Shopee targets male shoppers by debunking stereotypes around them

Shopee has introduced a new in-app portal called Shopee for Men, which aims to facilitate men’s online shopping experience and serve as a one-stop platform featuring a curated selection for men’s needs. The collection will be easily accessible via the Shopee for Men icon on the Shopee home page with content refreshed weekly.It has also rolled out a new campaign enabling male shoppers to enjoy discounts, cashback and free shipping. The campaign features five thematic days covering fashion, fitness and health, home appliances, as well as tech and gaming. The campaign culminates with Super Men Day, featuring discounts and deals on a plethora of men products across all categories.In a statement to A+M, Shopee Malaysia's regional MD Ian Ho said shopping is stereotypically associated with women and tends to "marginalise" the male segment, always portraying the female persona as luring their male counterpart into spending.In that respect, Shopee saw the need not just to cater to the male segment but rather provide an all-encompassing solution to appeal to their every need, she said. Drawing insights from its data, Shopee created four male personas - Electronics and Motor fans, Stylish Gents, Fitness and Health Buffs and Family Men. Through these four male personas, Shopee is able to specially curate a male-centric collection for the in-app portal and its campaign.Ho added that it is taking a 360° marketing approach to ensure its Shopee for Men initiatives and campaign are communicated as widely to consumers, and that Shopee has invested a "justifiable" amount of resources and time into the campaign. This will be done by engaging the market online through its website and app, push notifications and banners. Traffic is also driven to the website and app through online marketing, social media and collaboration with top-tier and micro-influencers.Through social media, videos with content targeted to the different persona of men were produced in-house and posted on Facebook. This is based on its thematic days as part of the campaign. Meanwhile on the offline front, Shopee placed ads in traditional media and ran on-ground activation at several locations across Klang Valley. According to Ho, the team is also working closely with participating brands, retail partners and strategic partners to strike the best deals and co-market the campaign to consumers.Meanwhile, continuous efforts are also being focused on sustaining brand partnerships and expanding product range. "Since women and men respond differently to the way messages are being conveyed, we have taken into account the way our messaging appears to our male shoppers," Ho said. In this instance, the Shopee for Men campaign video was clear and concise to convey the four key messages it wanted to highlight."Ultimately, the aim is to conceptualise attainable long-term functional benefits, and not merely immediate and plausible gratification," Ho added. Besides the five-day campaign, Shopee is also targeting male consumers with the extension of its title sponsorship deal for Piala FA Malaysia, and by introducing a new automotive category on its website.