[PODCAST] Teach Me, Senpai, E15: My Beauty Story’s Rianne Tan on growing your business on Lazada

Due to the growing dominance of e-commerce and digital platforms, starting a business today is often closely tied to selling online. In fact, according to global data and business intelligence platform Statista.com, the Philippines’ e-commerce industry grew by 400% in the last five years, making it the second fastest-growing e-commerce market worldwide.

The industry has come to a point where it is:

• Easy to start an online business
• Safe to conduct financial transactions
• Regulated enough that trust has been built among shoppers, sellers, and the platforms they interact with

This thrust towards digitalization was no doubt fueled by the pandemic, as we needed to find ways to transact without being in contact with each other. However, e-commerce developments had been in the works years before the world was locked down. Lazada was able to capitalize on this and, in turn, helped further normalize the idea of online shopping and selling.

Today, Lazada is a platform for all businesses as it gives them access to fulfillment and retail services. Beyond its end-to-end suite of tools and tech for businesses, Lazada also provides sellers with educational opportunities through Lazada University and even campaigns where sellers can expand their reach like double-digit sales (11.11 or 12.12) or free shipping offerings, several of which are subsidized by Lazada itself.

Lazada is what helped Rianne Tan, founder of My Beauty Story, grow her business from a one-woman operation into a legitimized enterprise.

My Beauty Story is a shop that specializes in Korean beauty products. Rianne began her entrepreneurial journey in 2016 while she was still in university by posting Korean products on Ateneo Trade, a Facebook community of Ateneo students and alumni who sell to each other.

After years of selling on Facebook, Rianne signed up as a seller on Lazada. Through this, she was able to easily expand her reach beyond her immediate network. Rianne was also able to show shoppers that My Beauty Story was indeed a legitimate business that sold authentic Korean beauty products.

One of Rianne’s biggest learnings in her almost six years of selling on Lazada is that e-commerce isn’t just a pricing game. For her, selling online is more about building your brand’s reputation. To do so, you need to gain better traction, which Rianne achieved by taking advantage of Lazada campaigns.

By being part of LazBeauty and double-digit campaigns, Rianne got more people checking out and buying from her digital storefront. She was also able to build a loyal following since Lazada shows trust ratings between shoppers and sellers, which helped prospective customers feel reassured about purchasing from her.

In this episode, we get to know Rianne and My Beauty Story. We ask why she decided to ditch her corporate nine-to-five job for a side hustle she started as a student, and why she shifted from selling on social media to selling on Lazada. We also get Lazada seller strategies and tips from Rianne, and find out how you can make your business stand out on the platform too.

Catch this episode of Teach Me, Senpai on Sunday, October 20, at 7 pm! Bookmark this page so you don’t miss it. You can also follow us on Spotify at bit.ly/RapplerTeachMeSenpai. 

Want to become a Lazada seller? Click here to sign up. – Rappler.com