Lazada PHL sees record sales from 11.11 event

By Denise A. Valdez
Reporter
LAZADA Philippines expects sales from its annual Nov. 11 shopping event on Sunday to double the previous year’s figure, as budget-conscious Filipino consumers flocked to the website to avail of massive discounts on a wide array of products ranging from gadgets to diapers.
“We doubled the target from last year for 11.11 (as the 24-hour shopping event is commonly known),” Lazada Philippines Chief Executive Officer for Logistics and Operations Juan Pavez Spencer told reporters, as he gave a tour of the company’s 54,000-square meter warehouse in Laguna on Sunday.
Nov. 11 is Lazada’s busiest day, as its 11.11 shopping festival is held throughout Southeast Asia. Lazada’s parent company and e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. had started the Singles’ Day or 11.11 event in China.
“During the 24 hours we have the biggest traffic in our platform… So we have been expecting (to make profit) in only one day what we usually do in half a month. That’s 15 times (more) than a regular day’s sale that we are expecting only in one day,” Mr. Pavez said.
As of 9 a.m. on Sunday, Mr. Pavez said Lazada Philippines already reached 60% of its daily sales target. He declined to give specific figures, but noted that 2017’s 11.11 event had doubled the previous year’s sales figures.
“We usually do a lot of planning very early in the year… In the Philippines, 11.11 is a Christmas sale. It’s very important to keep this in mind. It means that 11.11… it’s a big sale season,” he said.
Lazada Philippines currently has more than 28 million monthly site visits, and over 30,000 listed sellers.
During the 11.11 sale, Mr. Pavez said customers can avail of more than 50 million deals during the 24-hour period, with some products at 99% off.
Electronic devices, beauty products, fashion items and mother-and-babies products are among the top sellers in the site.
“In the Philippines, 11.11 ushers in the gift-giving season, as more Filipinos take advantage of the exciting deals and discounts to tick off their Christmas shopping lists,” Lazada Philippines Chief Executive Officer Raymund N. Alimurung said in a statement.
Mr. Pavez noted the platform’s cash on delivery service is part of efforts to reach more customers in the country. Cash on delivery is the preferred mode of payment for most of its users.
“What we saw in the Philippine business as an opportunity is most of the countries in Southeast Asia are cash-based economies. So there’s a lot of people which are unbanked… To solve this issue, we developed cash on delivery in order to make this accessible to all the potential customers in the Philippines,” he said.