Shopee launches in Malaysia

Shopee, Southeast Asia’s mobile customer-to-customer (C2C) marketplace officially launches in Malaysia today.The platform was soft-launched earlier this year in the region, including Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and Taiwan. Shoppers can purchase their products from the app through a secure payment service called Shopee Guarantee – which ensures that if products are not received in the previously agreed upon condition, payment will be refunded to buyers in full.Featuring an interface with an in-app Live Chat function, Shopee enables users to shop and communicate at their own convenience. Designed to embody a social commerce platform, Shopee integrates social features including hashtag functions, allowing users to easily search for the most popular trending product or keep up with the latest trends.Shopee’s social sharing features also allow users to share products with their friends on various social media platforms. Buyers can also ‘follow’ their favourite sellers to stay updated about the latest deals.Soft-launched in June 2015, Shopee has since accumulated several million active users across Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and Taiwan, of which, 30% are already selling products on Shopee.The platform currently has more than three million product listings, a result of engagements with influencers and retail entrepreneurs. For budding entrepreneurs, Shopee provides access to consumers at zero cost, with integrated tools to manage inventories and customer relations.The app launch also brings Shopee's activity offline with a series of offline bazaars featuring deals from participating Shopee sellers throughout December at several locations.“Today, a large part of online purchases in Southeast Asia takes place on mobile. With the trend leaning towards users purchasing through their smartphones, we see an opportunity here to get users to shop on Shopee’s mobile marketplace,” Chris Feng, chief executive officer, Shopee, said.