Multiply unveils 2 e-commerce initiatives

MANILA, Philippines - Multiply, one of the world’s leading social networking (SNS) and media sharing sites, unveiled yesterday two electronic commerce initiatives aimed at tapping the huge opportunities being presented by the Philippine market.

Of the 15 million Multiply users worldwide, a third are from the Philippines. The other major markets for Multiply are Indonesia and Brazil.

Multiply, which is based in Florida, is five percent owned by ABS-CBN.

Multiply vice-president for business development David Hersh announced that they have partnered with photo-processor Digiprint to fulfill photo print orders locally via delivery or in-store pick up.

Digiprint is the only photo processor in the Philippines to offer in-store pick up and delivery from more than 38 retail branches, which now gives Filipino Multiply users a quicker and more affordable way to order prints of their Multiply photos versus international shipping from the US.

Multiply is the only SNS that stores original, full resolution (print caliber) versions of its users’ photos.

“Our partnership with Digiprint further establishes Multiply as the clear-cut leading full- service media solution in the Philippines. As the only SNS to offer an extremely affordable printing solution, Multiply will continue to be the destination of choice for people who truly care about the pictures they take,” Hersh said.

Meanwhile, Multiply also announced the launch of an e-commerce marketplace where online shoppers can browse tens of thousands of virtual storefronts.

Hersh estimates that there are at least 15,000 sellers on Multiply, but the actual number could easily be twice as big. Of the total, about 2,000 are Filipinos and another 2,000 Indonesians.

Inclusion in the marketplace is free, although sellers with premium accounts will appear at the top of the listings for a fee of P799 annually.

“The significant volume of merchants highlights both the popularity and flexibility of Multiply as a communications platform. By formally supporting and identifying merchants we will increase the effectiveness of Multiply as a marketing platform as well as improve the user experience for all user,” he explained.