Lazada: The Philippines’ Online Shopping Mall Shines Bright

As someone who used to run an online shop on one of the most popular social networking sites in the country, I am very much curious how the big retailers do it. I have heard about Lazada Philippines from a couple of friends and I made sure to see for myself what they have to offer the jaded shopper and aspiring business woman in me. Because I used to dabble in selling, the sight of new merchandise doesn’t excite me as much as it used to. I have contacts that can provide me some of the clothes, shoes, accessories, and bags I see in the malls and online stores at wholesale prices so it’s a pretty tough act to beat. I have to say, my standards have become higher after my selling stint. But the joke is on me because what I thought was going to be another run of the mill shopping site turned out to be way better than the actual malls and online shops I frequent! 

First thing I notice is how they have professionalized online shopping with their impressive and cohesive website. Any company worth their salt knows that a website also acts as a calling card/portfolio. In this respect, they managed to create one kick ass calling card on top of being a virtual mall.

Second thing to take note of is their pro-customer stance in just about anything. They allow product returns within seven days upon delivery, they offer great customer service and they have free delivery available to plenty of shipping points all over the Philippines! Their payment methods and ongoing promos are also worth looking into because they offer the most convenient ways of paying. With their promos, they regularly do flash sales that only last 1-2 hours but guarantee shoppers huge discounts. That’s really a genius way to get their stocks moving and make people shop.

As the Philippines' Online Shopping Mall, they also tied up with MasterCard and BDO so cardholders can enjoy privileges exclusive to them. It is another great tactic to boost sales and make people feel valued.

The last thing I noticed is that they consider people (both their customers and employees) to be their biggest asset. Please don’t think that I am some kind of expert but how can you not get this kind of feeling when all evidence points to it? Well, I really think that they wouldn’t be this successful if the company is managed by incompetent and greedy people who are only after the numbers. They obviously care about their employees and customers or else they wouldn’t take the time to come up with fun promos and customer-friendly rules. It only took me one call to their customer service number to validate this. The staff I talked to was smiling the whole time we were talking. There is a feeling of lightness I haven’t felt with customer service reps from banks, malls, and the like. If that person isn’t happy with her employer, she wouldn’t sound like that. It’s just a theory of mine that I’d like to think is true. 

Reality Check

While I didn’t really get to discover their trade secrets and what not, I still felt I was able to learn a lot from Lazada Philippines just by observing and buying from them. I know it’s next to impossible to follow their lead so I’d rather just work for them instead and be a part of the change their trying to make in the e-tail industry.