Biggest digital mall hosts 88,000 online stores (and counting)

Just when you thought online shopping couldn't get any better, it does.

For years, virtual shopping has increasingly gained ground in the country, creating a new breed of shopaholics that further helped push online shopping into the consciousness of the mainstream public. In turn, this click-of-the-mouse activity has ushered in the arrival of the virtual entrepreneurs that do the selling of the merchandises.

With 88,000 shops (and counting) accessible on its platform, Multiply is changing the way people shop over the Internet. What began primarily as a social networking site where millions of people went to share photos and videos, Multiply has evolved to become a fully functioning e-commerce site.

“When Multiply made the shift into becoming an e-commerce site [in May 2011], we wanted to offer more than convenience and variety to the Multiply shopper. We wanted to create an e-commerce platform that was reliable and secure,” said Jack Madrid, country manager of Multiply Philippines.

Today, Multiply—with more than 5.4 million users (200,000 of whom access the site on a daily basis)—is bringing to life real-life business success for its merchants. As the “largest digital mall,” it offers a variety of things that one might—or might not even—need, from fashion finds to gadgets; to the latest in beauty and baby products; from car accessories to musical instruments.

The shopping platform that Multiply offers is unlike those of existing ones such as ebay.ph or sulit.com.ph, according to Paolo del Puerto, the company's senior marketing manager.

“Those [eBay and Sulit] are listing sites, like the classified ads section in a newspaper. Multiply is a shopping venue,” he said.

According to him, Multiply is actually involved in every sales transaction that happens in the platform. That's because, unlike listing sites, buyers pay for the products they want direct to Multiply (not to the sellers). Multiply then remits the payment to the merchandisers.

“The process eliminates bogus buyers and sellers,” said Philip Yu, Multiply's head for merchants relations. “Before, we couldn't do much when buyers report shady transactions because the money weren't coursed through us.”

Multiply, as sort of a middle man, on the other hand, charges 3.9% per transaction, a fee that covers everything—from making sure merchants are real to making sure that items arrive on time and in top-notch quality.

The many groundbreaking “firsts” do not end there. Multiply has also partnered with Xend, a courier services company, where buyers can avail of a flat rate fee of only P50 (maximum of 3 kilos) if items are sent within Metro Manila or P64 (up to 3 kilos) if items are shipped in the provinces.

Yu said: “We really wanted to address the main issues that were preventing e-commerce to reach its full potential in the Philippines which are the expensive freight costs and the security of the items being sold."

To get started on your very own business or on hunting for the best deals, register at http://multiply.com/user/join.