'People want to do more than shop online': Shopee's head of marketing

To understand the diverse needs of its consumers, Shopee has been customising its in-app features and shopping campaigns to cater to the local needs of consumers in each of its markets in Asia. These features include real-time reviews and recommendations from hosts on Shopee Live, allowing viewers to get a better understanding of the products, which could potentially lead to higher conversion.

Shopee has also upgraded its Shopee Live features with the use of AI to recommend more personalised livestream content and deals based on shopping behaviour and user interests. For example, it has aimed to improve in-stream calls so shoppers can have real-time connections with their sellers when transacting in-app.

Winston Goh, head of marketing at Shopee Singapore, tells Campaign Asia-Pacific that through ShopeePay Deals Near Me, a location-based online-to-offline feature, consumers can connect with offline merhants and redeem their payment vouchers in-store at their favourite food stores. This goes hand-in-hand with Singaporeans' passion for food. 

“We have localised campaigns paired with promotions that cater to local shopper needs," says Goh. "We also leverage data-driven insights to keep track of how our campaigns perform to better understand consumers’ purchasing habits and identify what best appeals to them.”

For example, Shopee’s selection of different themed days for various campaigns is dedicated to top categories or features. The platform also works closely with brand partners to improve its product and category variety. 

It introduced a sampling channel that helped shoppers to buy sample-size products where they will also receive store vouchers to incentivise their next purchase. Shopee also relaunched BeautyCam, its augmented reality (AR) beauty tool, and added more functions such as shades variation and filters, so shoppers can virtually ‘try on' the products before making a purchase decision.

The platform claims these features have helped it see an upward trend in sales during its campaigns, with the year-end period typically recording the highest sales of the year. For instance, beauty brands such as L’Oreal Paris and Maybelline saw increased product views and a three-fold increase in sales regionally.

Shopee also believes it set a new record with over two billion items sold across the 11.11 sales day in 2021 and during its 12.12 Birthday Sale in 2021, where it claimed visits surged six times on December 12, compared to an average day.

To ride on this wave, the platform launched another shopping festival called 3.15 Consumer Day. Through this, orders on Shopee Mall increased five times compared to an average day and close to 200,000 engagements were recorded on Shopee Singapore’s social media channels during the campaign.

“In recent years, we observed that people want to do more than shop online. This is especially so as people turn to mobile for more of their needs, including entertainment and social interactions,” says Goh.

“Therefore, we continue to develop our in-app engagement features and services and improve our highly-anticipated campaigns to offer new shopping experiences that excite users year on year.”

Spotlighting local businesses

The ecommerce platform also shined a spotlight on its local businesses, launching a #ShopeeCelebratesLocal campaign on December 12 last year to connect local consumers to their favourite local sellers and brands.

Besides allowing users to enjoy deals when supporting these sellers, the special contest also celebrated its local sellers' achievements and promoted these sellers through its local campaign microsite.

Goh explains businesses can tap on Shopee’s campaign initiatives and integrated support like customer service, logistics, and digital payment services to grow their online presence, and deepen engagement with shoppers at every touchpoint.

“In-app engagement tools like games and livestreams are avenues for businesses to reach new customers. For instance, a smaller business focused on building customer trust and credibility can leverage Shopee Live to strengthen relationships with shoppers through authentic, intimate, and real-time interactions,” he says.

“Shopee Live also provides sellers with coins and vouchers incentives to kick start their livestream journey with us. We also conduct webinars to educate sellers on how to go live and optimize their livestream performance.”

Similarly, brands on Shopee Mall can look at more advanced tools such as the Shopee Brand Memberships programme which allows brands to take charge of and customise their own loyalty programmes to cater individually to their own target audiences.

To help sellers better engage in a digital-first environment, Shopee launched programmes like Shopee University, Seller Masterclasses, and Shopee Pros to equip sellers with better knowledge and best practices to grow their businesses online.

“Our Customer Intelligence Dashboard provides brands with more insights on shopper demographics and segmentation to customise their e-commerce and marketing strategies,” says Goh. “With a better understanding of customer preferences, brands will be able to improve their customer engagement and deliver a more personalised experience in-app.”