Can't be Ignored: Shopee Live Streaming Accounts for 15% of Orders
Jayson 07 Mar 2024 07:35
It is reported that Shopee GMV will reach US$78.5 billion in 2023, with total orders of 8.2 billion, which brings new possibilities to the fiercely competitive Southeast Asian e-commerce market.
Data shows that Shopee's main growth driver in Southeast Asia's largest market is live streaming. As of December 2023, live streaming orders in the region accounted for approximately 15% of Shopee's total orders, and this proportion is even higher in Indonesia.
Meanwhile, Shopee has been improving the unit economics of live streaming over the past few months, said Forrest Li, chairman and group CEO of Shopee parent company Sea. The feature's retention and repurchase rates have been trending upward while attracting new users, although it's still not as high as other regular e-commerce transactions.
"This also allows us to compete effectively with our competitors," he explains. "If you look at a year ago, we probably didn't have this ecosystem and we had to invest in building this ecosystem."
In response to a question about Shopee's battle with TikTok Shop for market dominance, Forrest Li acknowledged that Shopee benefited from Indonesia's ban on its rivals. However, he believes that's not the only reason for Shopee's success in the fourth quarter.
"We saw similar growth trends in the first quarter even as the situation changed," he said.
He cited Shopee's scale, local leadership and operations team, and time-tested infrastructure as some of its key advantages over its competitors. "All in all, we're very pleased with what we've seen in the first quarter so far."
Data shows that Shopee's main growth driver in Southeast Asia's largest market is live streaming. As of December 2023, live streaming orders in the region accounted for approximately 15% of Shopee's total orders, and this proportion is even higher in Indonesia.
Meanwhile, Shopee has been improving the unit economics of live streaming over the past few months, said Forrest Li, chairman and group CEO of Shopee parent company Sea. The feature's retention and repurchase rates have been trending upward while attracting new users, although it's still not as high as other regular e-commerce transactions.
"This also allows us to compete effectively with our competitors," he explains. "If you look at a year ago, we probably didn't have this ecosystem and we had to invest in building this ecosystem."
In response to a question about Shopee's battle with TikTok Shop for market dominance, Forrest Li acknowledged that Shopee benefited from Indonesia's ban on its rivals. However, he believes that's not the only reason for Shopee's success in the fourth quarter.
"We saw similar growth trends in the first quarter even as the situation changed," he said.
He cited Shopee's scale, local leadership and operations team, and time-tested infrastructure as some of its key advantages over its competitors. "All in all, we're very pleased with what we've seen in the first quarter so far."
