from professional Counsellors or even Family Centres like TOUCH Family Services. As some of the bullying incidents may happen in school, it would be important for parents to teach their young to inform and seek advice from school leaders such as teachers and counsellors who would provide emotional support as well as keep a look out for the students in school. It would also be important for students to share the incident with parents and allow them to better understand what the students are facing as well as provide advice, and if required, to make reports to the school together with the student."

Chong also said that the law can be called in for more serious cases. "In severe harassment cases which involves offensive messages are defamatory or criminal intimidation*, a police report can be lodged," he added.

SID is a public awareness initiative started in 2004 by the Insafe Network, a network of Awareness Centres funded under the Safer Internet Programme of the European Commission. The SID takes place on the second Tuesday of February every year and seeks to promote safe and positive use of digital technology, especially amongst children and young people. This year’s global theme is Be the Change: Unite for a Better Internet which emphasises the importance of collaboration and unity.

Interested?

Find out more about Chong's cyberbullying experience, and those of others

Read the WorkSmart Asia blog post about Microsoft's commemoration of Safer Internet Day with the Digital Civility Index

*A definition provided by Chong for criminal intimidation runs: "Whoever threatens another with any injury to his or her person, reputation or property, or to the person or reputation of any one in whom that person is interested, with intent to cause alarm to that person, or to cause that person to do any act which he or she is not legally bound to do, or to omit to do any act which that person is legally entitled to do, as the means of avoiding the execution of such threat, commits criminal intimidation." More on the law

M·A·C cosmetics now available online in India at Nykaa

M·A·C (Make-up Art Cosmetics), a leading brand of professional cosmetics, will be available online in India for the first time exclusively on India's online beauty store Nykaa.com. Available online will be the blockbuster franchises from M·A·C: Prep + Prime, PRO Longwear, Mineralize and Studio.

The luxury offering will be available on the specialised 'Nykaa Luxe' section, which offers a unique experience both with design and content. In order to give customers an in depth understanding of the products, the store also hosts Luxe Letters, a blog featuring weekly inputs from industry leaders and experts.

Source: Nykaa.com. M·A·C cosmetics now available online in India at Nykaa.

Currently India's largest prestige beauty brand, M·A·C is part of ELCA Cosmetics, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. ELCA Cosmetics has associated with Nykaa to launch its international beauty brands in a phased manner, beginning with Clinique and Estée Lauder in November 2016, now M·A·C and will continue with Bobbi Brown in January 2017.

Boosted by the addition of these beauty powerhouses and with the growing demand for luxury beauty among Indian consumers, Nykaa anticipates a growth of 10x in luxury beauty sales through the next year.

"The Estée Lauder Companies India and M·A·C Cosmetics are delighted to partner with Nykaa.com. M·A·C is the prestige makeup leader in India and we are pleased to have further expanded our consumer reach to all our aspiring M·A·C consumers across India," said Rohan Vaziralli, GM and Country Head, India, Estée Lauder Companies.

"We are very excited to have the prestigious Estée Lauder collection of brands on Nykaa. There is an increasing premiumisation in our customers' beauty picks and with the reach of Nykaa, the best of beauty products will now be available throughout India. Interestingly, it's not only the urban consumer who has become more demanding - we see orders coming in from many smaller towns for luxury beauty products. These customers trust our offering and are not afraid to make the extra investment in their beauty regime," said Falguni Nayar, CEO & Founder, Nykaa.com.

Nykaa has seen 3.5x growth over the past year, and is currently on a revenue run rate in excess of INR300 crores*. In 2016, Nykaa raised a total of INR104.3 crores through private equity and the family offices of India's leading CEOs.

*1 crore is 10 million Indian rupees.

KKday opens in Singapore, launches #taiwantrippin promotion

Source: KKday. Ming Chen, CEO of Asia’s leading travel experience e-commerce platform KKday celebrates Singapore launch, and the #taiwantrippin digital campaign.

Asian travel experience e-commerce platform KKday has been launched in Singapore. The Taiwan-headquartered KKday connects users to local tours from all over the world. Since its official launch in 2014, KKday has expanded to Hong Kong, Korea, and Japan, with Singapore its fourth stop.

“Setting up base in Singapore was a natural decision. Besides being the gateway to the rest of  Asia, the booming travel and tourism industry in the city has also put KKday in an ideal position  to launch here,” said Ming Chen, CEO, KKday. 

Chen's personal experiences with travel prompted him to start KKday, which offers more flexibility and accountability than the traditional travel agency. “Normally, consumers can’t choose the local activities they really want to experience because the tour packages are decided by travel agencies. Besides, traditional travel agencies have to go through a long supply chain so whenever problems emerge, it’s hard to trace (problems) back to the source.” said Chen.

“KKday aims to create an authentic and enjoyable travel experience. We create a customised itinerary for all our customers. For example, we know that Singaporeans love visiting Jiufen (九份), Shifen (十分), and Pingxi (平溪) so we coordinated a tour especially for Singaporeans to experience in a day,” said Chen. Jiufen, Shifen and Pingxi are popular tourist destinations on the outskirts of Taipei in Taiwan. Jiufen is known for its village - said by some to be the inspiration for Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away - while Shifen hosts a large waterfall. Pingxi is famous for sky lanterns.

Pingxi is known for sky lanterns (天灯). This picture was taken on a visit to Pingxi in 2002.

The company is also celebrating its debut in Singapore with the #taiwantrippin contest. One winner and three friends stand to win a holiday in Taiwan worth more than S$8,000 in January 2017. As Millennials aged 25 to 34 make up about 55% of KKday’s customer base, the campaign is designed to reach out to new users and 'wanderlusters' in Singapore who are active on social media.

KKday and Citibank have also joined forces to bring deep discounts off selected travel activities.

Interested?

Watch the #taiwantrippin campaign video

Participants to submit a 30-second video on Instagram explaining why they deserve to win the grand prize titled Reasons why I should go on this epic tripHashtag #taiwantrippin and #kkdaysg
Include contact details on a submission form on the website
The top five video entries will be shortlisted on 21 November.
Shortlisted participants are to share the campaign with their friends to garner votes. Forty percent of the votes will be determined by KKday panel of judges and 60% will be determined by online voting
The winner will be announced on 23 December, and named KKday's Travel Ambassador 2017. Together with three friends, he or she will enjoy an all-expenses-paid seven-day trip to Taiwan in January 2017 featuring more than 10 KKDay experiences across Taiwan such as

• Paragliding across mountain ranges of Puli (埔里). 
• Staying in Leofoo Resort Guanshi, the only safari resort in Asia, where giraffes hang out by room windows. 
• Contemplate life by Sun Moon Lake (日月潭), a popular honeymooner destination.

At the end of the trip, the winner creates a travelogue that can be shared by KKDay and its partners on social media.

Read the terms and conditions for #taiwantrippin

Book by 21 October for discounts of up to 75% on travel activities for trips till 31 December, 2016. Read the terms and conditions for the Citibank travel promotion with KKDay

posted from Bloggeroid

Dubai RTA signs agreement with Careem for ride hailing

Source: RTA. HE Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of RTA and Mudassir Sheikha, Founder and Managing Director of Careem, signed the agreement on behalf of the two respective entities. RTA executives attending the signing included Mohammed Obaid Al Mulla, Member of Board of Executive Directors, Abdullah Yousef Al Ali, CEO of Public Transport Agency, and Adel Shakri, Director of Transportation Systems. Bassel Al Nahlaoui, VP of Business Development & Government Relations attended on behalf of Careem.

The Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has signed a cooperation agreement with Careem Networks Company, the provider of online booking of limousine and taxi services, under which Careem will provide passenger transport service on limousines or taxis online or via a smart app. The service, which will be in accordance with the laws applicable to taxi and limousine services in the Emirate, will run using about 9,841 taxicabs and 4,700 limousines.

“Undertaking this initiative stems from RTA’s keenness to implement the directives of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, VP and PM of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai, to transform Dubai into the world’s smartest city, bring happiness to people, deliver excellent services to tourists and enhance customers experience. The smartest city envisioned by HH is a city that considers the comfort & luxury of residents a top priority, and delivers technology-driven highly efficient services, as the smart transportation is one of the key pillars of smart cities," said HE Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of RTA.

"This Agreement supports the integrated mobility platform project currently undertaken by RTA in Dubai. The platform provides customers an easy access to all transit means in Dubai through a single window (smart app). In this transit hub, RTA’s multi-modal transit systems (metro, tram, buses, marine transit means, and taxis) will be integrated with transit systems of other entities in Dubai such as limo service providers, Palm Monorail, and Dubai Trolley. RTA intends to enhance the partnership with the private sector and invites all online booking companies to join this drive aimed at realising the objective of delivering smart services to customers."

“Four years ago, we decided to establish Careem to expedite the setup of a technological infrastructure relating to online booking of mobility systems in the Middle East with a view of making life easier, and offering integrated transport solutions," said Mudassir Sheikha, Founder and MD, Careem, who noted that the agreement would enhance Careem’s presence in the Dubai market through offering integrated transport solutions enabling clients safe, reliable mobility options.

“The partnership with RTA is a huge stride for Careem, and we are keen on supporting RTA’s efforts towards developing smooth mobility solutions for customers."

Technavio outlines India fashion e-retail market

• Men’s clothing segment is the dominant shareholder in the market
• Key vendors—Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, Jabong, and Yepme

The availability of a wide array of payment options and products, broader reach, and lower costs are encouraging online shopping for consumers in India, says Technavio’s analysts, who predict that the online fashion retail market in India will grow at a CAGR of almost 17% between 2016 and 2020.

Online shopping sites offer customers the opportunity to choose between a number of payment methods such as debit cards, credit cards, cash on delivery (COD), electronic wallets, smart cards, Internet banking, and demand drafts. Favourable demographic factors, better return policies, and increasing adoption of digital and push marketing by vendors are some of the other factors that will contribute to the growth in the online fashion retail market in India during the forecast period.

“The distribution of users between mobile applications and websites is an ongoing trend in the market. Mobile apps have a tremendous impact on the growth of the online fashion retail market in India as they offer a faster alternative to mobile web browsing for consumers to shop on the go. Key players in the market are coming up with more sophisticated fashion apps designed to leverage each functionality on specific operating systems such as Windows, Android, and iOS. Online retailers are emphasising on finding a balance between mobile applications and websites to cater to the masses who prefer shopping online,” says Brijesh Kumar Choubey, Lead Analyst, Consumer & Retail, Technavio Research.

In 2015, men's clothing online accounted for around 53% of the market share to dominate the online fashion retail market. However, more women in the country are likely to be employed and empowered financially in the coming years, thereby boosting growth in the women’s clothing online segment. Furthermore, hectic lifestyles and time crunch are encouraging women to transition towards online shopping rather than visit brick-and-mortar stores. The availability of premium women’s clothing is also projected to increase purchases and add more revenue by 2020.

The key players in the online fashion retail market in India include Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, Jabong, and Yepme. Intense competition prevails in this market with most players selling broadly similar products. However, the global players like Amazon and eBay are offering an impressive range of fashion products, which has posed a tough challenge for regional players like Flipkart and Snapdeal. According to Technavio, the purchase decision of consumers is price-dependent so vendors need to focus on pricing strategies and the provision of innovative services. Most users prefer COD and conduct a price comparison before making a purchase, the research firm added.

The top 10 companies Singaporeans want to work for

Source: JobStreet.com. From left: representatives from Changi Airport Group, ExxonMobil, and Procter & Gamble; Chook Yuh Yng,(Jobstreet’s Country Manager; Jake Andrews, Chief Product Officer of SEEKAsia, Madam Ho Geok Choo, CEO of Human Capital Singapore; representatives from Google, Keppel Corporation, Shell, and Singapore Airlines.

JobStreet.com, a major online employment marketplace, has announced the top 10 companies Singaporeans aspire to work for. Google, Apple and Singapore Airlines emerged tops in a survey* where the objective was to find out which companies Singaporeans dream of working for and the reasons behind it. The findings also serve to help other companies learn best practices on what attracts candidates to work with these top companies.

Google's Singapore office houses a cafeteria called the 'Goopitiam' (a pun on the local term 'kopitiam' or 咖啡店, literally ‘coffee shop’ in a Chinese dialect), and its extensive menu changes every day. The office space is designed to spur interactions between employees and even facilitate rest and playtime. Free meals, casual dress codes and extensive healthcare benefits are just some of the perks employees get to enjoy.

Next is Apple. New hires praise the extensive training they receive from management while long-time employees feel their careers constantly advance with the company.

National carrier Singapore Airlines (SIA) is third on the list. The world’s most awarded airline, SIA is synonymous with outstanding service excellence. “Employees are nominated to attend various courses to improve themselves,” says a former security supervisor of 12 years.

Others in the list are, in ascending order from no. 4, Facebook; Shell; ExxonMobil; Microsoft; the Changi Airport Group; Procter & Gamble; and Keppel Corporation.

What makes companies attractive

According to JobStreet.com’s survey, which involved Singapore respondents across different sectors such as administration, accounting, engineering and media communications, salary is no longer the most important factor that employees consider when deciding to take up a job offer - it is now rated third, ranked important by 70% of respondents.

Seven in 10 (72.1%) of the interviewees voted work environment and culture, management and leadership as the key factor when reviewing a potential company. In senior management, they are looking for more than a boss — they want a leader, one who can push them beyond their limits and help them make personal breakthroughs. The work culture also has to be aligned with their personal goals and wants.

Benefits and incentives are rated the no. 2 in decision-making (rated as important by 71% of respondents), including performance-based bonuses, healthcare insurance as well as car and housing loans. According to a report by the Economist Intelligence Unit, Singapore is the world’s most expensive city to live in. Hence, it stands to reason that Singaporeans value these incentives as they pursue a high standard of living.

Other factors include company reputation (69%); support and training (64%); promotion prospects (54%) as well as passion; flexible work hours; growing industry; work-life balance; and known standard work quality.

Championing human capital excellence

In producing this survey, JobStreet.com is aligning itself with the Ministry of Manpower’s vision to “develop a productive workforce and progressive workplaces for Singaporeans to have better jobs and secure retirement”. The company suggests that businesses can model themselves after Singapore’s top employers, learning from the best practices that make them so successful. Human resources (HR) professionals, in particular, can discover innovative, staff-centric HR strategies that boost morale and elevate workplace productivity. All these efforts will allow a company to achieve higher staff retention and groom happier, more fulfilled employees.

Helping job-seekers get insights into Singapore’s workplace reality

JobStreet.com also introduced the Company Reviews feature to facilitate the matching and communication of job opportunities between job-seekers and employees. Company Reviews allows current and former employees to comment on their workplaces, helping candidates make more informed career choices.

“Company Reviews addresses the top questions that today’s jobseekers are asking. ‘What is the management like?’ ‘What sort of leadership styles do the bosses adopt?’ For job-seekers, the focus has shifted from ‘what do they do’ to ‘how they do it’. Company Reviews is a repository of such employees’ reviews, which will help other job-seekers better understand the workplace culture,” says Jake Andrew, SEEK Asia Chief Product Officer. The SEEK Group owns employment, education and volunteer businesses, including JobStreet.com.

JobStreet.com envisions that employers will receive applications from more engaged candidates who have decided the organisations are a good fit for them. Employers can also respond to the reviews, providing context as well as communicating their value propositions.

Reviews, received after Company Reviews was soft-launched, include:

“...Work culture that is pro self-management; company promotes internally instead of sourcing leaders from outside the company; great advancement opportunities…”
Assistant manager with four years of service and counting
Procter & Gamble

“…Good in work/life balance, excellent work environment, good management team…”
Former Marine Lubes Coordinator with four years of service
Shell 

“...What drives me to stay put in this organisation for all these years is the benefits/perks that they offer to us as employees...”
Senior Refinery Technician with over 12 yrs of service and counting
ExxonMobil

“...Environment supporting dynamic teamwork. Leader with bold and great vision, lots of opportunities within...”
Former safety officer with four years of service
Keppel Corporation

JobStreet.com covers the employment markets in Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam, servicing over 230,000 corporate hirers and over 15 million job-seekers in its database.

Interested?

Check out existing company reviews

*JobStreet.com ran an online survey from on January 2016, and received 1,265 responses from Singapore-based candidates, 30% of whom were junior staff with up to four years of experience, and another 30% were supervisor-level or people with over four years of experience. A further 23% were managers, and 13% were fresh graduates. The remainder were more senior. Survey results were validated against reviews of the companies.

Unilever Philippines, FNRI-DOST create online salt calculator

Source: Unilever Philippines.

A salt calculator is now online, helping users determine whether their salt intake is within the recommended daily consumption. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that adults should eat no more than 2,000 milligrams of sodium per day, equivalent to 5g of salt.

Unilever Philippines and the Food and Nutrition Research Institute – Department of Science and Technology (FNRI-DOST) signed a memorandum of agreement to develop a Unilever Sodium Intake Level Test, an online tool that aims to broaden consumers’ awareness of the main food sources of sodium in the Filipino diet and eventually convince them to lessen their salt intake.

The result is the Unilever-FNRI-DOST Salt Calculator, which both organisations hope will help consumers understand how much sodium is in their diets. This, too, will help reduce the risk of developing high blood pressure (hypertension) over time. According to the WHO, cardiovascular diseases are the number one cause of death in the world. In the Philippines, a study conducted by the Department of Health revealed that more than 170,000 die each year from heart diseases; hypertension being one of them.

The web-based app was recently tried at the Nutritionist-Dietitians’ Association of the Philippines Annual Convention held in February in Iloilo City, which is attended by about a thousand nutrition professionals. Feedback from 200 participants indicated that 96% agree that knowing their sodium intake helps them be more mindful of salty foods, and 95% said that they will share the salt calculator to colleagues, patients, and community.

FNRI-DOST has also included the Salt Calculator on their website. 

Interested?

Try out the salt calculator. Foods are customized for the Filipino diet

Quandoo reports significant takeup in Singapore, Australia

Quandoo reports 720 restaurant partners, 1.5 million seated diners in the last 12 months and over 1,400 verified reviews from Singapore diners each month. The online restaurant reservation service, launched in Singapore in 2014, sees 53% of its Singapore users making repeat reservations. The company assessed publicly-available information of the industry and the respective market competitors by the number of connected partner restaurants, and has found it leads in seven markets around the world, including in Singapore, Hong Kong and Turkey.

The company, which also serves Australia, Lebanon, and the UAE in Asia Pacific and the Middle East, it has seen similar trends globally. The company grew its partner restaurant base by 117% from 6,200 restaurants to 13,500 restaurants and has seated more than 24 million diners globally. Quandoo’s penetration of Australia has been particularly fast. Within eight months 1,250 restaurants have joined Quandoo.

Philipp Magin, founder and CEO of Quandoo, said, “Our ambition remains the same: to be the driving force in the digitalising of the restaurant reservation space. The changes that we have undergone in the last year have allowed us to transform our company towards maintaining this objective in a more and more competitive market environment. While the cultural and strategic shift has not been easy to achieve, we are now better equipped than ever before in becoming the leading provider for restaurant reservations globally.”

Dr Charlotte Bruce, Quandoo Vice President Asia and Pacific, said, “Singapore is a melting pot of different cultures with great diversity of cuisines. In Asia, it offers one of the most sophisticated and world-­class dining scenes. Competition is fierce and Quandoo identified an opportunity to help businesses use this incredible platform to grow their business and stay ahead of the curve. We have been relentless in our efforts since day one and are proud of our position as market leaders – having gone against competition that have been in the market for up to five years.”

The company further established several alliances in the last year, partnering for example with Foursquare in Turkey. 

Facebook says only native and video ads deliver significant value

In a recent blog post Facebook's Dave Jakubowski, Head of Ad Tech, has gone on the record to say that exchanges and banners do not bring much value.

Jakubowski reported that the company has tested "a buying platform" in Atlas, Facebook's people-based ad serving and measurement solution. The test, which occurred last year, led to two major takeaways: 

Ads were delivered to real people "with unprecedented accuracy", but came up against many bad ads and fraud (like bots). "While we were fortunately able to root out the bad actors and only buy quality ads, we were amazed by the volume of valueless inventory," he said.

 
Only two ad formats delivered significant value: native and video.

The test results triggered Facebook to analyse the ads that came through LiveRail, a Facebook company described as a monetisation platform for publishers, broadcasters, and mobile app developers. "...We immediately shut off the low quality ads. In fact, we removed over 75% of the volume coming from our exchange by turning off publishers circulating bad inventory into LiveRail," Jakubowski shared. "We knew that in good conscience, we couldn’t sell what Atlas and our people-based measurement told us was valueless."

Source: Atlas Solutions blog.

Atlas is focused on helping marketers deliver and measure true business value, Jakubowski said, in native, video and up-and-coming mobile advertising, particularly with several product updates.

Offline Actions ties offline sales to online ad spend, enabling digital investments to take credit as deserved. "Advertisers who measure their ads with Atlas can now upload their point-of-sale (POS) data and understand within minutes if their online ads are influencing offline purchases," Jakubowski said.

Path to Conversion, now available, provides insight into the ways people see ads across multiple devices before making a conversion. While other such solutions rely on cookies, Atlas is based on data from people.

Video Ad Serving will also be broadly available by the end of March.

Interested?

Read the Facebook success story (PDF) about KLM, which achieved 24% more conversions using Atlas’ people-based measurement instead of cookies alone. While 5% of campaign conversions happened on mobile, similar to most retailers, Atlas identified at least one mobile ad which factored in 25% of all digital purchase paths

Read MINI's Facebook success story (PDF), in which the automaker and its Australian digital agency MobeSeek used Atlas to discover that 30% of all conversion journeys started on desktop but converted on mobile

Merchantrade Asia rolls out e-remit online money transfer service

Source: e-remit website.

Merchantrade Asia, the largest non-bank remittance service provider in Malaysia, has launched the e-remit secure online money transfer service. The remittance service currently serves Indonesia, Singapore, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Philippines, Myanmar, Nepal and Sri Lanka through an online portal.

E-remit aims to offer very good exchange rates with low service charges for its customers, with a delivery time of one working day depending on the country, making them at par with global competitors. 

The service only requires a one-time verification of users at any one of its 70 branches after a quick signup process. Merchantrade also provides complimentary door-to-door verification in the Klang Valley area for customers who do not have the time to travel to Merchantrade’s branches. Customers will only need to make an appointment and Merchantrade’s personnel will provide a prompt visit at customer’s home, working place or a preferred location. 

E-remit’s transactions occur over secure SSL connections as well as firewalls with advanced security systems. In addition, the website is certified by VeriSign Secure Seal and supported by Financial Process Change (MEPS-FPX) and the International Association of Money Transfer Networks. 

E-remit will soon be complemented by a mobile app, the company said.

Interested?

Register

Online browsing on the upswing before Chinese new year: Criteo

The window display at Shanghai Tang, Raffles City, Singapore, ahead of the year of the monkey on February 8, 2016.

· Criteo data reveals that e-commerce transactions spiked by 40% two weeks before Chinese New Year in 2015, and three in 10 of the transactions were completed on a mobile device.

· More than 45% of online transactions in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, India and Taiwan are now happening on mobile

· Mobile optimisation, a ‘click-and-brick’ approach to consumer engagement and instant delivery services key to improving sales before, during and after Chinese New Year in 2016

Criteo, the performance marketing technology company, has released seasonal data in anticipation of Chinese New Year, to help e-commerce businesses better engage consumers during the festive season. The company’s deep dive into consumer browsing and buying activity revealed that in the two weeks leading up to Chinese New Year, consumers browsed retail products more actively than before – a 25% increase in items added to shopping carts.

The results also showed a 40% increase in e-commerce sales during the same period, of which, three in 10 transactions were completed on a mobile device. For companies focused on attracting and retaining consumers during this time period, Criteo advises that online advertising campaigns should be fully optimised across desktops, laptops and mobile devices.

The findings are based on an analysis of 174 million online transactions in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Vietnam before, during and after Chinese New Year in 2015.

“Due to the traditional practice of wearing new clothes to symbolise a new beginning, consumers are doing a tremendous amount of online shopping two weeks before Chinese New Year. Based on 2015 data, sales on mobile, in particular, have also hit record numbers. This spending period presents retail companies with a huge opportunity to engage consumers through personalised and relevant online advertising,” said Yuko Saito, Managing Director, Criteo Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, India and Taiwan.

In its eCommerce Industry Outlook 2016, Criteo shares three additional trends that will impact Asian shoppers during the Chinese New Year season:

Smartphone shopping will continue to gain ground

Smartphones are the first point of Internet access or brand interaction for many consumers and are therefore playing a key role in driving e-commerce growth. In Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, India and Taiwan, on aggregate, more than 45% of online transactions are now happening on mobile, compared to 29% in the second quarter of 2015. Indonesia was the highest at 56%, followed by Singapore at 45%.

Retailers will see a high web influence on their in-store sales

With the majority of consumers now researching online before or while visiting a store, understanding a shopper’s online activity is vital. According to Google, eight out of 10 shoppers with a smartphone are using it inside the store to help them with product research and price comparisons, with most of them eventually completing a transaction at the physical point of sale (POS). Retailers can acquire a better view of the customer’s shopping journey by connecting with them via branded apps or beacon technology, before matching each customer’s email ID with loyalty programmes at in-store POS terminals.

Instant delivery services will become common

Order fulfilment will be a big focus for retailers in 2016, with many offering delivery options to match Amazon’s Prime Now service. Prime Now, a service via mobile app that is available to Amazon Prime members, offers free delivery within two hours in selected areas, seven days a week. Both online and “click-and-brick” retailers will be trying this strategy through specialised third-party e-commerce logistics providers. Faster delivery at lower charges will also drive growth of cross-border shopping as consumers will not mind buying from other countries to save money.

“During special occasions like Chinese New Year, we observe instances of intensive, last-minute shopping, where consumers take less time to consider a purchase and require products to be delivered on short notice for personal use or gift-giving. Taking a three pronged approach – engaging consumers on the mobile web or on mobile apps, leveraging consumers’ web browsing data to deliver personalised in-store and mobile shopping experiences, and investing in instant delivery services will be crucial to increasing sales conversions,” said Saito.

Interested?

Read more about Criteo’s Seven Big eCommerce Trends for 2016

Read the TechTrade Asia blog post about Criteo's State of Mobile Commerce report for Q315

HOTPING sees sales outside Korea grow to 100 million won

Source: HOTPING website.
Highly elasticated pants.

Korean women's clothing specialty mall HOTPING entered the global market in July 2015 and has since seen monthly international sales surpassing the 100 million won mark, contributing 10% of total sales.

"We believed that winning new markets quickly would secure future competitiveness after we started up in 2014 and we launched the English, Chinese, and Japanese versions of our online mall through the global e-commerce platform of cafe24," explained CEO Kim Yeo-jin. "We received orders from international customers even when we had the Korean site only, which also quickened our entry into the global market."

HOTPING is a portmanteau word mixing 'hot trend' and 'pink'. The platform caters for plus sized women with sizes from 44 (equivalent to XS in the US) to 105 (equivalent to XXL) for most of its products. The company has reached prominence through sponsoring the wardrobes featured in Korean costume dramas, especially in countries swept by the Hallyu, or Korean Wave, notably the US, China, and Japan. News anchors have also been enquiring about sponsorship. HOTPING is becoming popular with its line of Magic Pants, which are highly elasticated pants that can be worn comfortably.

"We will continue to make efforts to win new markets and will also continue offering beautiful clothes to our customers at reasonable prices like we do now," said Kim.