1. Shopee Indonesia announced that an additional service fee of IDR 1000 will be charged for in-app transactions

It was reported on October 25 that Shopee Indonesia has officially implemented a service fee policy of IDR 1,000 for each in-app transaction, and the withdrawal of the service fee will take effect from October 23. Shopee said, "These fees are charged for the convenience of customers, as they are used to develop technology to better serve customers." This fee applies to purchases using any payment method and without a minimum purchase volume. Users, the service fee will be charged after completing 4 transactions. In addition, Shopee does not charge service fees for digital product transactions such as finance, zakat, and donations. However, the service fee still applies to the purchase of digital products included in physical products. This service fee includes the cost of value added tax (VAT) in accordance with applicable tax laws and regulations. In addition to Shopee, Tokopedia started charging IDR 1,000 per transaction for its application services in August this year.

2. Lazada opens personal Alipay entry channel

It was reported on October 25 that since last month, Lazada’s cross-border store has launched a personal Alipay entry channel. Now users register Lazada stores and support two verification methods: corporate Alipay and personal Alipay, and sellers can choose according to their own circumstances. When an enterprise conducts Alipay verification, it needs to prepare the following materials: enterprise Alipay account number (including 3000RMB store deposit), merchant mobile phone number (either legal person or operator), an email address that has never been registered with Lazada, store name, and enterprise business license .

For personal Alipay verification (no public account to settle in), the following materials are required: personal Alipay (including 3000RMB store deposit, and must be the personal Alipay of the company legal person), merchant mobile phone number (for legal person or operator), a person who has never registered Pass Lazada's email address, store name, front and back photos of legal person ID card, business license photo, legal person holding business license and holding ID card front and back photos.

3. Search interest in Double 11 in the Middle East and North Africa increased by 35% year-on-year

On October 25th, according to google search data, the search interest for "Singles' Day" in the entire Middle East and North Africa region increased by 35% year-on-year. 70% of shoppers in the UAE and Saudi Arabia said they would buy products exclusively for themselves during the campaign, up from 65% during the peak sales season at the end of the year. The data shows that before November 11, video search interest for "mental health" increased by 50% year-on-year, and "health" increased by 35%. Additionally, searches for the keyword “discount” increased by 40% year over year, indicating that shoppers want to find the best deals. Shopping apps on mobile phones are also very popular with consumers, with shopping app downloads increasing by 32% during this period, indicating that consumers not only want good prices, but also a more convenient way to shop. Because in the Middle East, most people own 1-2 mobile phones, the APP-side process and convenient experience are particularly important for consumers.