KUCHING: More people are now exposed to online sales and purchases.
All this happened because of the movement control order (MCO) imposed since March 18.
Those who never engaged in online purchases prior to the MCO, have been doing so now, thus profiting those in the business, who are reportedly making good sales.
Black pepper-based product entrepreneur and founder of Nang Ori Sdn Bhd, Awaeang Kwasin, and her agents nationwide are among those who are making good sales during the MCO.
Her factories in Melaka and Kota Samarahan are also operating as usual after securing approval from the Ministry of International Trade and Industry.
Awaeang said like any other business, her company also faced a tough challenge during the MCO brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, this Bidayuh woman from Kampung Bratan has been fortunate as she has been marketing her products online long before the crisis began.
Awaeang said she felt a bit lost during the first week of the MCO.
“I didn’t know what to do, but the next week, I spent a lot of time with my children at home and doing gardening in my backyard, and doing online sales.
“Online sales is a normal thing for me,” she said, adding that the MCO was a great time to make online sales as many people would be at home and online, especially those living in towns and cities.
“It is different from those living in villages because they can do activities like gardening behind their house,” she said.
Many online shoppers, who are food lovers, also go online because people are afraid to go out and are abiding to the instructions from the authorities.
Awaeang also spent time by motivating her agents and partners online to keep them focused.
“I also encourage our agents and Nang Ori partners to increase their online business skills to improve their home-based knowledge by taking online courses organised by agencies such as Mara, SME Corp and MDEC.
“Our own company also provides online classes to our agents on Marketing Plan 2020, copywriting, product knowledge, knowledge system, free marketing. The goal is to help them increase their confidence in making sales,” she said.
While staying at home, she said all Nang Ori agents could still make sales as usual with the support of the headquarters team who would deliver the products to our agents or directly to end users.
Awaeang said looking at the MCO from a positive perspective, it gave her more time to be with her family, besides having time to clean her house and cook for her husband and children.
It also gave her the opportunity to improve her management system that had long been left out due to her busy schedule.
On the negative side, Awaeang said the MCO affected household income, and most companies having to worry about fixed costs, but no income.
The company also launched its own sales promotions by offering discounts.
Nang Ori has been in the local market for the past three years, and set to penetrate the international market.
Nang Ori Sdn Bhd is targeting China and Hong Kong after successfully exporting its products to Singapore and Brunei.
