Everything eSellers Need to Know About Lazada
Many cross-border sellers want to break into the growing market in South-East Asia, and Lazada is the best way in.
Analysts like Forrester have reported that the market conditions are extremely positive for online retailers. The combined economy is worth more than $2.6 trillion, and it’s predicted to keep growing at a rate of more than 5%. At the same time, the population in this region is relatively young and has a very high internet and smartphone penetration rate, making it a tempting target for cross-border sellers.
According to Statista, the total eCommerce market volume will hit over $87 million by 2025. Forrester predicts that the B2C online retail market in Southeast Asia will boom from $19 billion in 2018 to over $53 billion by 2023.
Source: Forrester.com
As the world’s premier eCommerce gateway to Southeast Asia, Lazada has created a vibrant and unique online shopping mall that connects consumers across South-East Asia with merchants around the world. It’s one of the easiest ways for eCommerce retailers to push sales in the region.
What is Lazada?
Lazada is like Amazon for Southeast Asia, but it has a separate dedicated site targeting different countries. Lazada has a presence in the following countries:
- Vietnam (Lazada.vn)
- Singapore (Lazada.sg)
- Malaysia (Lazada.com.my)
- Thailand (Lazada.co.th)
- Philippines (Lazada.com.ph)
- Indonesia (Lazada.co.id)
This means that you can set up a Lazada shop for each site, and customize your products, product descriptions, shipping times, and prices for customers in each country. You can take the time to master how to sell on Lazada in the Philippines or Singapore, for example, before you move on to open a store on Lazada Thailand or Vietnam.
How Lazada Works for Cross-border Sellers
Lazada is built to make it easy for eCommerce businesses in China, Hong Kong, the US, and Europe to start selling in Southeast Asia. One of the most attractive features is the Lazada international fulfillment center, located in Hong Kong.
You can send all your products to the Lazada center in a bulk shipment, and then leave it to Lazada to handle all the logistics. No need to deal with shipping, returns, or lost items – the Lazada center manages it all for you!
You can manage multiple Lazada stores in several countries from a single account. All you need to do is log in to the Lazada seller center and choose which store to view.
Lazada Center Fees
Currently, Lazada doesn’t charge sellers any monthly or fixed charges to create and run a Lazada account and start selling products. That means there are no setup fees or regular monthly charges. You’ll need to pay a 2% payment fee, and a cross-border sales commission fee of between 1% and 4%, every time you make a sale. The rates do vary depending on whether you’re based inside or outside of Southeast Asia.
What Can You Sell on Lazada?
Sellers on Lazada offer numerous types of products, from jewelry and clothing to consumer electronics and sporting equipment. In fact, it’s easier to list what you can’t sell on Lazada:
- Weapons, chemicals, or toxic materials
- Obscene or vulgar images
- Types of religious or political items
- Software that’s pirated or harmful
- Telecommunications equipment
- Food items that aren’t compliant with the Food Regulations or liquids that are over 20CL in volume
You also need to be sure that your products can fit into a package no bigger than 300cm x 300cm x 300cm.
How Lazada Works Regarding Payments
Lazada customers can choose from several payment options, including credit and debit cards and helloPay. But one of the outstanding features of Lazada is that it also accepts cash on delivery (COD) payments. In Southeast Asia, COD is extremely popular, so much so that cross-border sellers wouldn’t stand much chance of success if they didn’t offer it as an option. Lazada makes that possible.
When it comes to withdrawing money from the platform, Lazada makes it easy. They’ve partnered with Payoneer so that you can manage cross-border payments without a fuss and at a low cost. In fact, you have to sign up for a Payoneer card in order to use Lazada.
How to Get Started Selling on Lazada
Before you start selling on Lazada, you need to have the following:
- A business license – your business doesn’t have to be in Southeast Asia, but if you don’t already have a registered business, you might want to open a company in Hong Kong. It only costs around $1,000, takes less than 2 weeks, and you can manage it entirely online.
- A Payoneer card
- Email and phone number so that you can register on the Lazada seller center
- Previous experience with eCommerce
To sell on Lazada, go to the seller center and click on “Become a seller now.”
Source: Lazada.com
Now you can complete the application form and wait for Lazada seller center to send you your seller contract.
Source: Lazada.com
Sign the contract and return it and then simply follow the step by step instructions you’ll get in your email to verify your account.
If you don’t already have a Payoneer card, Lazada will guide you to apply for one and register it. Lazada also sends you a series of training videos to help you make the most of your Lazada stores. Now all that’s left is to customize your shop and start uploading and selling products.
How to Succeed in Selling on Lazada
When you sell on Lazada, you’re in total control of your online store. It’s up to you to choose how it looks, write the product descriptions, and set your prices. Alternatively, you can let the Lazada in-house team create content for your store..
The Lazada seller center is your central command for all your sales and marketing efforts across your Lazada stores. You can access the seller center for Lazada through the website or mobile app. What’s more, they provide you with plenty of customer analytics and sales and marketing metrics, so that you can track your success. See which products are in high demand; discover which marketing campaigns need to be tweaked; and decide where and when to present a discount or special offer.
If you already sell your products on your own website, incorporate links to your Lazada store to expand your reach. Lazada does not claim ownership of your merchandise or conflict with any other promotional avenues.
Does Lazada Have Good Customer Support?
Both buyers and sellers enjoy access to Lazada customer support. If you’re concerned about a feature or if you have questions, you can visit the website, call the 24-hour support number, or send them an email. Alternatively, view the self-service resources in the Lazada Seller Center to gain a better understanding of how the platform works and how to succeed using it.
Start Selling on Lazada Today
With more than 50 million unique visitors each month and more than 11 million downloads of their mobile app, Lazada makes it easier for consumers to find retailers (and vice versa). To accept cross-border payments and process transactions as conveniently as possible when selling on Lazada or other international marketplaces, select Payoneer as your preferred payment method directly from the Lazada dashboard.
Are you an eCommerce seller looking to receive payments from global marketplaces like Lazada, Amazon, or Wish? With Payoneer you can!
Editor’s Note: The original post was updated on 12.02.19 for accuracy and comprehensiveness.