Winning e-commerce: Shopee’s Chua Kel Jin on how businesses can boost online presence and sales

The promotion of digitalisation and increase in diverse payment methods have pivoted consumers towards a new wave of e-commerce, making Singapore home to approximately three million e-commerce users. 

In particular, 2021 saw Singapore’s e-commerce market valuation at US$5.9 billion, with a projection to swell to US$10.7 billion in 2025. 

Not only has Singapore rolled out various initiatives for both startups and retailers to further encourage a brighter online retail industry, e-commerce platforms such as Shopee are also doing more to help local businesses scale and succeed online.

At the recent Shopee Seller Summit 2022, Chua Kel Jin, Shopee Singapore’s Head of Business Development, elaborated on the blossoming e-commerce landscape and how platforms can help brands and sellers unlock new business opportunities. 

“Platforms are increasingly playing a vital role in the consumer journey, with shoppers coming online to browse, shop, and even be entertained. Shopee offers an end-to-end shopping experience with our app so users can shop with ease from discovery to delivery, supported by our integrated logistics and payments,” he said. 

“At Shopee, we want e-commerce to be accessible to everyone. That’s why we stay committed to innovating to adapt to the changing needs of shoppers and businesses as the digital economy continues to evolve and mature.”

Understanding the consumer purchasing mindset

Consumer journeys today are nonlinear and complex. Shopee has observed that many sellers find it difficult to develop marketing strategies that cater to new behaviours, because they lack the right insights.

Therefore, Shopee provides data and consumer insights to help brands launch effective campaigns and deliver relevant and personalised experiences to their target consumers at the right place and time.

“In recent years, people are willing to invest a considerable amount of time to discover new products, research, seek opinions, and make comparisons before making a purchase decision. This is especially so during our mega shopping season which has amassed popularity over the years,” Chua explained.

Based on a survey conducted across Southeast Asia and Taiwan among Shopee users, it was found that the majority of online shoppers greatly anticipate the mega shopping season.

Since shoppers today are more invested and start their mega sales planning early, it is important for brands to start planning early too. To maximise this opportunity, Shopee works closely with sellers to drive brand recall ahead of Mega Sales days with high impact ad formats across different channels.

Within the same survey, Shopee observed that users also actively turn to multiple channels for research and comparison to help them make the final decision. 

To streamline a brand’s digital advertising, Shopee works with leading industry partners like Facebook and Google to assist brands in driving traffic from online pages into their Shopee stores. This helps businesses optimise traffic to their Shopee stores, and they can also use Shopee’s in-app tools to make sure their products are front and centre to their audiences. 

Brands can also leverage Shopee Ads – either Product Search Ads or Discovery Ads – to ensure their products are visibly featured on the search result page. 

Facilitating meaningful partnerships

Chua further elaborates on how consumers value authentic, third-party opinions. 

Sellers should take into consideration that opinions from third-parties such as subject matter experts, influencers, or celebrities, as well as content publishers tend to play a key role on consumers’ purchases.

A consumer’s need for a relatable shopping experience guides them to make their purchase decisions. Knowing that someone else is using the product – and that it works well for them – will further accelerate their desire to make the purchase. 

With the existing Shopee Affiliate Marketing Solution (AMS), sellers can also amplify their brand presence through Shopee’s network of partners. Sellers can network with affiliates, which include Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs), influencers, and content publishers across multiple channels through the Shopee Ambassador Programme. 

Leveraging reliable KOLs can strengthen a brand’s reputation, and in turn, increase their sales. This is also another creative way for sellers to communicate their brand story, build awareness of their store promotions, and grow their brand presence.

“I joined Shopee’s Affiliate Marketing Solution programme because I find that it’s a convenient platform for me to share products I use and earn a side income from it. I appreciate the opportunity to provide authentic reviews based on my experience, and my followers also enjoy discovering new products through my recommendations. I am motivated to help brands generate orders through the content I create and seeing my impact on their sales”, shared Valery Yeo, Shopee Ambassador Programme KOL, at the recent Brands Summit luncheon. 

A case in point is when Korean beauty retailer innisfree chose to launch an online exclusive brand collaboration with Peanuts on Shopee for its Super Brand Day, Shopee was able to design a tailored affiliate strategy and tap into multiple marketing tools. 

This created impressive campaign results for innisfree, with more than 100 times uplift in Gross Merchandise Value (GMV), 40 times uplift in views, and 18 times uplift in visitors, compared to an average day.

Additionally, Shopee has new upcoming targeting tools to optimise sellers’ campaigns. It will soon provide brands the option of targeting all publishers or specific KOLs that fit their brand’s profile – be it fashion, health and beauty, or tech – to create personable content for shoppers. 

Utilising holistic solutions for business growth

No two businesses thrive off the same combination of marketing strategy and solutions. Brands should use the right mix of solutions to achieve top-of-mind brand awareness, and drive successful conversion based on their current business needs and goals. 
Shopee offers a host of tools that span across out-of-app channels, in-app engagement tools, as well as targeted programmes and features to help their sellers on their e-commerce journey.

Singapore-based online baby store, Pupsik Studio, had an aim to drive more conversions on their Shopee store with a small test budget. 

Pupsik Studio chose to leverage Google Ads, ensuring that its Shopee Product Feed had clean images that complied with Google Shopping Ads Policies. Additionally, it activated the campaign for all their products, thus allowing Google’s algorithm to best select from their offered products.

To further drive its sales, it also applied the recommended Smart Bidding techniques to allow a quick ramp up – less than 10 days – for their campaigns.

By using both tools, not only did Pupsik Studio see a 13.3 percent return on ad spend, it also saw a 2.7 times increase in its conversion rate. 

Another solution Shopee offers its sellers is Shopee LIVE. Livestreaming is a relatively newer initiative that many e-commerce platforms are currently leveraging to make shopping more personable for their consumers.

It launched Shopee LIVE in 2019 to cater to the growing demand for entertaining video on the go. Since its launch, it has been well-received, with participating sellers and brands in Singapore attesting to the appeal of real-time engagement and interaction with users.

Sellers can build trust with their customers by directly providing authentic and informative content. Most importantly, it allows for businesses to expose themselves to a wider audience, which in turn increases their sales.

Jamstones, a local business that sells crystal charm bracelets, was recently featured in Shopee’s 8.8 Support Local National Day commercial. Shopee first approached founder Jamaine Lim in July 2021 to conduct live sales for her brand on Shopee LIVE.

“Our customers enjoyed the live sales event and shared that it was exciting and fun. Through this, we were able to connect with customers on a more intimate level and generated four-figure sales within an hour during our first Shopee LIVE session,” said Jamaine.

Maximising knowledge resources and support

Acknowledging that navigating e-commerce can be intimidating for first-time sellers, Shopee has a strong support network in place to empower sellers and help them establish, grow, and scale their businesses with confidence.

Beyond transitional support, Shopee also provides its sellers with a wide range of online resources that can help improve their operations.

One such seller is Mark Dave Cerojales, the head of Online Sales at SL Foods. Although he has an ample background in manufacturing for almost 15 years, he faced challenges during his transition to online sales because his prior experience was limited to the offline sector.

Recognising his difficulties, Shopee helped him navigate the e-commerce journey, enabling SL Foods to become one of the most successful sellers on the platform. 

Since onboarding on Shopee, SL Foods has seen a twofold increase in sales. Additionally, in the recent 7.7 campaign, it recorded a ninefold increase in sales compared to an average day.

Maximising resources such as Shopee University and Seller Education Hub can help sellers any time during their business journey, and are useful for both first-timers and experienced brands.

Sellers have access to the basics of getting their shop up and running, as well as training tools, workshops, and other resources to help them operate easily on Shopee. 

To support sellers and brands’ long-term growth, the seller hub offers guides to optimising sales, as well as how to best utilise Shopee’s available marketing tools and support to improve operational efficiency.

Chua reiterates throughout the summit that for brands and sellers, having a successful e-commerce strategy means thoroughly understanding the consumers’ mindset, as well as having access to the right suite of digital tools. This winning combination will allow businesses – big or small – to scale and participate in the digital economy.

For existing Shopee sellers, he urges them to tap on the multiple features and tools Shopee has to offer in order to further grow their online presence and sales. At the end of the day, Shopee strives to not only reach consumers, but empower businesses and sellers as well.

Featured Image Credit: Shopee

Also Read: Alibaba loses the world to Shopee, as S’pore’s hit app now sells more than the Chinese giant

How e-commerce giant Shopee is sweetening its 9.9 Super Shopping Day deals with ShopeePay

The 9.9 sale is one of Southeast Asia’s largest shopping holidays, and it serves as the unofficial opening act for the region’s massive year-end sales. 

Singapore-based Shopee is actually the pioneering e-commerce company to introduce the first 9.9 shopping festival with its Super Shopping Day back in 2016. 

Staying true to its reputation as the pioneer, Shopee has consistently broken sales records during its 9.9 Super Shopping Day in the past years.

In 2020, Shopee witnessed strong sales growth despite Covid-19 with 700,000 items sold in a single minute at the peak of September 9. In these tough times, Shopee showed strong support to local businesses and made sure to promptly deliver necessities to its users. 

This year, Shopee is pulling out all the works to make sure that the upcoming 9.9 sale is bigger and better than the last. 

What to expect from Shopee’s 9.9 sale this year

From now until September 9, Shopee has lined up the best deals so shoppers can satisfy all their shopping needs, all in one place.

Shopee offers a wide assortment of products, from daily essentials to premium products. With millions of brands and sellers, as well as a wide network of online and offline partners, there’s bound to be something for everyone. 

Shoppers can make use of the mega shopping season to stock up on daily essentials at Shopee Supermarket. There will be exclusive vouchers and discounts on groceries and household essentials on 9.9 Super Mart Deals, which will take place on September 9. 

There will also be supersized members-exclusive deals, 50 per cent cashback vouchers, S$0.99 hourly deals, and S$9 massive markdowns. Additionally, you can maximise your savings when you collect hints at 12am, 8am, 12pm and 6pm to participate in the Mystery Voucher Drop. 

Besides everyday products, shoppers can also expect great deals from their favourite brands on Shopee Mall. 

Since its launch five years ago, Shopee Mall has helped both international and local brands unlock new growth milestones in Southeast Asia, while creating user-centric experiences for shoppers on the platform. 

From now until September 9, you can enjoy up to 90 per cent off on over 200 brands such as Samsung, LANEIGE and more. Then on 9.9 itself, Shopee Mall will be offering best-selling brand boxes from brands such as Gin Thye, Wishtrend and The Ordinary, flash freebie giveaways, and up to 80 per cent off Shopee-exclusive brands and deals. 

Shopee has also rebranded its Million $ Discount Deals to Big Brand Discounts, so deal seekers can continue to shop for their favourite local and international brands at the lowest prices on Shopee. This essentially means you can score great prices from popular brands like Samsung, The Body Shop and Nestle with guaranteed authenticity. 

This 9.9, Shopee continues to step up its efforts to help local businesses that have been greatly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Shopee has been pushing out ‘support local’ campaigns, where users can show their support for local businesses and help boost their sales by buying from over 20,000 local sellers and businesses. 

In return, users will enjoy 12 per cent cashback and S$5 off no minimum spend vouchers from these participating sellers.

Alongside the 9.9 Super Shopping Day, Shopee is also hosting a COMEX Super Tech Show from September 5 to 12 in partnership with COMEX Festival. 

Through this tech online shopping festival, shoppers can find the most value-for-money products across categories like mobile, computers, home appliances, video games and more, with up to 90 per cent off. 

You can also stand a chance to win exciting electronic prizes daily such as Realme C25s worth S$229, Nintendo Switch Lite worth S$329 and more, at only S$0.10 from September 9 to 12. Additionally, up to S$100 off vouchers will be up for grabs. 

How to upsize your savings with ShopeePay and other ways

As part of 9.9 Super Shopping Day’s promotions, users can apply Shopee and brand cashback vouchers and get up to 30 per cent cashback in Shopee coins until September 9. 

To further sweeten the shopping experience, users can enjoy free shipping deals until September 9 for maximum savings. 

By simply shopping on Shopee, you can stand a chance to win a Mercedes-Benz CLA Coupé. Simply fill up the form here and start shopping on Shopee until September 9 to accumulate chances. 

Every dollar spent entitles you to one chance of winning; so the more you spend, the higher your chances of winning will be. Furthermore, you get double the chances when you shop on September 9. 

New users on the other hand, will get 5x chances and upsized 10x chances on September 9. 

Shopee users can also enjoy exclusive promotions and deals when they pay for their purchases with ShopeePay. What’s great is that it applies to both online and offline purchases from thousands of merchants. 

This is part of Shopee’s commitment to provide a convenient, secure and rewarding shopping experience for all users. 

For the first time ever, ShopeePay Day will be happening on September 7. On this day, users can enjoy vouchers as low as S$0.01 from Springleaf Prata, Tiger Sugar, Chewy Junior and more. 

There are also other F&B deals like the under-S$2 dining deal vouchers from Nam Kee Pau, Hong Kong Egglet, Proofer Bakery and more. Exclusive vouchers will also be released for first-time users of ShopeePay. 

Under ShopeePay Scan & Pay Vouchers, users can purchase S$2 off discount vouchers for just S$0.01, and use them during checkout at offline stores with ShopeePay. Some popular merchants that accept these vouchers include Jollibean, Milksha and Nam Kee Pau. 

Users can also enjoy 50 per cent upsized cashback (capped at S$2) when they pay with ShopeePay at offline stores. 

In addition, when you top up or transfer a minimum of S$9 with ShopeePay from now until September 9, you will stand a chance to win Shopee coins and vouchers worth over S$3,000.

Get entertained by Jackie Chan, TWICE 

Beyond scoring deals and discounts, Shopee users also get to experience non-stop entertainment with a line-up of the biggest superstars, exciting games, and attractive rewards. 

This year, Shopee has brought on international superstar Jackie Chan to be a part of its year-end shopping season. 

You can catch his exclusive interview on Shopee Live at 9pm, and tune in to exclusive performances by leading K-Pop groups TWICE and Secret Number — all happening on September 9. 

Jackie Chan will also be featured in Shopee’s popular in-app games like Shopee Shake, Shopee Slice and the new Shopee Steps.

You can also stand to win prizes and vouchers through Jackie Chan-related trivia and games, as well as limited-edition autographed Jackie Chan posters when you participate in special contests and giveaways that will be announced on Shopee’s official social media channels. 

Beyond these, Shopee also seeks to entertain shoppers through its games like Shopee Farm or Shopee Candy to earn attractive rewards. 

A key highlight this year will be Shopee Collectibles, where users can stand a chance to win super-sized prizes by collecting a full set of in-game items. 

Can’t wait to join in the fun? Download the Shopee app for free on the Apple App Store and Google Play, and satisfy all your shopping needs on 9.9 Super Shopping Day!

This article was written in collaboration with Shopee.

Featured Image Credit: Shopee

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Plant Trees And Donate Coins: How Shopee Makes It Fun For You To Give Back This X’mas

The season of giving is upon us and in that same spirit, e-commerce giant Shopee will be running the  in line with its upcoming Christmas sale.

‘Tis the season of joy and giving, and Shopee is letting you do your part via Shopee Farm.

From 15 to 19 December, shoppers can take part in the #ShopeeGivesBack edition as an act of donation.

To participate, simply choose a seed from foodpanda, UOB, or Häagen-Dazs to plant and water it regularly until it reaches the harvest stage.

When you harvest your Giving Tree by December 31, you will get to redeem exclusive partner vouchers. For every tree harvested, Shopee and our partners will also donate $1 to the beneficiaries from 15 to 19 December.

2. Donate & Get Rewarded

Shopee is making it super convenient for you to do good by letting you donate directly on its app. From now till December 25, users can choose to donate to charities of their choice.

Shopee’s main beneficiary this year is the SG Cares Giving Week Fund under the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC).

This partnership aims to support smaller and lesser-known charity partners that have been impacted by the drop in donations to their causes, as well as those faced with the lack of fundraising avenues.

The impact that these smaller charities make to their beneficiaries — ranging social causes like children, seniors, health, animal welfare and even arts and heritage — collectively is crucial, so we should definitely lend a helping hand.

You can donate denominations of S$5, S$10, and S$25 to SG Cares Giving Week Fund and in return, donors will receive a voucher from Shopee’s participating partners — foodpanda, UOB and Häagen-Dazs — as a gesture of appreciation.

Additionally, in partnership with nine animal welfare groups such as SPCA, SOSD, and Action for Singapore Dogs, users can also donate S$5 to any group of their choice and receive an exclusive voucher pack.

3. Donate Shopee Coins

Beyond cash donations, Shopee also allows users to donate their in-app currency Shopee Coins, which can be used to offset purchases.

You can easily earn Shopee Coins with simple tasks such as doing daily check-ins and joining in their plethora of in-app activities.

With as low as 100 Shopee Coins, you can redeem it to donate S$1 to non-governmental organisations such as Singapore General Hospital (SGH) Needy Patients Fund, Lions Befrienders, Breast Cancer Foundation and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

4. Buy Christmas Gifts

From now until December 25, you can purchase meaningful Christmas gifts from Social Service agencies on Shopee like SPD, Very Special Arts, and Touch Community Services, in partnership with North East Community Development Council.

They each sell handmade goods, ranging from stationeries like greeting cards and journals, to festive food like roasted turkey and Gingerbread cookies, as well as cushion covers and umbrellas.

Every purchase with them helps to give them a sense of purpose, and your act of shopping also gives them a sustainable livelihood.

Give For Good This Christmas

As we bask in the festive season, we must also remember those who are underprivileged and  facing tough times amid this pandemic-stricken era.

In light of Christmas’ true season of giving, do go one step beyond gifting presents to your loved ones by giving back to the community.  

Some people are less fortunate than others and may not be able to receive Christmas gifts this holiday season, so this can be your chance to spread some joy and put a smile on their faces.

Shopee is also making it easy for you to give back with a few simple taps, and that one small act of kindness will definitely go a long way in touching the lives of those in need.

Furthermore, Shopee is rewarding you with voucher gifts for every donation you make.

Do spread the Christmas cheer with Shopee by lending your support to help these charities sustain themselves with the needed financial support so that their good work for the communities they serve can continue.

Find out how you can do good this Christmas on Shopee How Three Billionaire Founders Built S’pore’s First Tech Unicorn – Now Valued At US$65B

6 Compelling Reasons Why Fresh Grads Should Join Shopee’s Management Trainee Programme

[This is a sponsored article with Shopee.]

Prior to starting my current job, I looked into management trainee programmes from different companies. My logic was that since I had no experience as a fresh grad, these programmes would make me a more attractive candidate for hiring later. 

Shopee Malaysia’s yearly Global Leadership Program (GLP) is the company’s specially designed management trainee programme.

It’s a 2-year long programme, and right now, it’s looking to give a fresh batch of bright-eyed youngsters exposure to the e-commerce industry through on-the-job training and education.

Eligibility criteria? You qualify for the GLP if you’re a fresh grad, graduating in 2021, or currently working with less than 2 years of experience.

Here’s a breakdown of the benefits that the GLP can offer its Associates.

1. Get the chance to experience work overseas.

This could be one of the most obvious draws for many: the fact that you’ll be posted overseas for the GLP too. Shopee Malaysia’s GLP Associates get the opportunity to work at Shopee Singapore as well, which will better shape trainees’ understanding of the e-commerce landscape in the region.

The GLP lasts 2 years and is broken up into four rotations, each a six-monthly cycle. It is during one of those rotations that you’ll get a placement at Shopee Singapore and learn from the senior team too.

With this, you get double the exposure as you involve yourself in impactful projects from both offices across Shopee’s core functions in Business Development, Operations, Marketing, or Business Intelligence.

2. An attractive, competitive salary package.

If the 2-year duration scares you because you thought you’d simply be paid in knowledge and upskilling, calm down.

Shopee Malaysia provides GLP Associates with a rewarding salary package even while the Associates  take part in developing the company’s crucial projects. 

3. Experience the company culture first-hand.

“Dynamic and collaborative,” was Kevin’s answer when asked about Shopee’s working culture. He’s a GLP Associate who joined the company during its 2020 intake, and is currently in the Business Development team.

“Make no mistake, this isn’t a typical 9-5 job with a series of repetitive tasks. There are always new initiatives and business problems that require solving, so you will be constantly pushed out of your comfort zone to contribute and learn at the same time.”

Wee Wen, a GLP Associate from the 2019 intake who’s currently in the Business Development team too, added, “It’s also a really flat organisation where there are no distinctive gaps between us and the managers. You are always welcome to speak to them if you have any suggestions or if you just wanted advice and guidance.”

“I would describe Shopee’s working culture as a challenging yet rewarding one as we’re given both the trust and support by leaders to strive for our best personally and professionally,” shared Mike, another GLP Associate from the 2020 intake.

4. Put theories to practice in a dynamic environment.

I believe that what we learn in academic institutions can never truly prepare us for the working world, so having a “testbed” before being launched into the latter can be very helpful.

Kevin also shared, “You aren’t merely learning about diverse business processes, but you’re expected to spearhead new strategic initiatives and craft out those business processes. The degree of impact of your work will be felt.”

Mike is now working on a project related to process improvement in the aspects of logistics and customer service.

“In this short amount of time, I’ve experienced a very steep learning curve, and one of the reasons is because I’m expected to equip myself with the necessary skills and knowledge to really understand the current processes to work on initiatives that actually improve these processes,” he added.

GLP Associates are deeply involved in the planning and execution of decisions, so they learn how to be proactive and can hone their grit too—both important skills in a workplace.

5. Get hands-on experience in shaping Shopee.

“While serving in the Business Development department, I was given a lot of exposure on the warehouse business as well as opportunities to even manage brands,” said Wee Wen.

Meanwhile, in her first rotation, she got the chance to work with the team who was tasked with the launching of ShopeePay QR and more.

To get an idea of just how hands-on the experience is, in the warehouse, you’d even be expected to help out with the packing so you experience for yourself the importance of the job.

“It’s about paying attention to the tiniest details,” Kevin summed up. “Oftentimes, we think of big-picture strategies, but the execution of a project down to the tiniest level is really the fundamental determinant of whether a project becomes successful, or a failure.”

Currently, Kevin is spearheading new marketing solutions at Shopee that seek to optimise the brand’s digital presence while diversifying their user base.

6. Benefit from direct mentorship from the senior management team.

“This programme is designed in such a way that we will be working directly with the managers and senior managers that have years of experience in the working world,” Wee Wen said.

“While the initial learning phases may be a little bit stressful, I think you have a great support structure from your peers as well as your mentors at Shopee,” Kevin added.

With your mentors, you’ll learn the importance of managing expectations and being aligned on the overall objective to ensure that it’s achieved in the end. These two skills are invaluable, particularly since you’ll be working with different teams on different objectives in every project.

“I’m able to gain direct feedback on my ideas and initiatives to really take it up a notch to make an impact on my work at Shopee,” Mike added.

Final Advice On Getting In, From A GLP Associate

The selection process is no joke. It’s like going through an examination to even successfully apply in the first place.

So for those of you interested in joining now, Kevin has some advice:

“I think the most challenging part of the selection process would be the case interviews. 2 key tips that I think are crucial: the first is to always accurately define the business problem within the case and break it down to its root cause.”

“Don’t rush to provide answers, instead do take your time in structuring your thought processes logically and coherently. The second tip would be to stay calm. One way to overcome the jitters is to practice these case study sessions with your peers so that you get a good grasp of the flow and dynamics of a case study interview.”

• Shopee’s Global Leaders Program 2021 is currently open for applications until December 21, 2020. You can apply for it here.
• You can read more about what we’ve written on Shopee here.

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How S’pore Firm Shopee Turned 9.9 Into Southeast Asia’s Biggest Shopping Holiday

One of Southeast Asia’s largest shopping holidays, 9.9 serves as the unofficial opening act for the region’s massive end-of-year sales. 

Every year, without fail, we see e-commerce sites hosting shopping festivals from August to December. 9.9, 10.10 and the hugely celebrated 11.11 are just some of the key dates on the online shopping calendar.

The 9.9 sale was first introduced to cater to the rapid growth of the e-commerce industry in Southeast Asia and Taiwan. 

But did you know that Shopee was the company which pioneered the 9.9 shopping holiday?

Orders Increased Three-Fold Last Year

The 9.9 shopping festival was kickstarted by Shopee in 2016. Every year’s 9.9 festival outperforms the one in the previous year. 

In 2019, Shopee received thrice the number of orders it received in 2018. Over 113 million deals were offered and they were selling up to 187,606 items per minute. 

Brands and sellers saw outstanding performance, with top-performing brands seeing an average of 286 times increase in traffic and 339 times growth in sales compared to a usual day. 

The festival is an extension of Shopee’s deep understanding of the region’s e-commerce landscape, as it continues to anticipate the needs of its users. 

Catering to Southeast Asia’s focus on shopping experiences that go beyond simple transactions, Shopee’s 9.9 campaign evolves yearly to address changing consumer needs across the region.

The success of 9.9 not only reflects our consumers’ strong appetites for deals and promotions, especially so in Singapore where users have displayed a proclivity for sales and deals.

It also fortifies our ongoing commitment to understand our various markets’ landscapes and cater to local needs well.

– Zhou Junjie, Shopee’s Chief Commercial Officer

Junjie shared that Shopee is always refining their recommendation engines to offer more customised and relevant shopping suggestions, promotions, and push notifications made to correspond with user needs.

“We dive deep into the data to discover what products and categories are popular across the day. This allows us to better plan our flash sales calendar and curate better shopping experiences for our users to enjoy every day,” he added. 

The cumulative success of 9.9 over four years in the region demonstrates Shopee’s ability to address the Southeast Asian consumer’s appetite for deals and promotions, through the use of widely popular tools such as Flash Deals. 

Hyper-Localised Consumer Experiences For Each Market

Shopee is present in seven markets but launched as a country-specific app, tailored specifically to cater to the needs of each of its markets. This allows Shopee to create “hyper-localised” consumer experiences for all its users.

“Our region needed an e-commerce platform that was built from the ground up to cater to local cultural nuances and behaviours,” explained Junjie. 

In 2015, Shopee saw a need for a localised approach to e-commerce in order to cater to the unique preferences of Southeast Asian markets.

Our data science team works closely with the local marketing teams to build shopper models based on various behavioural and demographic data that is available to us, resulting in nimble marketing campaigns that resonate well amongst all our users.

– Zhou Junjie, Shopee’s Chief Commercial Officer

For instance, in Indonesia, Shopee launched Islamic products and services to cater to the needs and demands of a majority Muslim audience. 

On the other hand, celebrity endorsements are used in countries like Thailand and Vietnam, where they have a greater effect on purchasing habits. 

Shopee bypassed the desktop experience and built for mobile since day one in order to cater to Southeast Asian users — the most engaged mobile internet users in the world. 

90 per cent of the region’s 360 million internet users connect to the web through mobile and over 95 per cent of Shopee’s orders are placed on phones, according to a report by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company. 

Focusing On A Social Experience

But it’s not enough to just cater to local tastes, remarked Junjie.

“Today’s shoppers are looking for more than just a transactional shopping experience — they seek personalisation, engagement and social interaction.”

Shopee continues to anticipate these evolving consumer needs, creating experiences that address the need for an elevated shopping experience. 

In Singapore, 54 per cent of consumers discover new products via social media, according to a report by Facebook and Bain & Company. As a result, Shopee improved its social features — its in-app social feed and live chat — over time to meet this growing sentiment.

In creating experiences in-app to deliver what users want, a suite of entertainment features was launched to appeal to users. 

Social media elements like live feeds, stories, chats and video streaming were integrated to facilitate buyer-seller interaction. 

For example, from your Shopee Feed, you can browse through the posts of your favourite sellers and community content in different product categories. The feed is immensely useful for staying up to date with deals launched by your favourite sellers.

It’s also easy to find out more about a product you’re interested in when the post is linked directly to its listing in the marketplace. 

Engaging Shoppers In-App

Shopee also launched engaging in-app games that offer rewards like vouchers and Shopee Coins that can be spent on in-app items. 

During 2020’s National Day Sale, localised twists on popular apps were launched, such as Shopee Flappy – Siam the ERP edition.

In Singapore, in-app games were played over 60 million times while Indonesia saw 1.6 billion plays in 2020 across two months. 

In Singapore and Malaysia, the number of hours streamed on Shopee Live increased by 200 per cent, and livestreaming hit a new record of 120 million views in Indonesia between February and April 2020.

The e-commerce platform also partners with major artists and stays attuned to the latest consumer trends. Riding the Hallyu wave, Shopee livestreamed a major K-pop festival, KCON:TACT, this July. 

Launched in collaboration with leading entertainment and lifestyle company CJ ENM, the festival meets the growing demand for online entertainment amidst social distancing measures in the region. 

Popular K-pop acts included Chung Ha, GFriend and Monsta X, who made special appearances on Shopee Live. Shopee users enjoyed daily K-pop themed streams and challenges.

For this year’s 9.9 festival, Phua Chu Kang, an iconic comedic figure in late 90’s sitcoms, will be fronting as Shopee Singapore’s brand ambassador. 

Despite Covid-19, Shopee users are spending 40 per cent more time in-app; speaking to the success of Shopee’s focus on delivering personalised, social, and engaging shopping experiences. 

In the months of February and April 2020 alone, Shopee recorded an astounding 60 million total plays of its in-app games. Shopee Live saw over 40 times increase in the number of livestreams with over 200,000 live chat messages being sent a day, across the same period. 

Users want more than just transactional experiences — and they’re getting it. 

To cater to the online grocery shopping trend, Shopee also increased its food product variety by eight times and brought fresh fruit and seafood sellers onboard Shopee Live. 

Subsequently, Shopee saw a 20 times increase in the number of users making multiple food product orders per month.

What To Expect For This Year’s 9.9 Sale

This year’s 9.9 runs from 20 August to 9 September, and will continue to shower deals and promotions upon shoppers for over three weeks.

As always, users can enjoy Million $ Discount deals, 50 per cent discount vouchers, and 18 per cent cashback with no minimum spend. You also stand to win prizes from the array of in-app games on Shopee.

In order to support local communities during the Covid-19 pandemic, Shopee has committed to providing a super ecosystem and supercharging recovery for sellers and brands on its app.

Shopee has ramped up its offerings for ShopeePay and partnered with leading providers for smooth and secure transactions. To prepare for 9.9, logistics and warehouse operations have been tightened for peak efficiency.

Since the pandemic struck, Shopee has also offered a Seller Support Package to cushion the impact of the pandemic. On top of that, it has also upgraded its Seller Centre to help sellers in their e-commerce activities. 

Over 70 per cent more new brands have opened their Official Stores on Shopee Mall in 2020, diversifying the platform.

The cherry on top of 2020’s 9.9 will be Shopee’s brand ambassador for this year: homegrown cultural icon Phua Chu Kang. On 9.9 itself, Phua Chu Kang will be hosting an exclusive Shopee Live session from 9 to 10pm.

In A Pandemic, Community Comes First

The pandemic has only accelerated the growth and adoption of e-commerce and Shopee is no exception.

As consumers adhered to social distancing and stay-at-home measures during the circuit breaker, Shopee saw an uptick in demand on its e-commerce platform for health, personal hygiene and household items. 

By 2019, Shopee was already the fastest growing e-commerce player in Southeast Asia’s e-commerce mobile shopping industry. 

In the second quarter of 2020, Shopee continued to rank number one in the Shopping category by downloads in Southeast Asia and was among top three worldwide in the same category, according to App Annie. 

Currently, the e-commerce giant’s priority is supporting Southeast Asia communities through the crisis. This includes tightening payment systems and logistics, onboarding and supporting brands, and ramping up user engagement with more entertainment and deals. 

Initiatives like the $1 million Shopee Seller Support Package and ESG booster package — in partnership with Enterprise Singapore — were launched to support Shopee’s ecosystem of brands and sellers.

Despite the vagaries of Covid-19, it looks like we can expect this year’s 9.9 sales to continue delivering unique and memorable shopping experiences, just like it has every year.

Over the years, 9.9 has become an annual celebration that brings together millions of people all across the region.

“We’re confident that 9.9 this year will continue to do just that,” said Junjie.

Join Shopee’s 9.9 Super Shopping Day sales now! Click here to start browsing. For new users, enter SHOPEE99VP for S$7 off a minimum spend of S$15, valid till 31 January 2021, 23:59.

This article is written in collaboration with Shopee.

Featured Image Credit: Shopee

Also Read: Shopee CCO Zhou Junjie On Leading E-Commerce In SEA Despite Fierce Competition

8 Reasons Shopee Should Be The Go-To For All Your Man Cave Needs

Most men (including myself) are pretty adamant about having their own space. Known in modern culture as a “man cave”, these spaces are usually pretty different from the rest of the house.

If you’re anything like me, the sheer amount of shopping that’s needed to be done to set up your man cave can be daunting. Frequent online shoppers, however, would know that there’s already a one-stop solution.

Here are 8 reasons why Shopee is the go-to for all your man cave needs.

1) Functional And Convenient

You know those trolleys that they have at large stores? The ones you have to lug around the mall, hoping you don’t get one with a bad wheel. Let’s leave that behind.

A habit that I’ve picked up while doing my own online shopping is to add all sorts of items or goods into my virtual cart, and only make final decisions when I’m about to checkout. I usually remove about half of the goods in the end, so this helps me keep my spending down.

Not something I could do while shopping at a hardware store, I imagine I’d be kicked out shortly after.

2) Plethora Of Choices

The amount of choices we have on platforms such as Shopee are pretty incredible. I’ve even come across items that I didn’t even know existed, let alone tried to buy.

For example, I was looking for an Android box online recently—as far as I knew, there were only generic branded options from China available at physical stores around the Klang Valley.

However, a quick search through Shopee and I discovered quite a few options, including Android boxes from overseas.

3) Themed Promotional Weeks

Part of what makes Shopee a little different to other e-commerce platforms are their themed weeks. Depending on the theme, the site has a different set of promotions every week.

Personally, I find these weeks a good opportunity to actually find things I’d never heard of (such as the earphone splitter in the picture above).

4) Affordable Door-To-Door Delivery

When it comes to jazzing up my own space, the items I purchase can range from the tiny (read: gaming mouses) to the humongous (read: flat screen TVs). We’ve all had to resort to paying an exorbitant amount to stores for them to deliver larger items, often with mandatory installation fees as well.

As I’m the sort of guy that prefers to DIY my installations, I’ve always found these extra charges to be pretty redundant.

When purchasing with Shopee, take note of the delivery charges when you purchase an item—chances are, the fee would be minimal.

Pro Tip: Make sure to check your “Promotions” tab often because Shopee can be quite generous with their Free Shipping vouchers.

5) Instant Price Comparisons

Speaking of prices, I once spent 5 hours in a mall, just to get the best possible price for a PlayStation.

So the next time I’m about to buy something, I’ll do myself a favour and run my price comparisons on Shopee, where I’ll be able to view/compare seller ratings, reviews, and of course, prices.

6) International Shops At Your Fingertips

Sometimes the products you want aren’t available locally. You might have to resort to alternative methods of getting your items if they aren’t available, especially electronic gadgets.

I recently purchased a Google Home speaker online (for the sole reason of living my childhood dream of having my very own Jarvis), as Google did not release it here.

Pro Tip: Buying products that have to be delivered internationally may take longer than local products. Make sure you check the delivery time before confirming your purchase.

7) Monitoring Pricing Trends

While some of the nits and bits of your man cave can be relatively simple purchases, some of the bigger and more expensive on your wishlist might require a little more consideration before hitting that “buy” button.

For gadgets such as smartphones, prices can fluctuate wildly. Monitoring prices on Shopee is a markedly simpler process than monitoring them on physical stores, with the app even notifying you if an item that you’re interested in is suddenly discounted for whatever reason.

8) Catered For Men

From the 21st till the 25th of February, Shopee will having a campaign called Shopee for Men that curates its selection specifically for men’s shopping habits.

As part of the promotion, there will be a lowest price guarantee for all products available for the thematic week, with 200% cashback vouchers available as well.

It’s also worth keeping in mind that there will also be a 0% instalment plan as well as RM25 deals that come with free shipping.

The week’s goodies aren’t limit to just numbers, however. They’ll also be releasing a game (all within the Shopee app), Slicing Samurai, where gamers simply “slice” virtual products to win prizes, coins, and rewards.

The Shopee for Men week (21-25 February) will feature 5 thematic days:

21 February (Thursday): Tech, Gaming, and Car Fans
22 February (Friday): Stylish Gents
23 Feburary (Saturday): Fitness and Health Buffs
24 February (Sunday): Family Men
25 February (Monday): General Men

To help you get started, use these promo codes:

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So it’s not that inconvenient to bring your vision of a perfect man cave into reality. The fact that Shopee reported in a recent press release that there’s an increase in male purchases from the DIY and hardware category is evidence enough that this is a growing trend.

According that same press release, another popular category visited on Shopee was the “Mobile and Accessories” category, becoming the most visited category by men, with gadget shopping activities increasing by 10% between 8 and 9pm. No surprise there.

What is surprising, however, is that their report found that women’s watches are one of the most purchased items by male shoppers, with “Health & Beauty” being the 2nd-most visited category for men.

What does this tell us? There is a growing trend of male shoppers—and decking out your man cave is a big part of that.

• You can find out more about the Shopee for Men campaign here.

This article is written in collaboration with Shopee.

Also Read: The #10YearChallenge: 7 Ways Bubble Tea Has Evolved In Malaysia