Shopee testing cross-border e-commerce services in Chile and Columbia- PingWest

Shopee testing cross-border e-commerce services in Chile and Columbia- PingWest

Shopee testing cross-border e-commerce services in Chile and Columbia

21 hours ago

Shopee, the e-commerce arm of Southeast Asian tech giant Sea Group, launches services in Chile and Columbia, as it expanded its presence in the Latin American market.

Details: Shopee’s cross-border team is testing the waters in Chile and Columbia, Tech in Asia reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. 

The recent rollouts are part of an “asset-light” pilot program, which doesn’t involve heavy on-ground investment and focuses on the shipping of products to these countries.

Shopee entered Brazil in October 2019, marking its entry into Latin America. In just a year, Shopee’s Brazil unit went from a pilot initiative to a team of over 250. 

The source pointed out that Shopee is still focusing on Brazil, its main market in the region, and is taking an asset-light approach to enter other markets including Mexico.

Context: The e-commerce market in Latin America is dominated by regional companies such as Argentina-based MercadoLibre. International giants such as US-based Amazon and China's Alibaba are also vying for market share.

Market research company eMarketer estimates e-commerce sales will rise 36.7 per cent this year in Latin America to $84.9 billion.

Although Shopee doesn't has a significant presence in Latin America yet, Garena, the gaming unit of Sea Group, does. Free Fire, which was launched by Garena in late 2017, is currently the highest-grossing mobile game in the region, according to App Annie. 

Established in Singapore in 2009, Sea Group has three main business units, namely e-commerce Shopee, digital payment SeaMoney, and gaming Gerena.

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