OLX keeps the good deals coming

MANILA, Philippines - Filipino shoppers know how to spot a good deal.

This makes the Philippine market unique, according to OLX Philippines general manager Giancarlo Bonsel.

The online and mobile classifieds company has over 300 million monthly users across 45 countries, generating traffic of over 28 billion monthly page views. In the Philippines, it has a very vibrant community of buyers and sellers.

“What we see in the Philippines is that the people are extraordinary resourceful,” Bonsel said. “It is not just about buying and selling goods and services. It is not just about the transactions. It is about connecting people.”

As an online marketplace primarily for pre-owned items (though there are also brand new items), OLX has connected buyers and sellers together in an ecosystem that is also very reflective of Filipino culture. When sellers and buyers meet, the relationship goes beyond the transaction.

Think of the musician who has sold an item to a fellow musician or the car enthusiast who has found more than a deal at OLX but a kindred spirit. In the beehive of a marketplace where goods and services are traded fast and easy, friendships and business connections are also forged fast.

“When buyers and sellers meet and connect, the community wins as a whole because the resources are kept within the community,” Bonsel said. “This is what differentiates online classifieds from e-commerce. The transactions are made by people who come together for that single transaction and usually, find a connection.”

OLX Philippines has come a long way since its early days as Sulit.com.ph, a local brand. Its campaigns over the years have been very memorable. In 2012, it had “Ano hanap mo?” which is targeted at buyers looking for items they couldn’t find elsewhere, according to Chris Concepcion, OLX Philippines’ chief marketing officer.

The campaign was so successful that Filipino shoppers have turned to the site to find anything of value. Buyers have since come to OLX to find fantastic deals.

In 2013 and 2014, they launched “Ibenta Mo Na” and the “Yes, yaman” campaigns, respectively, to bring home the message that everyone can be a seller. In the OLX ecosystem, Bonsel said a seller wins because he or she can sell something that is no longer needed and sell it fast, earning extra income on the side. The buyer also wins because he or she can find something of value and usually at a competitive price.

In 2015, the company launched the #naksexperience, focusing on the  entrepreneurial experience and the spirit the sustains it in the context of Filipinos’ love for good bargains.

“OLX (which originally stood for Online Exchange) for us is not just buying and selling stuff. It is actually meeting people with the same value systems. People will get together after the transactions and they just come alive on the platform,” Concepcion said.

Thus, for 2016, OLX Philippines is bannering the theme “Win Together” where it wants to celebrate with the community the feeling of winning when one gets a good deal or meets somebody with the same passion and experiences.

“We are bringing people together, which I think is what our mission is all about,” Bonsel explained.

The OLX executives shared that the fastest-selling items on the platform today are consumer electronics, cars, services and even real estate and they want to keep the good deals coming.