With people being forced into lockdown in April, many had to find things to do to not only keep themselves safe within the home and the curfew but also to not drive themselves crazy at the thought of impending boredom. This drew many people to use Facebook and social media to either buy or sell their own products and brands.
An online seller by the name of Bella told Khmer Times yesterday that she only started selling whitening lotion four weeks ago but explained it is going very well. “I quit my job as they had to reduce my salary amid the Covid-19 pandemic, so I started selling whitening lotion on social media and due to it going so well I am thinking of other things I can sell.
Bella added: “The best way to market a product now is on TikTok, if you can advertise your product and it goes viral, BOOM, make a lot of money.”
TikTok, known in China as Douyin, is a video-sharing focused social networking service owned by Chinese company ByteDance. The social media platform is used to make a variety of short-form videos, from genres like dance, comedy and education, that have a duration from fifteen seconds to three minutes.
Another seller called Bora who owns an online and physical electronics repair shop called “iRepair Cambodia” who repair and sell all types of electronic devices including Macbooks and Laptops in Phnom Penh explained to Khmer Times yesterday: “Since the pandemic started in April last year more than half of our customers have requested for their devices that need repairing to be collected via Grab delivery instead of visiting the location.”
He continued: “We now focus on the repair aspect of the business as people will always need to repair their mobile phone handset or laptop. However, due to the high demand since Covid-19, we are now looking at expanding our business to a bigger location next month.”
An avid social media user who purchases goods online frequently told Khmer Times yesterday: “Facebook is the easiest way to find the products that you like with most of the time your friends sharing posts for clothes, electronics or even food promotions. If you wanted to you could shop for everything from your Facebook.”
The average social media user spends between 145 minutes and 2 hours 25 minutes every day browsing Facebook/TikTok amongst others. This figure has gone up by almost a full hour since 2012, which is an increase of 61 percent. During these browsing times it seems as though there is a niche for entrepreneurs to cater for people’s boredom and keep them entertained browsing new products.
This article was first published in Khmer Times. All contents and images are copyright to their respective owners and sources.
