Livestreaming and Affiliate Commerce Hit New Heights on Shopee in 2023
Homegrown Sellers Benefit from Greater Credibility and Endorsements
KUALA LUMPUR, 29 November 2023 – Livestreaming and affiliate commerce have driven greater marketplace inclusion for homegrown sellers and local talents across Shopee’s platform in 2023. Over the last year, the leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia & Taiwan observed that Malaysians watched over 34 million hours of livestreams on Shopee Live and engaged with local influencer hosts 3.5 billion times. For sellers who realised over 500 thousand Ringgit in sales this year, livestream orders represented between 10 and 40% of total platform orders. Compared to 2022, Shopee saw affiliate-driven orders increase 420%, with the inclusion of more than 20,000 new affiliates in its ecosystem this year.
“This marks a significant milestone in Malaysia’s digital transformation journey. These trends have revolutionised the way Malaysians shop, learn, and engage with brands, creating a dynamic and interactive online landscape. It’s also a demonstration of just how hyper-localised e-commerce has become; Malaysians on our platform are favouring local livestreamers and affiliates, whereas our homegrown sellers are upskilling to be more relatable to digitally-savvy audiences.” comments Kenneth Soh, Head of Marketing at Shopee Malaysia.
Shoppable livestreaming, the seamless integration of e-commerce into livestreaming sessions, has captivated Malaysian consumers of all ages by providing engaging shopping experiences whether they are looking for motorcycles, keropok lekor, chocolates, gold jewellery, or household groceries. While the majority 60% of Shopee Live fans shopped beauty and fashion, 20% bought groceries and baby products, 10% sought home appliances and electronics, while the remainder shopped Automotive and Sports and Outdoor gear over the last year.
The expansion of Shopee Live into new verticals has given rise to many opportunities for local sellers. Of the top Shopee Live sellers by sales in 2023, 60% are local sellers and brands like PHINIX STORE, Momo House, Elgini Apparel, MYDIN, and HABIB. Not only are local sellers taking advantage of Shopee Live’s polling function and interactive games to understand audience preferences better, but they are also benefiting from the added credibility and endorsements of Malaysian celebrities such as Elfira Loy, Najiah Hassan, Sherry Alhadad, Syamira Zahar, and Zoey Rahman.
Malaysian brands and sellers have been collaborating with Shopee Affiliates, who connect with Malaysian customers, provide genuine product recommendations and reviews, and drive traffic. Based on affiliate orders over the last 12 months, Shopee Affiliates’ customers shopped for Home and Living products the most (30%), followed by Health and Beauty (25%) and Mobile and Accessories (25%). 70% of the top products Malaysians have bought from Shopee Affiliate links benefit local sellers. About two-thirds of Shopee Affiliate links generated this year directed traffic to boost local sellers such as B.S.B (Bed Sheet Bestseller), Momo House, and Myfooyin.
“These collaborations have proven to be a win-win relationship,” said Soh. “Malaysian affiliates benefit from the interactive and engaging format that allows immediate purchase opportunities, maximising their earnings which is performance-based. On the other hand, Malaysian sellers benefit from affiliates who have a loyal following and a reputation for recommending quality products; they can bring positive associations to the livestream seller’s brand.”
The success of livestreaming and affiliate commerce as demonstrated by Shopee in 2023 sets the stage for even greater growth in the years to come. With the continuous advancement of technology and the evolving preferences of Malaysian consumers, these trends are poised to play an increasingly significant role in driving more inclusion for local players in the marketplace.
