eBay has announced the launch of its e-commerce accelerator programme, “Global 24/7”, specifically designed to help SMEs leverage eBay’s platform for global export as the economy gradually enters a recovery phase.
The accelerator programme aims to provide start-up incentives, necessary tools, trainings, and assistance for business owners to tap into eBay’s global marketplace of over 174 million active buyers. The programme is extended to markets across the Southeast Asia region which includes Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, and Vietnam.
“Global e-Commerce has experienced exponential growth due to a shift in consumer behaviour, following the Covid-19 pandemic. Malaysian SME exporters on our platform have seen a corresponding increase, especially in the health supplements, electronics, and automotive categories, where volumes have more than doubled from the same period last year,” said Tam Yong Sheng, head of business development eBay Southeast Asia.
“This shows that e-commerce is a key driver for SMEs to recover from the economic downturn. Our aspiration with the Global 24/7 programme is to empower businesses by helping them move online more quickly and giving them the opportunity to participate in an international marketplace with approximately 1.5 billion live listings at any given time across 190 markets.”
The programme will run from July 1 to Dec 31, and offers the following benefits to new sellers. The platform will waive 100 percent of eBay Store fees at the Basic subscription tier and 50 percent of fees for businesses to use Promoted Listings to advertise their products. Total incentive for each seller can be as high as US$1,000 . These benefits are expected to significantly reduce the cost for SMEs to grow their business online.
Additionally, it will be conducting bi-weekly webinars for business owners to gain insights on cross market selling opportunities on eBay, best practices to optimise listing ranking and visibility, and tips on developing a traffic generation plan to their virtual storefront.
Sellers will also have full access to Viewider, enabling easy product information migration from their existing online selling channels. Those in the automotive category will be entitled to additional listing assistance to map their items to eBay’s Master Vehicle List, enhancing visibility through eBay’s fitment finder. These tools will reduce the amount of manual work SMEs need to complete and accelerate their go global journey.
The programme is also in a partnership with DHL Express to offer new businesses discounted shipping rates from Southeast Asia, and a dedicated account manager to expedite the account opening process. For businesses who are keen to store their items in the United States to provide a better buyer experience, eBay will provide a subsidy (worth US$1,200) of 12-months of storage fees in partner warehouses
SMEs who have an existing business but do not have an eBay store are eligible to apply for this programme. This includes large and small businesses across the value chain – from manufacturers to dealers to retailers.
