Shopee has emerged as a significant player among various top online marketplaces, especially in the Southeast Asian eCommerce arena. With its ongoing growth, sellers discover new opportunities to showcase their offerings to a diverse and growing customer base.
In this detailed Shopee review, we’ll give you everything you need to know about the Shopee app for sellers and buyers. We’ll cover:
In the end, you can decide if it’s a profitable opportunity for your eCommerce venture. Let’s get started!
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What is Shopee?
Before we dive into the detailed Shopee review, let’s start with some Shopee basics.
Founded in 2015, Shopee is an online shopping platform owned by Sea Company based in Singapore. It now has become the largest eCommerce platform in Southeast Asia, serving sellers and consumers.
Shopee is currently available in 11 countries:
- Singapore
- Vietnam
- Philippines
- Taiwan
- Thailand
- Indonesia
- Malaysia
- Mexico
- Brazil
- Chile
- Columbia
The international seller program lets sellers from China and Hong Kong reach many customers in Southeast Asia and Taiwan.
How Shopee Works?
Shopee operates as an online marketplace connecting sellers and buyers. Here’s an overview of how Shopee works:
Sellers create virtual storefronts on the Shopee online shopping app. Then, they can list their products, set prices, and provide detailed descriptions. Buyers can browse a wide range of products, add items to their carts, and proceed to checkout with secure payment options. After successful transactions, sellers pack and ship orders, while buyers can track delivery status.
Shopee helps buyers and sellers communicate, ensuring transparency and support during transactions. The platform securely manages payment processing and disbursement. After transactions, buyers can leave Shopee reviews, building trust in the marketplace.
Features of Shopee
Shopee offers a range of features designed to enhance the online shopping experience for buyers and sellers. Some key Shopee features include:
- Quickly create a store: Shopee lets you easily set up your shop in the Seller Center. Simply create a seller account. Then, head to the Seller Center, click on Shop Profile, and follow the on-screen instructions to create your shop.
- List products: After creating your Shopee store, you can start creating your first listing. You’ll need to provide basic information of your products, like product name, price, description, shipping details, stock, variations, etc.
- Shopee Live: Shopee Live’s livestreams aim to make shopping more fun by letting customers chat with sellers. In one livestream, hosts can only put up to 500 products in the orange bag. Also, they can’t use phrases like “Add to Orange Bag” or “Send PM” for links outside Shopee Live, like on social media.
- Attractive deals and promotions: Shopee offers various promotional campaigns, discounts, and special deals. These provide users with opportunities to save on their purchases and make the platform more appealing to bargain-seeking shoppers.
- Live chat and social sharing: Shopee integrates live chat functionality, enabling real-time communication between buyers and sellers. It also integrates social sharing features, allowing users to share product listings with their social networks.
- Various shipping options for sellers: Shopee gives sellers different ways to deliver items. Sellers can either handle the delivery or pay a fee for programs that offer free delivery promotions to buyers.
- Seller tools and analytics: For sellers, Shopee provides tools and analytics to manage their online stores effectively. These include inventory management, sales analytics, promotional tools, etc.
- Secure transactions and payment: Shopee provides secure payment options, including credit/debit cards, bank transfers, and digital wallets. This ensures safe and reliable transactions for both buyers and sellers.
- Regional headquarters and localized operations: Shopee has established regional headquarters in various locations. This allows the platform to tailor its operations to local market preferences, languages, and cultural nuances.
However, the Shopee app, like any other online shopping app, isn’t perfect. In the next Shopee review section, we’ll talk about the pros and cons to help you decide if selling on Shopee is right for you.
Shopee Review: Pros and Cons of Shopee
Let’s now uncover the disadvantages and advantages of Shopee. From benefits that boost your business to challenges you might face, we’ve got insights to help you navigate the Shopee experience.
Pros of Shopee
This Shopee review part lists some prominent advantages of selling on Shopee. Let’s check it out
- Huge customer base: Shopee is a well-known eCommerce platform with a big and diverse customer base in Southeast Asia. This lets you connect with millions of potential customers.
- Simple to begin: Starting your Shopee store is straightforward. No technical skills are needed. You can make an account in the Shoppe app, list your products, and start selling in just a few hours.
- Mobile-friendly: Shopee develops a user-friendly app that lets you run your business from anywhere. It also helps your customers easily reach your store on their smartphones.
- Low starting expenses: One of the greatest advantages of Shopee is its budget-friendly platform. You don’t have to invest in creating or managing a website. If you sign up on Shopee within 90 days, you won’t pay commission fees. This allows you to start small and expand your business slowly.
- Integrated marketing tools: Shopee provides tools like Shopee Ads, vouchers, and discounts. Use these to get more customers and increase sales.
- Various payment options: Shopee supports different payment methods like credit/debit cards, ShopeePay, SPayLater, and more. It’s easy for your customers to pay and you to receive payments.
- Dedicated seller support: Shopee has helpful customer support for sellers. If you have any issues, you can ask for assistance.
- Robust seller community: When becoming a Shopee seller, you can access webinars, courses, seller tips, campaign updates, and more!
Cons of Shopee
Besides benefits, Shopee sellers may face some challenges like:
- High competition: The Shopee marketplace is popular, so many sellers sell on this platform. This creates strong competition, especially for specific product types.
- Multiple fees: Shopee has fees like transactions and others for premium services. These fees can reduce your profits.
- Limited global outreach: Shopee mainly concentrates on Southeast Asian markets, so it might not be the top option for sellers aiming to reach customers beyond this region.
- Not much customization: The Shopee app is easy to use, but it might not let you personalize or brand as much as having your own eCommerce website.
As you can see, Shopee appears as a promising platform for sellers. The significant customer base, easy entry, and mobile-friendly interface improve accessibility and business management. Low starting costs, integrated marketing tools, and diverse payment options create a seller-friendly environment.
However, challenges like intense competition and various fees exist. Besides, Shopee’s emphasis on Southeast Asian markets may restrict global outreach. While user-friendly, Shopee may provide less customization compared to an independent eCommerce website.
So, this Shopee review lets you know the ins and outs of the Shopee eCommerce platform. If you’re ready to sell on it, you may wonder what to sell on Shopee. We’ll discuss this further in the next part.
What to Sell On Shopee: Top Selling Products on Shopee
In this part of our in-depth Shopee review, we’ll provide you with items you can and can’t sell on Shopee.
According to Involve Asia’s 2022 data, top-performing categories on Shopee include Home&Living, Health&Beauty, Women’s Fashion, Electronics, and Toys&Hobbies. They got good-quality items with promos and cashback, typically during double-date sales.
Here are some best-selling products on Shopee in those categories:
- Home&Living: Storage & organizers, multi-cookers, mini cookers, hangers, towels, portable fans, cordless vacuum cleaners, air fryers, portable kettles, dehumidifiers, and wall stickers.
- Health & Beauty: Face masks, liquid lipsticks, hand creams, nail art sets, skincare sets, body care sets, eyeliners, and eyebrow pencils.
- Women’s Fashion: Lingerie, socks, pants, blouses, tops, long dresses, and casual outfits.
- Electronics: Mechanical keyboards, wireless earphones, phone cases, screen protectors, bluetooth headphones, laptop holders, wireless mice, USB hub adapters, and HDMI cables.
- Toys&Hobbies: Spinning toys, gift bags, customizable photo cards, foldable boxes, knitting wool, and gen pels.
Now you know what to sell on Shopee. However, there are things you can’t sell on this eCommerce platform. Selling these forbidden items goes against Shopee’s rules and can lead to bad consequences. Here are some prohibited items:
- Pesticides
- Alcohol
- Drugs
- Artifacts and antiquities
- Lottery tickets
- Currency or credits
- Counterfeit currency and stamps
- Credit and debit cards
- Firearms and weapons
For details on banned products in your market, please check the official Shopee website.
Shopee Marketplace Review – FAQs
Yes. Shopee has payment security measures, like Shopee Guarantee. It holds payment until buyers confirm they got their items in good condition and are happy with the purchase. Yes. Shopee is a valid eCommerce company owned by Sea Company. It’s one of the biggest and well-known online shopping platforms in Southeast Asia and Taiwan. Unfortunately, Shopee is currently not available in the USA. Yes, Shopee is a famous eCommerce platform with many customers in Southeast Asia. This connects you to millions of potential buyers. No. While Shopee has a Shopee International Platform (SIP) feature, it doesn’t support selling from the USA. The SIP program is currently available in Singapore, Thailand, Chile, and the Philippines.
Start Selling on Shopee Ecommerce Platform!
Our Shopee review unveils a versatile platform where opportunities abound for both sellers and buyers. The extensive customer base, coupled with user-friendly features, creates a vibrant marketplace.
While Shopee offers numerous advantages, sellers should navigate the competitive landscape wisely. Stay active, monitor your growth, and improve your selling strategies to succeed in this competitive marketplace.
If you’re interested in selling on Shopee or multi-eCommerce marketplaces, feel free to contact us for more information.
