Lazada #BigAppSale kicks off today!

I discovered the joy of online shopping last year, when I purchased a high end moisturizer that was out of stock at Shangri-la.   I bought it 1/2 of its price tag online. Since then I have been secretly eyeing on things that I need on the net.  because it offer better prices.  There is a lot of brands to choose from and I could compare prices and some of the products I really like are only available at my favorite online destination, Lazada.

The convenience of shopping online is countless, I get big discounts and savings. I dont have to drive myself to the mall,  the traffic nowadays eat so much more of our time. I hate crowds and I dont have to spend extra on things that I dont want. Now, that Im on the lookout for gadgets and mobile phones. Lazada offers their big app sale starting on May 21! and a favorite brand Lenovo A7000 is on sale at Php7390!

Lazada, Southeast Asia’s leading online shopping and selling destination, kicks off its Big App Sale on May 21- 24!  The four-day event promises to bring the best mobile app-exclusive promotions across all product categories to consumers in the Southeast Asia.

This exclusive sale extravaganza brings the best deals to thank Lazada’s rapidly growing number of app users for their support. Since the company launched the Android  app in June 2013 followed by the iOS app in January 2014, mobile app downloads have reached over 11 million to date in the region. The Android app has consistently ranked among the daily top four shopping apps in Southeast Asia. In April this year, the iOS app has been featured as a recommended shopping app about 70 times daily on the regional App Store.

The Rise of Mobile and Mobile Apps
According to Google’s Consumer Barometer 2014 report, smartphones (41%) and tablets (15%) are the most commonly used mobile devices in the Philippines, as compared to computers (36%). This mobile-first consumption changes the way consumers now browse and shop online.

Lazada has also seen a surge in mobile app downloads across the region, which has grown over 75% since December 2014. There were approximately 1.5 million or close to 50,000 downloads per day in April alone.

“We bring Southeast Asia’s largest online shopping mall to our consumers anytime and anywhere, with a best-in-class effortless mobile app shopping experience. Besides fantastic deals during our Big App Sale, consumers get access to the widest range of international and local products at their fingertips and enjoy secure payment options such as cash-on-delivery,” said Inanc Balci, CEO of Lazada Philippines.

The Lazada Big App Sale

The Lazada Big App sale kicks off on 21 May offering four different promotions for shoppers to get the maximum value from their purchases via mobile apps. App users can enjoy crazy deals each day at 9am, 12pm, 6pm and 9pm.  For additional value, Lazada app users can enjoy an extra 10% discount off a selected category every day, and vouchers giveaways. There will also be a ‘PhP 99 Store’ with 100 deals priced at only PhP 99.

Lazada Philippines is also excited to announce the first-ever Globe Sunday promo where an exclusive 10% discount voucher will be available to Globe ​prepaid, postpaid, TM and Tattoo customers on Sunday, May 24. This additional discount is valid for purchases made on the Lazada Mobile App and is applicable on all items. Globe Sunday is the first exclusive promo to run after the recently signed partnership between the country’s no.1 mobile brand Globe Telecom and the largest e-commerce player, Lazada Philippines.

The Lazada Mobile App Shopper
Consumers spend more time browsing per session on the mobile app than the desktop, with an average of 7.3 minutes on Android and 8.5 minutes on iOS, as compared to 4.5 minutes on the desktop in the Philippines. There are also more females than males using the mobile apps, with the majority of 65% aged between 25 to 44 years old. The most popular product categories shopped on the mobile apps in April are Home and Living, Mobile and Tablets, Home Appliances, and Health and Beauty in the Philippines.

The Lazada Mobile App Shopper Across Six Southeast Asian Countries 
Age group

·           Across all six countries, the biggest group of mobile shoppers are within the 25-34 age group (average 45% on Android; 51% on iOS).
·           This is followed by the 18-24 age group (average 22% on Android; 24% on iOS) for all countries except Singapore (16% on Android; 17% on iOS).
·           The number of shoppers age 45 and above are comparable among all countries (average 10% on Android; 7% on iOS) with Singapore having a higher variation (14% on Android; 10% on iOS).
Gender
·           Women are trumping men in mobile shopping in the Philippines

Android Users: 56% are female, 44% are male
iOS Users: 61% female, and 39% are male
Time spent per app session
·         In the Region, iOS shoppers spend the most time at 7.2 minutes on average versus 6.5 minutes on Android.

·         Philippines shoppers spend the most time on the site at 8.5 minutes on iOS and 7.3 minutes on Android, while Singapore shoppers spend the least, at 5.4 minutes on iOS and 5.1 minutes on Android.



“Certainly mobile shopping is more convenient and hassle-free, and that is why we think it’s bucking traditional shopping trends when it comes to gender. With an average time spent per session by mobile app shoppers being under ten minutes, it clearly beats travelling out and navigating the crowd in physical malls,” said Inanc Balci, CEO of Lazada Philippines.

Inanc Balci is the youngest CEO at 28

WHERE  WERE YOU AT 28?

Inanc Balci, co-founder and CEO of Lazada Philippines

While many of us can only dream of changing the world, Inanc Balci is already doing it. At 26, he co-founded South East Asia’s online retail tiger Lazada and now, at age 28, he sits as the Chief Executive Officer for Lazada Philippines. 

On Being a young CEO

Balci, a Turkish raised in London, attended Purdue University in the U.S. with a double-degree in Industrial Engineering and Economics. Afterwhich, he worked on mergers and acquisitions for an investment bank in London. While working for the investment bank, Balci saw the eminent potential in e-commerce which led him to join Rocket Internet and eventually co-found Lazada in Southeast Asia.

In the Philippines, Balci heads a pool of more than 300 employees, all of which he works very closely with. With an unabashed outlook, agile wit, and a laser-sharp eye for details, Balci perfectly fits the bill to lead a rapidly-growing online company.

Online Shopping in the Philippines

In a country where shopping malls are practically part of the fabric of the society, online shopping is something quite a number of Filipinos are unaccustomed to—there comes the perennial trust issue on using credit cards, the surprise surcharges, and unfortunately, the products not arriving at all. 

The malls in the Philippines, on the otherhand, have creatively articulated themselves to be not just shopping destinations but also as a means of recreation (i.e. be it the cinemas, the gaming zones, the restaurants, or as simple as the airconditioning they offer as a break from the raging tropical weather outdoors)—all of these were the issues that Balci had to dispel—and dispel he and his co-founders did. 

Lazada has made shopping quick, effortless, and risk-free to South East Asia and in the Philippines, this is the same principle that Balci is harping on to the Filipinos. 

How is this so? First, Lazada accommodates all those shoppers without credit cards via its cash-on-delivery payment mode. This is essential given that not everyone has a credit card or is keen on sharing their credit card details to someone—or anyone for that matter. This makes online shopping risk-free for everyone.

Being an archipelago of 7,100 islands, accessibility is always an issue—a significant portion of consumers doesn’t have time or access to visit the malls but with a minimum of PhP 1,000 purchase, Lazada offers free nationwide delivery, to customers anywhere in the Philippines, just log-in, shop, and the products will be delivered at the customer’s doorstep. Lastly, Lazada offers the flexibility of having the customers return the products within 30 days for free—provided that the products are in mint condition.

In a span of two years of being in the Philippines, Balci has steered Lazada to further heights and now with more than 40,000 SKUs, reaching 90-precent of the online population of the Philippines, and ranking as the 4th top Facebook brand in the country with a direct audience close to 2 Million. 

What the dot-com bubble holds for Lazada is still yet to be revealed, but one thing is for certain, Inanc Balci, the 28 year-old co-founder and CEO, is definitely changing the way Filipinos buy.

About Lazada

Lazada (www.lazada.com.ph) is Philippines’ largest online shopping mall and is pioneering e-commerce by providing a fast, convenient and secure online shopping experience combined with an extensive product offering in categories ranging from mobiles & tablets and consumer electronics to household goods, toys, fashion and sports equipment. Lazada is continuously striving to offer its customers the best possible shopping experience with multiple payment methods including cash on delivery, extensive warranty commitments and free returns. Lazada mobile applications for Android, iPhone and iPad provide additional convenience to its consumers’ allowing them to shop anywhere, anytime. 

For more information, please visit http://www.lazada.com.ph. For updates on Lazada’s latest innovations, as well as activities, contests and promotions, connect with us via Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/LazadaPhilippines).