Lazada Philippines: Leading the Path to a Stronger Local E-Commerce Industry

Rarely will you ever find me raving about the local online shopping scene. Not that we don’t have good shopping sites around it’s just that I still feel we’re lagging behind the online shopping game compared to Canada, Europe, the US and even some of our neighboring Asian countries. But since Lazada Philippines hit the local scene last year, we have seen a tremendous rise in the number of shopping sites popping up here. I take it as a good sign because healthy competition is always good and it keeps all the players on their toes. 

Lazada Philippines was launched April of last year to the delight of many Filipinos. Finally, we have something that doesn’t pale in comparison to the top shopping sites in the world. Goodness knows how long we have waited for a shopping site of the same caliber as this. We had contented ourselves with the dime a dozen Facebook accounts turned into online shops which isn’t really a bad thing but it can get pretty ugly if you had the misfortune of coming across the rotten eggs that will pull a fast one on you or sell sub-standard items with no clear cut return policies. And it happens a lot because these sellers are mostly just individuals who run their Facebook shops as sidelines. The entire selling and buying process is very informal and, well, unprofessional. Not more than once had I been called “sis” (which I really hate, btw) when making inquiries through texts and PMs. With the Philippines’ Online Shopping Mall, each point of interaction is as professional as can be. 

This online store is truly a game-changer in the local e-commerce industry. They have come up with twists to give online shopping a new flavor. First, they have versatile payment methods that enable non-credit card holders to finally take part in online shopping. That is certainly good news as a lot of Filipinos don’t own credit cards. They accept cash payments through over-the-counter transactions and the very popular Cash On Delivery option which allows a shopper to have the items delivered first before paying. Second, they have free delivery available if you manage to rack up a total bill of Php 1000 and up. If your bill is below Php1000, take comfort in the fact that their delivery rates are extremely low – Php 55 for Manila addresses and Php 99 for non-Manila addresses. Third, they have a very fair return policy which enables shoppers to return or exchange a product for whatever reason so long as it is within seven days after delivery. This is certainly good news and gives us more reason to put our trust in online shopping.

It seems that Lazada Philippines has not only found their niche in the local e-commerce industry but has also considerably boosted it. Believe me when I say that they are the best locally-accessible online shop I have tried. It’s certainly exciting times when big players decide to penetrate the local e-commerce market.