Global Shopping Festival Records GMV Of RM4 Million

By Soraya Jamal KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 12 (Bernama) -- Online cashback platform, Shopback Malaysia, estimates that about RM4 million (US$907,153) in gross merchandise value (GMV) was transacted during the one-day 11.11 Global Shopping Festival or "Singles Day". The figure is based on the traffic brought by the platform to its merchants website. Chief Operating Officer Sharmeen Looi told Bernama that the weak currency situation could be a factor influencing Malaysians, to scout for value buys and affordable gifts today, in light of the upcoming holiday season. "The Singles Day fever has certainly spread throughout Malaysia. "Our recent consumer online shopping survey showed a high online shopping intention among Malaysians users at present. "We believe it is due to the cheap and great variety of products offered by Taobao and Tmall," she said. She said the company observed a strong performance on the regional level and traffic on its website was nine times more than the average hourly movement, of which 41 per cent comprised first-time visitors. ShopBack, an online cashback platform, collaborated with Alibaba Group's Taobao, Tmall, Aliexpress and several other online shopping sites to offer shoppers up to 90 per cent discounts and up to 50 per cent cashback today. As of 3.00 pm, ShopBack had reached four times more than an average day's order, with home and living, fashion and electronics being the top three purchase categories. ShopBack said the top three popular merchants were Taobao, Lazada and Tmall, with average purchase valued at RM303 per transaction. The 11.11 Global Shopping Festival is a one-day retail event initiated by Chinese e-commerce giant, Alibaba Group. -- BERNAMA