MANILA, JUNE 3, 2020 --- Attention, Shopee fans! Shopee’s 6.6 Super Flash Sale is here with jewelry, bags, electronic gadgets, and home appliances for as low as ₱6. During the 6.6 sale, users can also expect up to 80% off on select items, flash deals every ten minutes, cashbacks and vouchers to be given away on D-Day.
Here are six awesome buys you can check out on June 6:
1. CK-140 Automatic Wrist Blood Pressure Monitor
Make sure you and your loved ones’ blood pressure is stable during this time with this automatic blood pressure monitor.
2. Popcorn Fast-Charging PowerBank
Keep your mobile phones and other electronic gadgets charged and ready-to-use with this fast-charging power bank.
3. Catherine Anti-theft Leather Bag
Secure your belongings well with this anti-theft bag that’s made of leather. It comes in two colors: black and coffee brown.
4. LS Jewelry 18K Gold-Plated Drop Earrings
Complete your look with these gold-plated earrings that come in six different colors.
5. Seagate 1TB Backup Plus Slim New USB 3.0 Portable External Hard Drive
Back up all important data in a secure device. There are four colors available: silver, blue, red and gold.
6. ACE SL-24" TV-3.5A Ultra Slim LED-220 Television
Sit back and relax with the whole family with this 24-inch, USB-ready TV.
As local governments implement initiatives to alleviate the financial situation of their constituents, GCash willingly lent a helping hand to serve as a distribution platform for cash assistance. Makati is the first city in Metro Manila to implement contactless financial assistance through GCash and the Makatizen Card. Under the Makatizen Economic Relief Program, now called the MAKA-tulong 5K for 500K+ Makatizens, the local government provides its individual qualified citizens with P5,000 in financial assistance.
“The P5K financial assistance we are giving to all Makatizens aims to help them alleviate the burden of paying their bills at this time when income for most is hard to come by. I was happy to hear stories on how Makatizens have put this help to good use by also investing in alternative sources of livelihood. I'm proud to say, maabilidad, masipag at maaasahan talaga ang mga Makatizens”, said Makati Mayor Abby Binay.
One of those who were able to benefit from this partnership is Diana Oblino, a resident of Barangay Olympia. She and five other members of her household were able to receive P25,000 in cash, which they used to pay the pile of electricity and water bills which accumulated during the quarantine.
Not only that, they were also able to open a small sari-sari store to keep their money growing instead of spending it all in one go.
“Because of the MAKA-tulong Program, we were able to build another source of income that would help us get through these trying times,” Oblino said.
Oblino said the process of receiving was easy, because they only needed to wait until GCash sent them a notification saying that P5,000 was deposited to their e-wallets.
“What a relief really, that in our ‘new normal’ – the time of social distancing and quarantine, Makati was able to lessen human-to-human contact and distribute cash through online platforms because of a project launched years ago,” she added.
The MAKA-tulong Program also helped Joeffrey Furo, who is among the first batch of beneficiaries, to use the financial aid as fresh capital for his e-loading business, small sari-sari store and computer repair shop. For Furo, the money came as a beacon of hope amid the crisis, since he was a person with disability (PWD) who had a wife and a child to support. His leg was amputated after he figured in a hit-and-run accident.
Needless to say, the cash aid inspired many Makatizens to join the community of online food sellers. Rinalyn Binongo of Barangay West Rembo shared on Facebook how she used the money as added capital to expand her online food selling business.
“We’re very happy to have inspired a significant number of Makatizens to pursue businesses to grow their money amid the pandemic. GCash hopes to extend this kind of assistance to other local governments to help lift the burden of Filipinos who have been greatly impacted by COVID-19, economic or otherwise,” said GCash Vice President for Enterprise Luigi Reyes.
Globe Fintech Innovations Inc. (Mynt), which operates GCash, is part of the portfolio companies of 917Ventures, the largest corporate incubator in the Philippines wholly-owned by Globe Telecom Inc.
GCash is available for download on the App Store and Google Play. For more information, kindly visit https://www.gcash.com/.
Amid the Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine, more and more Filipinos are turning to online community groups to find their everyday essentials and more.
According to Viber, its usage in the Philippines surged in the past weeks: messages sent on the app have increased by 120 percent, calls received by users are up by 85%, and the average number of community engagement has also risen by 120%.
“The significant increase in community engagement tells us that Filipinos want to stay connected, and do it more purposefully. With everyone confined to their homes, Filipinos are striving for closer and more meaningful interactions,” said Veronica Feleo, Business Development Manager, Rakuten Viber, during a webinar series titled Social in the Age of Social Distancing organized by M2.0 Communications, Inc.
Feleo was joined by fellow panelists Lia Ejercito, Head of Digital and Social for M2.0, and Niña Cruz-Zialcita, Chief Inquisitor at Best of the Best Manila, one of the largest Facebook Groups in the Philippines.
“At the start of the year, when all of the experts were declaring that [direct] social was going to be a big thing this year, we expected more of a slow burn,” said Ejercito. “But the reality is, now, there's been such a drastic shift, and I think that is coming as a result of COVID-19 and the whole ECQ situation that we've experienced in the past few weeks.”
Amid the lockdown, information and food essentials have been top of mind for many Filipinos, with the Department of Health’s COVID-19 Advisory Community and the Food Contacts Community among the top-performing communities on Viber during this period.
Virtual communities
User-generated content communities have become so popular that Viber even has a dedicated community that serves as a directory for existing communities on the app. These user-created groups serve as channels that cover a variety of topics and interests, ranging from hyper-local marketplaces to neighborhood coordination points.
“The expectation was that [direct] social would overtake mainstream social," said Ejercito, adding "[Direct] social platforms have also replaced a lot of face-to-face interactions.”
Best of the Best Manila—a thriving private Facebook Group in the country with over 22,000 members—started out as a group of friends with shared interests. The group functions as a recommendation channel for what are the best experiences in Manila, covering food, entertainment, travel and lifestyle. Cruz-Zialcita recalled, “We started out asking questions about the best bread or the best printer. It caught on from there.”
During the lockdown, however, Cruz-Zialcita noted that discussions have taken on a different track: “These days, the questions are grounded on what people need: Who are the best fruit suppliers? What are the best home exercises?”
Digital Bayanihan
Beyond sharing information and sourcing basic necessities, online groups have also become platforms for digital bayanihan. During the onset of the lockdown, Best of the Best Manila raised over P200,000 from its members, which were donated to support frontliners in their fight against COVID-19.
“I don't think that COVID is the reason for why these communities exist. It maybe just propelled all of these types of groups and made them grow so much more active," said Ejercito. “But if we go back to how direct social was discovered in the first place, it was all about referrals. It works, I think, because it's very personal, it's very direct, and it's very authentic."
Manila, Philippines - XTREME Appliances announced their participation in Lazada's 6.6 Bounce Back Sale that will start from June 4 to June 6, 2020, through their social media accounts.
LAZADA 6.6 Bounce Back Sale
Customers can now enjoy 50% off and get the XTREME 32-inch LED TV for only Php 5,995 from its original SRP of Php 11,995 from June 6, 12midnight until 11:59 PM.
The XTREME 32-inch LED TV sports the following features: High Definition Picture Quality (1366x768), Dynamic Sound Quality, HDR Premium, Slim Bezel, comes with a Remote Control and 2 years warranty.
“XTREME Appliances was established with Filipinos in mind especially now that everyone is gearing towards recovery from the pandemic. Staying in our homes for months made us realize the importance of each appliance and we want to start it with the TV. Every home need at least a basic TV to be updated with the latest news and even for entertainment.” says Adrian Lim, General Manager of XTREME Appliances.
XTREME Summer Xtravaganza Promo - Extended!
Making room for customers to be able to purchase their summer bundle promo, XTREME Appliances also extended the promo duration from May 31, 2020 to June 30, 2020. Customers can get the bundled items and save up to Php 3,995 on XTREME’s website, Lazada and Shopee pages.
“...we’re also extending the duration of our summer promo. This way, Filipino customers are given enough time to prepare and purchase two appliances at the price of one.” Mr. Lim added.
Smart Communications Inc., introduced its newest campaign along with its new endorser, none other than Korean superstar Hyun Bin.
Smart revealed that due to the on-going health crisis, Hyun Bin’s first TVC for the Filipinos was mostly planned online through intensive coordination with all the entities involved. In spite of the situation, the contract was signed in April, and the launch was basically still on schedule.
Hyun Bin represents the Dynamism of this digital world that we empower, and has a huge following mainly due to the Korean Dramas he took part in. Of course, the smash hit Crash Landing on You being the most recent.
As to whether the Korean superstar is coming to the Philippines, there’s no definite date just yet, but the company confirmed that he is coming to the country.
Hyun Bin Merchandise
While vaguely, Smart confirmed that Hyun Bin-themed merchandise will be up for grabs for those who will be availing of Smart services such as new postpaid applications. Watch out for more details.
Expect More Giga Promos
While they didn’t give a lot of details. Smart also confirmed that they’re set to launch new Giga Promos, including one which involves K-Dramas. Something about being able to use your prepaid load to subscribe to a popular streaming site, Viu. The time frame is June to July.
For now, you may still enjoy Smart’s current Giga offerings – Giga Video, Giga Games, Giga Stories, and Giga Work.
