Lazada, Mastercard collaborate to empower brands and sellers

• Develop joint marketing and education campaigns to increase consumer confidence
• Lazada will be anchor merchant for certain new Mastercard solutions in select markets

LAZADA, a Southeast Asian online shopping and selling platform, and Mastercard on March 22 announced a five-year partnership to grow the e-commerce ecosystem in Southeast Asia (SEA).

This comes as Lazada is committed to delivering the best e-commerce offerings that serve the needs of the region’s brands and sellers.

This partnership also enables Mastercard to reach new audiences with Lazada’s wide network of users in the SEA region, including those in developing markets. At the same time, merchants will benefit from Mastercard’s solutions.

Here are some initiatives that Lazada and Mastercard will roll out in this partnership:

• Develop joint marketing and education campaigns to increase consumer confidence, as well as reward schemes to incentivise the use of digital payments;
• Lazada will be able to access Mastercard’s regional and global sponsorship platforms to create unique promotions;
• Mastercard’s data-driven insights will combine offline and online behaviors to help Lazada understand how to drive greater e-commerce growth within the growing base of Internet-savvy and mobile consumers in the region;
• Lazada will be the anchor merchant for certain new Mastercard solutions in select markets.

Lazada and Mastercard aim to unlock the inherent potential of Southeast Asia’s fast-growing digital ecosystem by creating opportunities on a trusted marketplace platform for brands, sellers and buyers, providing new revenue streams for businesses.

Lazada Group chief marketing officer Mary Zhou, said: “The rapid technological advancements in the region has created new possibilities for businesses and consumers. As we continue to nurture the growth of brands and sellers online, we want to enable them to also future-proof their businesses in the face of an evolving landscape and ultimately help them become more globally competitive. This partnership allows merchants to leverage Mastercard’s data and insights to better reach out to and engage with their consumers.”

Rama Sridhar, executive vice president, Digital & Emerging Partnerships and New Payment Flows, Asia Pacific, Mastercard, said, “The e-commerce boom in Southeast Asia has brought merchants fast-evolving and borderless new opportunities while giving consumers access to a vast world of retail options.

“Our partnership with Lazada builds open marketplaces and advances digital democratisation, bringing more to buyers and sellers in the region. It underscores how imaginative product proposition, advanced analytics and a deep understanding of consumer passion points can converge to deliver game-changing impact across Southeast Asia’s digital economy.”