Counterfeits, getting COVID-19 from packages: Shopee addresses shoppers’ concerns

MANILA, Philippines — The ongoing pandemic accelerates a shift to online lifestyles, with many more Filipinos turning to e-commerce to fulfill their everyday needs, and online selling platform Shopee believes that this will be an ongoing trend for the upcoming holidays and 2021.

In fact, despite the pandemic, the company concluded one of its most successful 9.9 Super Shopping Day promos ever, with over 12 million items sold in the first hour and 700,000 items sold in a single minute during its peak on September 9, Shopee Philippines Associate Director Martin Yu told Philstar.com in an exclusive e-mail interview.

“We have strong and agile local teams that enable us to identify key movements on the grounds and adapt quickly to serve our shoppers, brands and sellers better. For instance, at the onset of the pandemic, we saw a surge in demand for daily essentials; that’s why we introduced the 5.5 Mart Sale to provide our shoppers with convenient access to personal and household items as well as great cost savings,” Yu explained on how the site deals with the pandemic.

He added that the company is also helping its sellers cope with the situation.

“We have also stepped up on our efforts to empower our brands and sellers to digitalize, recover, and succeed in the long term with e-commerce. For instance, we teamed up with government institutions and brands like USAID, Quezon City Government and Globe MyBusiness to help sellers transit online smoothly. We also recently launched our Media Agencies Partner Program to help brands amplify their online presence and scale their e-commerce business.” 

As the holiday season approaches, Yu said the company also launched campaigns like the upcoming 10.10 Brands Festival to provide their shoppers easy access to an extensive collection of products as well as greater cost savings.

“Continuing the trend from our previous campaigns, we see that more Filipinos will continue to shop online during the holidays amid the uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he declared.

On allegations of getting COVID-19 from packages

In response to speculations that coronavirus can transmit through deliveries, Yu assured their customers that they make sure to be always updated on the latest national and local ordinances and announcements to identify which locations are on lockdown and to comply with these rules.

“With the rising public concern about possible transmission through parcels, we take stringent measures and do everything we can to ensure peace of mind for our shoppers and employees. We regularly sanitize our warehouses and body temperatures of all warehouse staff. (Our) Express employees are being checked before they can enter the warehouse or start their delivery rounds. All employees wear masks and sanitize their hands before handling the parcels,” Yu narrated.

“Our Express employees also practice contactless delivery where riders will place down orders for the customers to pick up, instead of handing the parcel to avoid close contact.”

On counterfeits

As for reports about e-commerce sites selling fake items, Yu guaranteed that “all products on Shopee Mall” are “100% authentic.”

“Users will receive twice their money back if products purchased (from the mall) are not genuine,” he said.

“We regularly review and remove products that violate our strict product guidelines. As a preemptive measure, we also blacklist specific keywords to intercept any attempt to list such products on our platform. The list of keywords is updated regularly by our Listing department. We have also set up a specific function (on the site) that allows consumers to report any case of counterfeit products that they come across. When, in isolated instances, determined bad actors manage to evade these screening processes, we conduct a thorough investigation as soon as we are notified and take swift actions as necessary.”

E-shopping hacks

Apart from always being on the lookout for best deals and bargains from sale or shopping events, Yu advised everyone who wants to save on shopping to play online games and participate in other activities that would allow them to reap more rewards and discounts.

“Another tip is to focus on earning rewards with our in-app engagement features. We have a wide array of social and engagement features for our users. We expanded our collection of in-app games, such as Shake and Farm, to offer new ways for users to play, interact with one another, and earn rewards while they shop. Shoppers can also tune in to (our live event) to redeem exclusive deals and promotions from their favorite brands and sellers during their live streams.”

For the upcoming holidays, Yu recommended rechargeable table fans, anti-theft bags and water-resistant smartwatches as probable gifts that can be bought from their site.

“As more Filipinos turn to e-commerce for the added convenience and easy access to their everyday needs, we will continue to improve our platform to meet our users' needs. We will continue to curate a series of shopping campaigns, especially during the holidays, to offer greater convenience and cost savings for our users.”