Indonesian e-commerce enabler Jet Commerce has expanded to Malaysia. This marks the company’s fifth international market outside of Indonesia.
Founder and CEO Oliver Yang said that the Malaysian e-commerce industry is growing rapidly, making it a crucial market for the company. “Having a presence in Malaysia is important to strengthen our international network in Asia, which will enable us to answer the needs of our partners that want to expand into international e-commerce markets, including Malaysia,” said Yang to KrASIA.
The compound annual growth rate of Malaysia’s e-commerce industry is predicted to increase by 17% from 2020 to 2023, according to a report by JP Morgan. Furthermore, the Malaysian government will prioritize e-commerce development as part of its national economic recovery plan, which includes an investment to the tune of USD 33 million. The e-Conomy SEA joint report by Google, Temasek, and Bain & Co. also found that the country’s e-commerce total gross merchandise value in 2020 reached USD 6 billion and is projected to more than double by 2025, reaching USD 13 billion.
Seeing the opportunity, Jet Commerce has been laying the groundwork for its Malaysian expansion since 2019. The company has partnered with various e-commerce platforms such as Akulaku, Shopee, and Lazada in the country. Jet Commerce managed its brand clients’ operations rate, feature adoption, and engagement during collaborative activities with these platforms. By the end of 2020, Jet Commerce Malaysia had recorded more than 26,000 total orders, with a transaction value of more than USD 16 million.
Jet Commerce relies on local talents to strengthen its presence in foreign markets, including Malaysia, where 90% of its team are locals. Most of them are young, aligning with the target demographic of Jet Commerce’s clients. Yang said that by understanding the unique shopping behaviors in each market, the company can outline an effective marketing strategy for its clients.
“This will also influence our pricing strategy and what kinds of promotions can influence them to buy,” the CEO added.
Founded in 2017, Jet Commerce offers services such as logistics, order processing, returns, and packaging customization for e-commerce businesses. It also offers digital marketing and customer relations through its e-commerce channels. The company has operations in Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, and China. Aside from Jet Commerce, there are other e-commerce enablers in the market, namely Indonesia-based Sirclo and aCommerce.
Robust growth in foreign markets
Since expanding to several countries, Yang said the company’s business has shown strong performance, even amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “Consumer shopping behavior has changed since the pandemic started. We noticed that the value of transactions has decreased, but the frequency of shopping has actually increased because more people are buying for daily needs. This certainly affects our strategy and operations,” he added.
From the more than 70 brands that the company works with across Asia, in 2020, Jet Commerce recorded increases in transaction value in China (200%), Thailand (700%), the Philippines (1,500%), and Vietnam (280%) compared to 2019. Meanwhile, the number of transactions in 2020 also increased in China (400%), Thailand (450%), the Philippines (1,400%), and Vietnam (350%) compared to the year before.
Leveraging the success, Yang said Jet Commerce has a lot of new arrangements in the pipeline. “We plan to optimize the efficiency of our business operations in various ways, through the optimization of our IT systems, and integrating our entire network. We also plan to launch some of our newest innovations this year,” he said. “Considering that it is predicted that more brands will utilize e-commerce as their main sales channel in the near future, the competition will be tougher. Aside from that, we are targeting to double our revenue from last year.”