London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 23, 2025

For Singapore’s Shopee, being ‘late’ to the e-commerce game has helped its rise in Southeast Asia

Since it was established in 2015, Shopee has become the most visited e-commerce site in the Southeast Asia region. By launching its platform as an app first, the brand was able to tap the region’s high mobile penetration rate, chief commercial officer Zhou Junjie says
For an e-commerce platform under four years old, Shopee has done pretty well for itself.

Since it was established in 2015, the Singaporean e-commerce site has become the most visited across Southeast Asia, according to a recent iPrice report which also found that Shopee’s mobile app ranked at the top of its category in terms of downloads and average monthly active users in the region.

One of the secrets to its success? Being “late” to the industry, according to chief commercial officer Zhou Junjie.

“Back in early 2015, we were looking at e-commerce as an industry and while there were players who had been there, we saw that there was a lot of [potential] growth and many areas that weren’t being addressed well by existing players,” he said in an interview with the Post.

At the time, most existing e-commerce players were focused on websites as their main platform. Shopee took a different strategy early on by launching as an app first to tap Southeast Asia’s high mobile penetration rate.

“That’s one of the advantages of being late [to the industry], because you can see what’s out there, what the trends are and see what you can do differently or better,” said Zhou.

The Singaporean e-commerce platform is one of several in the region – including Alibaba’s Lazada as well as Indonesia’s Tokopedia – that are eyeing the fast-growing, billion-dollar e-commerce market in Southeast Asia boosted by increasing adoption of digital payments among the 100 million internet users in the region. (Alibaba is the parent company of the South China Morning Post.)

Shopee is operated by Singapore-based technology firm SEA, a company that first came to prominence in the Southeast Asian technology landscape by publishing, operating and creating PC and mobile games under the Garena brand before branching out into e-commerce.

The platform’s bet on a mobile-first approach has paid off: more than 90 per cent of its transactions are on the app, according to Zhou.

Another key strategy Shopee has used to conquer local markets, Zhou said, is localising and customising the app to each specific market.

Instead of having one common app for all users, Shopee has a stand-alone e-commerce app for each market. According to Zhou, this allows the company to introduce market-specific features that appeal to users in each of its seven markets – Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines.

In Indonesia, for example, Shopee launched a dedicated section of Islamic products and services to cater to the majority Muslim market. In countries like Thailand and Vietnam, where celebrity endorsements hold sway over consumers’ buying habits, Shopee features online stores that sell items curated by top celebrities.

“We talk about Southeast Asia as a region, but every country is very different – from the language they speak and the currencies they use, and even in terms of purchasing power,” said Zhou, who acknowledged that country-specific customisation requires “a lot more work” since Shopee has to have local teams in each country.

Like its rivals, Shopee has also paid close attention to the growing “shoppertainment” trend that originated in China. Drawing on SEA and Garena’s expertise in gaming, it has introduced mobile games, live-streaming, and chat functions in its app to better engage with buyers and encourage them to shop within the platform.

Shopee operates a customer-to-customer (C2C) marketplace, as well as a marketplace for brands to sell directly to consumers called Shopee Mall. The former is particularly popular among small sellers across the region who previously hawked their wares via platforms like Facebook and Instagram, Zhou said.

By joining platforms like Shopee or Lazada, these sellers typically receive better support for their online businesses, especially in areas like payments and logistics, and enjoy a built-in user base. Shopee in turn makes money by running advertisements, as well as charging for services provided to merchants and taking a cut of transaction fees in certain markets.

Despite promising results in the e-commerce industry, Shopee remains in fierce competition with rivals like Lazada, which received a total of US$4 billion in investment from Alibaba as of last year. And while the Singaporean platform may lead in terms of visits and downloads across Southeast Asia, Lazada continues to have the most number of monthly active users in the markets of Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines.

But Zhou appears unfazed by the competition: “Competition is not a bad thing, it shows that there is a lot interest in the market and growth potential,” he said, adding that more industry players could help bring buyers and sellers into e-commerce and grow the overall industry.

The chief commercial officer said that the brand’s efficiency in scaling its business will help it stand out going forward. “As the market grows, we should be in a much stronger position to capture a large proportion of the growth.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
×