Shopee turns 1, hosts 12-day extravaganza; reports GMV of US$1.8 bil

• Hit a milestone of 25 million downloads and over 65 million listings across seven markets
• Forty-three percent month-on-month growth over the past year

SHOPEE, a mobile marketplace operating across Southeast Asia and in Taiwan, on Nov 28 celebrates its first anniversary. Since its launch last year, Shopee has seen growth across the region.

The company reported that it achieved US$1.8 billion in annualised Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) with a 43% month-on-month growth over the past one year.

Shopee also reports a milestone of 25 million downloads and over 65 million listings across seven markets.

During its anniversary celebrations, Shopee released its m-commerce consumer behaviour report that shared insights of users’ shopping behaviour on mobile. Key highlights from the report are as follows:

Users are very active on the shopping app. More than half of the users access the Shopee app daily, with each user spending an average 25 of minutes on the app every day.

Buyers like to chat with sellers before making an order. Shopee’s in-app chat feature is highly used by buyers, with 80% of them chatting with sellers before making an order. The top three reasons for buyers using the chat are – to check the product details, to enquire on stock availability and to review the seller’s credibility. The report also showed that most buyers feel more assured after receiving a reply from sellers through the in-app chat.

Users enjoy social interactions on the shopping app. Seventy percent of buyers follow sellers on the Shopee app to get first-hand news on the restocking of popular products. They also actively use the ‘Trending Hashtags’ feature on the app to stay updated on the latest trends. Interestingly, Korean Fashion is consistently one of the most popular hashtags across all seven markets in SEA and Taiwan.

Purchase rate is higher on mobile than on PC. 70% of users are more likely to purchase on mobile than on PC. PC is used mostly for browsing and price comparison.

“2016 has been great for us,” said Shopee chief executive officer Chris Feng.

“As we look forward to another exciting year in 2017, we expect to maintain the strong double-digit growth that we've experienced in the past year. We will also continue to focus our efforts on optimising the product, improving the end-to-end user experience and in empowering entrepreneurs to expand and grow their online businesses,” he added.

Shopee Malaysia’s 12 days of extravaganza

As part of its first anniversary celebration, Shopee will offer deals as part of its appreciation towards its users. All users on Shopee will be treated to promotions, including discounts of up to 90% and RM1 deals, as well as chances to win prizes worth up to RM50,000 in flights, hotel stays, mobile phones and cash vouchers.

Shopee will also be organising a bazaar – Shopee Spree Carnival – involving more than 30 Shopee sellers from various categories. The bazaar will be held at Avenue K, Kuala Lumpur, on Dec 3 and 4.

“We planned the 12-day extravaganza from Dec 1 -12 as a way of giving back to our community,” said Shopee Malaysia Regional managing director Ian Ho (pic, right).

Shopee Malaysia is a champion of local entrepreneurs. In order to further aid entrepreneurs, Shopee has partnered up with Facebook for a special edition of Shopee University to be held on Dec 10.

Attending merchants would be able to learn first-hand from Facebook representatives on how to leverage on Facebook tools to increase orders and their store’s performance.

Facebook will also share a full spectrum of insights, case studies, and insider tips that will help merchants grow their business. The workshop is now available for sign-up through the Shopee mobile app.

Shopee Malaysia has also gathered partners from various industries including DiGi, RHB, Facebook, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), Warner Music Malaysia, mySamsung, Chatime, Anakku, Traveloka and Flexiroam who will contribute deals and prizes to the festivities.

“Buyers will constantly be spoiled by many more choices as we bring in bigger brands on-board to provide buyers with a greater assortment and better prices. Merchants on the other hand will continue to grow sales through our continuous efforts to improve the features as well as fascinating campaigns lining up for the year,” Ho said.

Shopee is a no-commission, no-listing fee, mobile-first platform and is free to use. Shopee can be downloaded for free on all mobile platforms via the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.