Mobile app Shopee hits $3-B gross volume

SHOPEE, the leading ecommerce platform in Southeast Asia and Taiwan, said late Wednesday its annualized gross merchandise volume (GMV) has reached $3 billion, with more than 40 million downloads in seven countries in the region, including the Philippines.

According to Macy Castillo, head of commercial business for Shopee Philippines, the mobile app was launched only in June 2015.

“It has been an unbelievable two years for us....Right now, we have three million downloads and two million listings in the Philippines alone,” she said.

“When we started the app, all we wanted to do was to create a very convenient shopping platform for our buyers and sellers in the Philippines,” Castillo said at a Shopee event in Taguig.

“Sellers only have to sign up on the app, take a picture of their products, add a description, and put up a price, and then they could sell, but that also allows them to have free access to free shipping and a casual delivery as an option to receive a payment. That’s why it’s really easy for our sellers, even for our buyers, to shop on our app,” she continued.

In the past two years, Shopee has introduced several programs that revolutionized online shopping for Filipinos, including free shipping, cash on delivery, and Shopee University, which helps aspiring entrepreneurs to set up their online business.

“I would also like to highlight our local achievements, like the free shipping policy. We are actu shipping,” she said. Macy Castillo, head of commercial business for Shopee Philippines, gives her opening remarks during Shopee’s celebration in Taguig on June 21, 2017.

“We’ve also launched Shopee University last year and visited almost 30 cities in the Philippines to teach thousands of sellers on how to grow their businesses,” she added.

The free classes provide more insights on topics such as online marketing, digital photography and tutorial sessions on Shopee’s features, among others.

The company said it seeks to continuously improve its platform and optimize overall user experience.

“We continuously challenge ourselves to find ways to improve our app and system to make online shopping easier. We regularly get feedback from our users and aim to bring to them the best online shopping experience,” said Castillo.