Find out what Lazada has in store for Indonesia at TIA Jakarta 2017

Lazada is no stranger to Southeast Asia. The online shopping platform has presence in six countries – Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, providing direct access to approximately 560 million consumers.

This Thursday on November 2, Lazada CEO Max Bittner will be holding a fireside chat at Tech in Asia Jakarta’s Main Stage to share his insights and future plans. Under his leadership, Lazada has established itself in the region and successfully transitioned from a direct sales model into a vibrant marketplace for buyers and sellers.

The Alibaba-Lazada marriage

Alibaba has invested heavily in Lazada, spending roughly US$1 billion to boost its Lazada stake to 83 percent.

One lucrative market of focus is Indonesia, where digital economy is set to grow in the next few years. Southeast Asia’s digital economy is projected to be valued at US$200 billion by 2025, with Indonesia poised to take the largest piece of the pie at 52 percent.

With Alibaba’s success and rapid growth in China over the years, Lazada is at a good place to learn and apply Alibaba’s experience and know-how to boost ecommerce activity in Indonesia.

Challenges and solutions

One of the ways Lazada plans to boost ecommerce activity is by providing better logistics solutions. Logistics costs still remain high in the country, as quality and quantity of infrastructure development remains inadequate. Lazada is confident that they will be able to solve the problem by providing local strategies with local execution.

Furthermore, efforts are already underway to solidify the Alibaba-Lazada alliance. Both firms are in the initial stages of integrating Alibaba’s logistics arm, Cainiao Network, and Lazada to conduct seamless cross-border trades – making their alliance all the more strategic.

Another challenge ahead for Lazada would be to cultivate the culture of cashless payments in Indonesia. Based on KPMG’s study published in January 2017, roughly 96 percent of the population do not own a credit card. This is in huge contrast to China, where cashless payment is king, and almost everyone uses smartphones instead of cash to pay for their purchases.

Educating Indonesians to make the move towards being a cashless society will definitely take time to bear fruits, but the Alibaba-Lazada alliance is already one step ahead with the merger of HelloPay Group – the company behind HelloPay, Lazada’s online payment platform – and Alibaba’s financial affiliate, Ant Financial. The merger is expected to improve HelloPay’s online payment solution.

What’s next for Lazada?

These mark exciting times ahead for both Alibaba, Lazada, and Indonesia’s population of over 260 million. Be among the first to hear from the man himself – don’t miss out on his fireside chat this November 2 at Tech in Asia Jakarta.

Just 2 more days to the conference, see you there!

This post Find out what Lazada has in store for Indonesia at TIA Jakarta 2017 appeared first on Tech in Asia.

from Tech in Asia https://www.techinasia.com/find-lazada-store-indonesia-tia-jakarta-2017
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