Lazada.com.ph joins this year’s Chinese New Year festivities with a big sale happening from February 13 to 16, 2018, with discounts up to 85% off. Here are top deals to fetch this year of the earth dog:

Style in Full Bloom

New Year means new you! Now is the best time to buy your beauty and travel essentials online. Stay fresh and pretty by getting yourself a L’Oreal Paris Pure Clay Mask for only Php 319.20 and a Nyx Liquid Suede Cream Lipstick on flash sale at Php 230. Plan your future travels in style by getting a Jansport backpack at Php 1,450 which comes in various designs such as white leopard, vintage vacation and sweet nectar.

Bountiful than Ever

Prepare for your Chinese New Year celebration at home. Enjoy listening to your new year playlist with the JBL Clip 2 Portable Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker at Php 2,199. Get yourself a Sony DSC-W800 Digital Camera at Php 3,999 to capture every moment of the celebration. Celebrations aren’t also complete without the feast. The Demotech Wide Electric Grill Tray at Php 899 is a must-buy for all your grilling needs.

Creating good feng shui is now easier! Shop for items you usually get from Chinatown like incense, lucky charms, feng shui lucky cat, golden wealth pot, red money tree and banguas, and have them delivered straight at your doorstep. Customers also enjoy free delivery for all Metro Manila orders.

This 2018, Lazada has also revamped both its website and mobile app to give customers a better shopping experience. So, what’s new? Customers now get to see products, brands, categories, and bundles personalized according to their preferences and shopping interests. The new shopping platform also provides an unlimited scrolling experience allowing customers to enjoy browsing Lazada’s top deals as if they were on social media.

More Discounts

Additional discounts are up for grabs thanks to RCBC and PayMaya. Customers who use their RCBC savings MyDebit Mastercard get a Php 200 discount during the Chinese New Year Sale for a minimum purchase of Php 1,500. PayMaya users get 15% off (maximum discount of Php 200) whenever they use the code PAYMAYAFEB for a minimum purchase of Php 1,000 until February 25.

It is just the start of a prosperous year with Lazada! More deals, brands and special offers are up for grabs this year of the dog. Visit www.lazada.com.ph or download the Lazada mobile app for free.

Many people do not realize that it’s not enough to get a good broadband plan. Apart from having fast internet, you must also make sure your Wi-Fi router is strategically located to optimize your Wi-Fi coverage.

But where should you place the router to make the most out of your internet connection? Here are some useful tips from Globe at Home:

1. Keep your router away from obstruction

Did you know that concrete walls, mirrors, doors, and other large obstacles can weaken your Wi-Fi signal? So keep the path between your router and your device as obstruction-free as possible to maintain optimum connection.

Always place your router in a central location so the signal is evenly distributed. The farther your devices are from the router, the weaker your connection, so place your router in an open space, preferably on an elevated platform and away from bodies of water like an aquarium or water containers. You can also stay close to your router for a better browsing experience.

2. Connect only the devices you’re using

Too many devices connected to your Wi-Fi can slow down your internet speed as each device takes up a portion of your total bandwidth. Only connect devices that are being used to ensure a stable connection.

3. Wi-Fi extenders help improve your Wi-Fi signal coverage!

Your router can only cover so much ground, especially if you have a big home. To ensure your house is fully covered, Globe At Home’s special tech service team, the Globe Tech Squad, also offers Airties Wi-Fi Mesh, which extends Wi-Fi coverage to eliminate dead spots around the house and ensure full Wi-Fi coverage throughout your home.

Globe customers may avail of Airties Wi-Fi Mesh via two payment options: upfront payment of P3,600, or charged to bill at P150/month for 24 months added on to your Globe At Home plan.

Make the most out of your connection with Globe at Home’s Plan 1299 and up, which offers fast and reliable internet connection at speeds of up to 5Mbps and 300GB worth of data allocation per month, with free 100GB allocation for YouTube. Learn more about Globe at Home from www.globe.com.ph/broadban d.

A Filipino shopper uses the scan to pay feature of the GCash App at a store in one of the popular malls in the Philippines

            GCash is adopting the cashless payments model of Alipay, China’s leading third-party mobile and online payments platform, which is enjoying unprecedented success in China, India and the rest of Asia to give people ease, convenience, and security when purchasing goods and services from lowly street vendors to high-end shops.

            Alipay is operated by Ant Financial which has earlier entered into a joint venture with leading Philippine telecommunications provider Globe Telecom and the country’s oldest conglomerate Ayala Corporation to boost the operations of Mynt, parent company of GCash mobile wallet service.

“I believe e-payments have a tremendous amount of potential in the Philippines given the continuous growth of smartphone penetration and the number of unbanked Filipinos.  Only a very select group of Filipinos have access to financial services so we want to provide that access to them.   Part of financial services is cashless payments.  It has taken off in other countries like China and India where the people have realized its value because of the convenience and security that it provides — merchants and buyers don’t have to prepare change, e-money cannot be easily stolen, payments can easily be tracked, among other things,”  said Ernest Cu, Globe President and CEO.

At present, 7 out of 10 Filipinos are unbanked while 9 out of 10 do not have access to formal credit.  This situation has led to the popularity of cash payments in the country.

Eric Jing, Ant Financial Services Group CEO said:  “Ant Financial is working closely with Mynt to bring digital financial inclusion to Filipinos.  Imagine a day when you can just pick up your phone and pay using QR codes when you shop, buy tickets, buy food. We’re leveraging technology to provide that.  We will use technology to make financial services more transparent and easier to access especially for those who are underserved or unserved.  Digital payments with GCash is only the beginning of many new things.  I am looking forward to GCash creating more benefits for the individuals and micro and small businesses in the Philippines and to provide financial inclusion for everyone.”

Aside from the scan to pay feature of the GCash App which was allows QR scanning to pay for goods and services, GCash customers can also use the app to cash in, top up their prepaid credit, borrow load, book movies, transfer money, and pay bills.

           In China where Alipay started its operations, cash is becoming obsolete as people are doing away with paper money and coins to pay for about everything.  Instead of cash, they use smartphones to scan QR codes – a type of barcode which includes the merchant’s information – and pay from their electronic wallet.

            Electronic payment using QR codes has become a way of life in China that practically every business, big or small, even street performers are already part of the ecosystem.  Right now, over half a billion Chinese are using Alipay’s e-payment system.

            A similar trend is occurring in India with Paytm, India’s largest digital wallet where Ant Financial is also an investor.  Paytm has already registered over 200 million customers for its digital wallet with a goal of reaching 500 million by 2020.