Online shopping platform Shopee has launched a holiday campaign to engage more shoppers to use the platform especially during the Christmas season when gift-giving is more of a tradition.
On Nov. 11 to Dec. 25, Shopee Super Christmas Sale will offer huge discounts on popular gift categories ranging from health and beauty, home and living to mobiles and gadgets.
“This past two years had been really good to us and the company. And as part of the year-end celebration, we have launched the Christmas Super Sale not only to offer great savings but also to help shoppers beat the holiday rush as road traffic gets worse as Christmas nears,” said Shoppe chief operating officer Terence Pang.
Shopee will offer off-the-rack steals on Dec. 11 and 12, an event shoppers can look forward to as discounts are expected to hit as much as 90 percent with P12 deals, giveaways, lash deals and a series of remarkable promotions.
Participating brands include Cosmetique Asia, Unilever Philippines, Timeless Manila, Coca-Cola, Polaroid, Imarflex, Indoplas and Infinix.
“2017 has been a great year for us Shopee and we would like to thank our customers, sellers and partners for their continuous support. Moving forward, we will continue to focus on improving our platform and diversifying our product assortment. We remain committed to helping brands and local entrepreneurs grow and continuously strive to push the boundaries of e-commerce to become the leading online shopping destination of choice in the region,” Pang said.
Pang is responsible for overseeing Shopee’s overall operations across the region. His five-year experience in the e-commerce and finance sectors in Asia is a vital tool for growing Shopee across the region.
Wrapping up 2017, Shopee Philippines grossed about $500 million or 10 percent of the annualized gross merchandise value in all seven markets in Southeast Asia.
A Sea Limited company, Shopee mother unit realized GMV of about $5 billion in 2017 with about 80 million downloads, and over 180 million active listings by more than 4 million sellers which include 5,000 leading brands and distributors.
It was not too long ago, when Shopee was launched in Singapore in 2015 and since then it has made it way to the e-commerce markets of Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines.
“Shopee has undergone tremendous transformation since we first launched, and while we are proud of all that we have achieved, this is only the beginning. Shopee has always been committed to listening to the needs and preferences of our users, and we have worked to create a platform that is tailored to exactly do that. Whether it’s providing a fuss-free and convenient shopping experience for buyers, or offering a reliable and secure platform for brands and budding entrepreneurs to expand their online presence, Shopee strives to continue improving the lives of the region’s customers and businesses with technology,” said Pang.
For the Philippine market, Pang said the biggest focus would be how to bring more buyers into the platform.
“The Philippines has this huge potential to grow e-commerce. Exposure to mobile phone has seen the increase of app utilization for online selling platforms like Shopee,” he said.
In 2017, Shopee Philippines recorded over 6 application million downloads. On-site sellers have also grown to 200,000 while about 3 million products are on active listings.
In October 2017, Shopee and SM Investments Corporation teamed up to accommodate SM Department store as one of the bigger sellers on the platform.
“The partnership started with the department store but we’re believe that this will further expand to include other merchandizes available at SM,” Pang said.
He said the relationship does not stop at providing buyers to SM but Shopee also provides SM the insights on big data, allowing them to understand certain marketing points and the knowhow on co-marketing.
As more consumers try online buying and regional consumption continue its upward trajectory, e-commerce share to the total overall retail market, is expected to quadruple to $88 billion by 2025, according to a study released by Shopee.
Shopee underscored the growing share of mobile smartphones to total e-commerce growth as consumers took up at least 4.2 hours of time on mobiles compared to 2.6 hours on television sets, 2 hours on tablets and 1.5 hours on personal computers.
Shopee considers all seven markets in Southeast Asia as mobile-first markets wherein almost all transactions whether communication, net browsing and even purchases are done on a mobile gadget.
Southeast Asia mCommerce (mobile commerce) has also overtaken the global average at 54 percent.
Pang attributed the stronger e-commerce trend in the Philippines to the growing mCommerce, the strong presence of mobile gadgets and the growing population of purchasers via the net.
“It is interesting to note that the exposure to mobile phones is the biggest factor for Shopee growth in the Philippines. In the Philippines, mobile shopping is done straight from smartphones,” he said.
In a span of two years, Shopee has become the leader in digital entertainment, e-commerce and digital financial services across Greater Southeast Asia while Sea’s mission is to better the lives of consumers and small businesses with technology.