Shopee’s mimicry of TikTok Shop is starting to pay off

It used to be that you could only find short-form videos – from life hacks, social commentaries, to funny clips – on TikTok. These days, they are also emerging on Shopee.

The change – meant to draw more content creators and organic traffic onto the platform – is part of Shopee’s recent efforts to counter TikTok Shop’s rapid growth in Southeast Asia.

Image credit: Timmy Loen

Shopee isn’t alone. Other ecommerce players, like Lazada and Tokopedia, are also working to replicate TikTok’s social media formula to attract new types of consumers, especially those who engage in video commerce and are impulsive buyers. This is also an attempt to lure in new sellers.

In 2022, Shopee launched a channel called “Video” for its short-form video content in Indonesia, which features prominently on its landing page. The feature has since expanded to users in Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, and Malaysia.

Similarly, Lazada introduced a “Like” tab on its app last year featuring short-form video content, which is available in all of its markets except Singapore. Users of Tokopedia in Indonesia can also access short videos through the “Feed” tab on the platform.

Like on TikTok, sellers and creators on ecommerce marketplaces can promote products via short videos. Shoppers can purchase the products in these videos by clicking on links that direct them to a checkout page.

Short-form videos on TikTok, Shopee, Lazada, and Tokopedia

Will social commerce and short-video commerce features be the key for ecommerce platforms like Shopee and Lazada to successfully fend off TikTok Shop’s rising popularity in Southeast Asia?

If the answer is yes, the feat likely won’t be easy. The vast number of TikTok users – 325 million in Southeast Asia – are on the app for entertainment, so discovering and shopping for products is secondary. In contrast, most users of ecommerce apps already have purchase intent.

Drawing new customers and sellers

At the moment, Shopee appears to be the most aggressive in pushing short-form videos and live-shopping features. This includes Shopee Live, which it first introduced in 2018.

In Indonesia, Shopee currently offers discounts of as much as 20%, as well as free shipping, for purchases that are done via Shopee Video. In contrast, Lazada and Tokopedia aren’t offering any such promotions for their short-video channels.

Shopee is hoping efforts like short videos, which “appeal to buyers across all age groups,” can draw in and retain young customers, Ian Ho, vice president at Shopee, tells Tech in Asia. Gen Z shoppers – those 24 years old and below – make up 33% of buyers on the platform, he adds.

Building a content ecosystem

Hitting back