More Filipinos are switching to online shopping

A recent Google and Temasek study predicts Filipino online shoppers to grow to 42 million by 2025, spending $19 billion (₱918 billion) and a big contributor to this growth is the rise of smartphone users. Today, 61% of Filipino adults own a smartphone and use their devices to communicate, work, and shop wherever they are, creating more productive days, foregoing Manila traffic, and skipping crowded malls altogether.

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Shopee has leveraged this mobile trend to great success, converting shoppers from buying offline to online by creating a convenient platform that combines the authenticity of a marketplace with payment and logistical support. Shopee has amassed over 4 million downloads in the Philippines and has virtually replicated the traditional shopping experience online, like providing a live chat feature that allows buyers and sellers to communicate directly—even allowing the very Filipino tradition of tawad on the app—while providing multiple forms of payment including the popular Cash on Delivery option.

“Filipinos typically spend over 3 hours per day online using their mobile devices and are heavy social media users. Shopee users spend 25 minutes daily browsing the app and are highly social, with over 86% of buyers chatting first with the seller before making a purchase compared to only 75% in the other six countries Shopee is present in, mainly attributed to Filipinos wanting to feel more secure about their transactions by speaking personally with sellers. We take these and other user behavior into consideration when improving the platform, prompting us to develop features such as user ratings and reviews, live chat, and Shopee Guarantee, where sellers only receive payments when their buyers have received their orders,” said Macy Castillo, Head of Commercial Business for Shopee.

This focus on elevating customer experience on the platform has resonated well with Filipinos, as Shopee has reached the #1 mobile shopping app spot in the country on both Google Play and the App Store just 2 years since its launch. As more and more tech savvy Filipinos embrace online shopping, Shopee is looking to become the Philippines’ mobile commerce destination of choice, attracting new eCommerce users with its highly intuitive and user-centric platform that integrates social, business, and logistical functionalities.

“We realized early on that payments and logistics was a big barrier for a lot of users wanting to shop online, and we addressed this by giving all our buyers and sellers access to Free Shipping and Cash on Delivery nationwide. Listening and empowering our users has been key to Shopee’s success, and this will continue to be part of our strategy to leading eCommerce in the country,” Castillo added.