Ebay assists Malaysian SMEs to export overseas

• Malaysian SMEs contribute 38.2% to the country’s GDP in 2020
• Two thrids of SMEs in SEA export to over 10 international markets

Online marketplace eBay has released its Southeast Asia Small Online Business Trade Report July 2022 highlighting the successes of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Southeast Asia in expanding their global reach and selling to international markets using the firm’s global marketplace.

In a statement, the company said SMEs are the backbone of Southeast Asia's economy and a vital tenet of the regional economic architecture. 

It noted that in Malaysia, SMEs account for 97.2% of total business establishments, contributing 38.2%, or more than US$115 billion (RM512.8 billion), to the country's GDP in 2020. 

Among the six Southeast Asian markets of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam covered in the report, 68% of eBay-enabled small businesses exported to ten or more international markets, ebay said. 

In 2020, the region's eBay-enabled small business community made sales in 214 international markets, it added.

eBay said its global marketplace is uniquely positioned to offer Southeast Asian SMEs e-commerce export opportunities. 

It added that while less than 20% of traditional businesses in each of the six markets highlighted in this report export, all eBay-enabled small businesses in Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam are exporters, and more than 95% in Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore use eBay to reach global consumers.

eBay’s regional general manager for Southeast Asia and India Vidmay Naini said, “The marketplace offers 142 million active buyers across more than 3,000 product categories with market access to 190  markets. On eBay, export is no longer the privilege of large enterprises only.”

“SMEs in Malaysia can easily reach consumers in some of the world’s largest consumer markets, such as the US, UK, Germany, Australia, and become ‘mini multinational corporations,” he claimed.

The report noted that seven of the top ten export markets for eBay-enabled small businesses in Malaysia are not in the top ten for traditional exporters.

It said the top five product categories exported by Malaysian sellers on eBay were: auto parts, home & garden, health & beauty, cell phones & accessories and collectibles.

The report indicated  Malaysian sellers on eBay have seen strong growth in a number of categories in 2021. For instance, in the auto parts and accessories category, Malaysian sellers have grown wheels, tires and parts sales by 29% in 2021, while electrical and ignition parts have grown by 76%.

There was also an increase in sales by Malaysian sellers on eBay in the cell phones and accessories category, with smartwatches increasing by 24%, headsets by 33%, and smartphones by 15%, it highlighted.

Meanwhile, sports trading card singles in the collectibles category increased exponentially at 109%.

An example is Jeff Liow is the director of Kings of Rim Malaysia (KOR), an eBay-enabled small business that has been selling automotive wheels on eBay since 2016. 

According to Liow, “eBay has opened more countries for KOR to branch out their business including countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom.”

“During our infancy stages, it took us time to learn and adapt. Later on, eBay suggested moving most of KOR inventories to the US warehouse via the SEA forward deployment initiative,” Liow said. 

“Upon doing this, our sales increased by tenfold and continued to rise as KOR became acquainted with buyers' wants and needs, and eBay provided the insights to enable us to tap into the global scene,” he added.

Click here for more information on eBay’s Southeast Asia Small Online Business Trade Report 2022.