Shopee

Shopee
Available in English
Indonesian
Thai
Chinese
Vietnamese
Founded 2015 (2015)
Headquarters Singapore
Area served Southeast Asia, Taiwan
Industry E-Commerce
Parent Sea Limited (NYSE: SE)
Website shopee.sg (Singapore), shopee.com.my (Malaysia) , shopee.ph (Philippines), shopee.co.id (Indonesia), shopee.tw (Taiwan), shopee.co.th (Thailand), shopee.vn (Vietnam)

Shopee (Traditional Chinese: 蝦皮購物) is an e-commerce platform headquartered in Singapore under Sea Group (previously known as Garena), which was founded in 2009 by Forrest Li.[1] Shopee first launched in Singapore in 2015, and since expanded its reach to Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines.[2] It serves users in Southeast Asia and Taiwan to buy and sell products online.[3] Due to the mobile and social element built within the concept, Shopee was described as one of the “5 disruptive ecommerce startups we saw in 2015” by Tech In Asia.[4]

History

In 2015, Shopee launched in Singapore as a social-first, mobile-centric marketplace where users can browse, shop and sell on the go.[5] Integrated with logistical and payment support, the asset-light platform aims to make online shopping easy and secure for both sellers and buyers.[6][7]

Soon after, the app-based platform launched a website to rival other fast growing e-commerce websites in the region like Lazada, Tokopedia and AliExpress. To differentiate itself, Shopee offers online shopping security through its own escrow service called “Shopee Guarantee”,[8] where it withholds payment to sellers until buyers have received their orders.[9]

Business model

Shopee first started as primarily a consumer-to-consumer (C2C) marketplace but has since moved into both a C2C and business-to-consumer (B2C) hybrid model.[10] As compared to its competitors, Shopee does not charge sellers fees/commissions and listing fees.[2]

It also operates as an asset-light marketplace wherein Shopee does not hold any inventory or warehousing and relies on third parties for logistics capabilities.[11] Shopee partners with over 70 courier service providers across its markets to provide logistical support for its users.[12] In Singapore, it collaborated with logistics startup, NinjaVan, for item pickup and delivery.[13] Other delivery partners in the region include Pos Malaysia[14] and Pos Indonesia.[15]

Market share

As of 2017, the platform recorded 80 million app downloads and more than 180 million active products from over four million entrepreneurs.[16] In Q4 2017, it also reported a gross merchandise value (GMV) of US$1.6 billion, up 206 per cent from a year earlier. However, losses in the parent group, Sea are also widening. The group recorded an adjusted net loss of US$252 million in Q4 2017, up 306 percent from Q4 2016’s US$62 million net loss.[17]

These GMV claims have also led to backlash by Alibaba-backed competitor, Lazada. The former CEO, Max Bittner asserted that GMV numbers can be easily inflated “by subsidy schemes and history shows that GMV falls away as unhealthy subsidies are removed.”[11]

Nonetheless, in Malaysia, Shopee became the 3rd most visited e-commerce portal in Q4 2017, replacing Lelong and “overtook Lazada to rank as the best app on both Google Play and iOS App stores.”[18]

Similarly among consumers in Indonesia, a survey conducted in December 2017 by TheAsianParent revealed that “for Indonesian mothers, Shopee is a first choice shopping platform (73%), followed by Tokopedia (54%), Lazada (51%) and Instagram (50%).”[19]

New launches

In 2016, Shopee launched an initiative called ‘Shopee University’, a series of workshops and tutorials to aid local entrepreneurs and businesses in setting up their online businesses in the Philippines.[20]

In 2017, Shopee launched Shopee Mall with 200 brands in Singapore. The dedicated portal features thousands of products sold by leading brands and retailers in the region. Shopee Mall was created to offer a more diverse online shopping experience, and to better cater to larger brands looking to pursue an omni-channel approach.[21]

In 2018, Shopee launched the China Marketplace portal that offers shoppers easy access to products from Chinese merchants, without any shipping and agent fees in Singapore. This portal directly competes with Lazada’s Taobao Collection option.[22]

IPO

Shopee’s parent company, Sea Group, filed for an Initial Public Offering on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in October 2017 for US$1 billion.[23] Tencent is the main beneficiary of the Sea listing with a 39.7% share while Blue Dolphins Venture — an organization set up by founder Forrest Li — holds 15%. Li himself has 20%, and Chief Technology Officer, Gang Ye holds 10%.[24]

Awards

In 2015, Shopee was awarded the Singapore Startup Of The Year in the second edition of Vulcan Awards, presented by Singaporean digital publisher, Vulcan Post.[25]

References

  1. ↑ , “Garena Rebrands as Sea After Raising $550 Million in New Funding”. Bloomberg. 8 May 2017. Retrieved 21 March 2018
  2. 1 2 ,“Garena’s Shopee could be on its way to beating Carousell in Asia”. Tech In Asia. 24 November 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2017
  3. ↑ ,“Shopee: Localizing Ecommerce in Southeast Asia and Taiwan”. Econsultancy. March 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  4. ↑ ,“5 disruptive ecommerce startups we saw in 2015”. Tech In Asia. 11 December 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2018
  5. ↑ , “Garena And Its Quest To Take Down Carousell With Newly Launched Shopee App”. Vulcan Post. 3 August 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2018
  6. ↑ , “Safe, easy shopping with Shopee”. The Straits Times. 9 September 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2018
  7. ↑ , “How Shopee plans to reign supreme in Southeast Asia’s fashion ecommerce scene”. Tech In Asia. 06 November 2017. Retrieved 10 December 2017
  8. ↑ , “Garena’s Shopee could be on its way to beating Carousell in Asia”. Tech In Asia. 24 November 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2017
  9. ↑ , “5 disruptive ecommerce startups we saw in 2015”. Tech In Asia. 11 December 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2018
  10. ↑ ,“The Natural Progression of C2C Business Models, Garena Shopee’s Venture into B2C”. ecommerce IQ. 22 May 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  11. 1 2 ,“Lazada slams Sea’s claim that Shopee is the top regional ecommerce player”. Tech In Asia. 27 September 2017. Retrieved 28 March 2018
  12. ↑ , “Sea Limited Form F-1”. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 18 October 2017. Retrieved 10 December 2017
  13. ↑ ,“CEO Chris Feng On Shopee's Rise In Southeast Asia, & Avoiding Carouhell”. Vulcan Post. 16 December 2015. Retrieved 29 March 2018
  14. ↑ , “Shopee partners up with Pos Malaysia”. Marketing Interactive. 6 January 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2018
  15. ↑ , "Bizzy acquires Alpha; Shopee partners Pos Indonesia". Deal Street Asia. 10 May 2017.
  16. ↑ ,“Shopee records 80 mil downloads over 2 years”. New Straits Times. 22 November 2017. Retrieved 10 December 2017
  17. ↑ ,“Sea’s losses widen amid revenue growth; president will step down end-2018”. Tech In Asia. 28 February 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2018
  18. ↑ ,“Who leads e-commerce in Malaysia? Lazada or Shopee?” e27. 21 March 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2018
  19. ↑ ,“Shopee found to be the most popular e-commerce site for Indonesian mothers”. Marketing Interactive. 6 April 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2018
  20. ↑ ,“Shopee teams up with Facebook to help leading retail brands strengthen their eCommerce presence”. Manila Bulletin. 07 September 2017. Retrieved 10 December 2017
  21. ↑ ,“Shopee opens online mall for consumers”. Singapore Business Review. 18 July 2017. Retrieved on 10 December 2017
  22. ↑ ,“Shopee launches China Marketplace portal with free shipping to rival Lazada”. Business Insider Singapore. 1 March 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2018
  23. ↑ , “Garena Rebrands as Sea After Raising $550 Million in New Funding”. Bloomberg. 8 May 2017. Retrieved 21 March 2018
  24. ↑ , “Southeast Asia games firm Sea, formerly Garena, files for $1 billion US IPO”. TechCrunch. 24 September 2017. Retrieved 10 December 2017
  25. ↑ ,“The Winners Of The 2015 Vulcan Awards: GrabTaxi, Airbnb, WhatsApp & More!”. Vulcan Post. 14 December 2015. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
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