Per week earlier than the 11.11 sale, I did an internet ballot with my mates asking the place they like to buy extra: Lazada or Shopee. The outcomes have been stunning to me as a result of I anticipated the votes to be nearly equally cut up however Shopee obtained 80% of the votes.
Personally, I don’t have a desire. I often search each platforms for the merchandise I’m in search of and purchase the place it’s both cheaper or if I want it urgently, the place the supply time is quicker. However doing the ballot obtained me interested by my on-line purchases and questioning the place do I have a tendency to buy extra.
It seems that I do purchase extra from Shopee. Nonetheless, whereas I’ve purchased extra gadgets in Shopee, I seen that I’ve spent extra on Lazada. Plainly for costly gadgets like that air fryer and HD webcam that I wanted final 12 months, I have a tendency to purchase in Lazada. However for smaller and cheaper gadgets comparable to a cleaning soap dispenser, oximeter, and ring gentle, I find yourself shopping for them in Shopee.
This realization piqued my curiosity concerning the two greatest on-line buying platforms within the Philippines. Are they merely two variations of the identical factor or have they got important variations? And extra importantly, for the patron, which one provides the higher buying expertise? I checked and in contrast, and that is what I discovered.
The Firm
Lazada and Shopee each have headquarters in Singapore and primarily function within the Southeast Asian Area. Curiously, Lazada has extra energetic customers within the Philippines however Shopee has extra energetic customers total in Southeast Asia. Nonetheless, Shopee receives round 73 million net visits, which is nearly twice greater than Lazada’s on-line visitors.
The recognition of a buying platform has its execs and cons, but it surely usually advantages the patron by attracting many companies to promote via them and thus offering extra decisions and quite a lot of merchandise.
If an organization fails to maintain up with the demand from customers, then that’s when issues and points come up. We’ll point out a few of these later for each platforms.
Consumer Expertise
A platform or app gained’t final lengthy if it’s troublesome to make use of. Tech startups rent consumer expertise engineers to exactly keep away from, or not less than reduce this downside. As for Lazada and Shopee, which one is less complicated and fewer complicated to make use of?
Their web sites have an identical format and are user-friendly, maybe as a result of on-line market templates have already been optimized by net designers via the years. Purchasing and checkout are additionally environment friendly for each web sites. My mates and I agree although that Lazada’s format appears to be much less cluttered and simpler to the eyes than Shopee’s web site.
Most of our on-line buying expertise in Lazada and Shopee is finished via the app. The truth is, there are mobile-only offers and promos for each apps. And on this side, Lazada has the higher hand which is noticeably sooner and simpler to navigate.
One explicit characteristic that I like in Lazada is that the Evaluation part for listings will be simply accessed on the menu that seems on prime of the display screen once you scroll down a bit. For Shopee, you’ll need to scroll all the way in which right down to the part.
This will not be a giant deal for some, however I’ve had my fair proportion of expertise in receiving low-quality and faux gadgets from each platforms. Thus, the assessment and suggestions part is now my first go-to part earlier than I even learn via the product data and different particulars.
Number of Merchandise
I can solely assume which you can purchase nearly something from each platforms, not less than something which you can legally buy on-line. The 2 giants carry tens of millions of merchandise, which makes it nearly a default for anybody to match listings on each apps to see the place it’s cheaper and sooner in supply.
Lazada has LazMall whereas Shopee has Shopee Mall, the place merchandise from respected shops and types are listed. From my remark, Lazada appears to have extra accredited massive model shops and suppliers, whereas Shopee has extra small suppliers and home-based sellers.
Furthermore, I’ve seen that there are extra wholesalers in Shopee than in Lazada. Moreover, there are a number of second-hand or pre-loved gadgets being offered in Shopee, which is one thing that I’ve but to see in Lazada.
Value Comparability
The lure of buying on-line shouldn’t be solely as a result of it’s handy, however as a result of it’s usually extra reasonably priced than shopping for the merchandise on the mall. And the consensus amongst my mates is that Shopee provides decrease costs than Lazada.
Shopee has a Lowest Value Assured characteristic, which lives as much as its title. And true to its status of being an “on-line Divisoria”, I’ve seen individuals haggle with sellers via the chat part.
Nonetheless, I believe the most important motive why Shopee listings find yourself cheaper is due to the Shopee cash, which can be utilized like money as in comparison with Lazada’s cash which might solely be used to get vouchers and reductions. This was the explanation why I made an effort to frequently play throughout their Stay Quiz reveals and win Shopee cash.
Moreover, relating to gross sales and promos, it’s onerous to match which one has higher offers, but it surely’s notable to say that Shopee has been giving a whole lot of free transport provides because the pandemic began.
Cost Choices
Each platforms have an in-store e-wallet, which you’ll be able to prime up via varied strategies. In addition they each supply Money-On-Supply and Gcash as fee choices. As of writing, solely Shopee accepts Cash.ph as a fee technique, whereas solely Lazada accepts JCB and American Specific credit score and debit playing cards. In the meantime, you should utilize Mastercard and Visa playing cards on each websites however for Shopee, that is restricted to Most well-liked and Shopee Mall outlets.
Nonetheless, Shopee provides extra fee strategies than Lazada, which incorporates paying via on-line banking (BPI, Unionbank, and many others.), remittance and fee facilities (Bayad Heart, Palawan Pawnshop, and many others.), over-the-counter financial institution deposits (BPI, Metrobank, and many others.), and even via Google Play.
However, one benefit of Lazada over Shopee is the provision of installment fee plans, which even non-credit cardholders can benefit from with the assistance of Billease, Cashalo, and different digital credit score platforms. A pal talked about that this installment characteristic is the explanation why he may purchase costly home equipment and devices via Lazada.
Supply and Transport
I dwell in Metro Manila, and from expertise, there isn’t a lot distinction in supply instances between the 2 platforms. However mates primarily based in different components of the nation say that their Lazada orders arrive earlier most often, particularly for worldwide deliveries.
One much less apparent distinction between the 2 is that Lazada has a logistics infrastructure arrange. They’ve wholly-owned warehouses and achievement facilities across the nation, which could clarify why their supply instances are shorter and extra dependable.
Nonetheless, having that logistics infrastructure might be the explanation why Lazada’s transport charges are typically increased than Shopee’s. Furthermore, Lazada has fewer transport choices as in comparison with Shopee, so there’s much less seemingly that you just’ll get the perfect supply price out there.
Basically, in order for you your merchandise to reach sooner and also you don’t thoughts paying just a little bit extra for transport, then order from Lazada. If you wish to pay much less transport charges and also you don’t thoughts ready just a few further days, then Shopee is your first selection.
Purchaser Safety and Buyer Service
Final however positively not least is purchaser’s safety and buyer help.
There’s Shopee Assure that gives safety for patrons towards fraudulent sellers. In the meantime, Lazada has Cost Safety, which covers unauthorized transactions. On this regard, I like Shopee Assure higher.
Each platforms have order monitoring. Nonetheless, it’s simpler with Lazada as a result of its on-site monitoring software gives fast, real-time, and detailed standing from its supply service and logistics companions. In Shopee, you’d need to go to the third-party courier’s web site to test the place your gadgets are.
Lazada and Shopee present 24/7 buyer help however from expertise, it’s more durable to return gadgets purchased from Shopee and it is advisable pay for the return price in all circumstances. Returning or getting refunds from Lazada has been simpler and sooner for me. Moreover, Lazada provides free returns for some gadgets, particularly home equipment and devices.
Remaining Ideas
I hope this comparability between the 2 greatest buying apps within the Philippines has helped you in your spending selections.
I don’t suppose there’s any clear winner between the 2. And that’s why I store in each. However for gadgets which can be lower than P1,000, I usually purchase in Shopee. For costlier gadgets and people which I urgently want, I buy them from Lazada.
One last tip for these pondering of shopping for one thing on-line. Verify if the model or firm has its personal on-line retailer. As a result of it’s all the time a lot better to purchase instantly from them on their web site.
This text additionally appeared in MoneySense Journal.
