Why you should start selling on Lazada and Shopee

E-commerce sales in the Philippines rose sharply during the Covid-19 lockdowns of 2020–21. But even before the pandemic, e-commerce was already a growing industry, highly powered by online shopping platforms. Compared with Western countries, e-commerce here is less established. But like other countries in Southeast Asia, the Philippines is set to see massive growth in this industry within the coming years.

Two of the most popular and leading online shopping platforms are Lazada and Shopee. These two are now operating across different Southeast Asian countries, offering a wide range of products. Both platforms are aggressive in providing the best tools and features for sellers and consumers alike. Shopee is the larger marketplace, and Lazada tends toward a higher order value. Current fees and setup steps are in the Shopee guide and the Lazada guide. Selling on both still makes sense when you can ship both.

The digital marketplace is large and increasing by the day. Besides websites, e-commerce is now broader than ever, with online shopping platforms like Lazada and Shopee plus social media as additional channels for entrepreneurs to start a business. In this article, we go over the benefits of selling on Lazada and Shopee.

Why should you start selling on Lazada?

Lazada finds its roots way back in 2012 when Maximilian Bittner initially owned it with the backing of Rocket Internet.

Alibaba Group took control in 2016, and Lazada is now its regional flagship. Lazada operates in six Southeast Asian countries (Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam). It is a one-stop online shopping platform where consumers can find products ranging from fashion, health, electronics, food and beverage, sports and even automobiles.

Lazada operates using a hybrid model that includes both consumer-to-consumer (C2C) and business-to-consumer (B2C) elements. This allows individual users and businesses to sell products through its marketplace, while Lazada also features official brand stores via LazMall and manages stock for certain products shipped directly from its own fulfillment centers. According to Semrush, Lazada Philippines attracted about 35.86 million visits from the Philippines in March 2025.

As a leading e-commerce platform with high customer traffic, selling on Lazada is convenient. It offers easy-to-learn features you can fully utilize in managing your products up to the point where they receive their purchases. The platform fully supports its sellers with free learning materials at Lazada University, where they can learn to grow their business.

Why should you start selling on Shopee?

Founded in 2015 and operated as an online market in Singapore, Shopee now leads the race among e-commerce sites in Southeast Asia.

It currently operates in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Shopee started as a consumer-to-consumer (C2C) platform but now adapts the same hybrid model as Lazada. You can sell many product categories on Shopee, varying from electronics to home & living, fitness equipment, health & beauty, party needs, fashion, and toys.

Shopee's rapid growth comes from marketing and operations tailored to each region's culture. Shopee recorded 50.39 million visits in March 2025. Shopee will only grow more significantly in the coming years as the e-commerce industry is set to be one of the economic drivers of most Southeast Asian countries.

Lazada and Shopee have more benefits than traditional commerce

The eCommerce industry is becoming mainstream.

As entrepreneurs, it is important to penetrate the online market to reach our businesses' full potential. Here is why e-commerce beats traditional commerce.

Built-in customer traffic

Shopee and Lazada are available to all people who have access to an internet connection. With active monthly visits at an average of 35 million, imagine how many customers you can reach through these two platforms. Compared to starting your website where you need to start from scratch, Shopee and Lazada already have a steady customer base who are intently searching for products they need or desire to purchase. With their active marketing campaigns, businesses who engage in these platforms ensure that many people are added to the customer base every day who can be potential buyers.

Starting an online store costs less

A marketplace store needs no rent, no fit-out and no shop staff. Opening a seller account is free, and the platforms charge commissions and fees on the orders you make rather than a large upfront cost, so you can start small and grow as sales come in.

Your Business Can Reach a Myriad of Customers Anytime, Anywhere

When your business is online, it is open 24/7 to millions of people. This means that even if you are not awake, many users are still searching for a product that you might be offering, leading to them buying and your business gaining sales. Customers don't need to travel to visit your store because it is accessible wherever they may be.

In addition, with all product information, reviews, images, price, and shipping costs already indicated there, even if you are not online, possible customers already got the answers they need to help them decide on purchasing. Or, if not, automated messages that you can set up will answer their questions for you.

More payment options favour customers

Shopee and Lazada offer different payment options like COD, local e-wallets, online banking, over-the-counter bank transfers, remittance centres, debit and credit cards, Lazada Wallet and ShopeePay. Unlike other countries that mostly require credit cards, these alternative payment options make it easier to reach older generations where paying cash is still the primary option. For younger generations who are more into cashless transactions, the convenience of doing everything in one sitting encourages them to shop online.

Easy communication with customers

Lazada and Shopee provide accessible communication channels for customer concerns, reviews, complaints, requests, and other inquiries between the seller and consumer. Through these reviews and comments, the seller can gain the buyer's trust, leading to more sales. Customer concerns or complaints are easily mitigated through the platform's customer service or directly addressed to the seller. Inquiry about products and even special requests from consumers helps the seller analyze the customers' needs and demands, so they can align their products and services.

Built-in tools make business analytics simple

Integrated analytics provided by the two platforms gives the seller essential data on which products sell well and how many customers view them. These built-in features help with the business plan, inventory tracking, and management of cash flows.

Apart from these, sellers have access to a treasure trove of customer data important in market targeting. Compared to traditional retail, online sellers can optimize their consumers' online shopping experience as they understand consumer behavior and demographics better. Through customer data insights, sellers can also send e-vouchers, discounts, pings, teasers for customers who have either liked, purchased, or viewed their store.

Growing your business is simpler

Expanding your online business requires less effort and money than traditional physical stores, where expansion means building a structure. Not only does this require more cost but labor too. Whereas scaling your business up in an online setting means adding new product inventory, making ads better and visible, or adding a little space to store your inventory.

Optimised for mobile phones

Philippine internet usage is done mostly through smart mobile phones rather than using a desktop or laptop. About 89 percent of adult Filipinos use mobile phones of any type, given how less expensive it is and the available internet mobile data options. Given this information, where you sell your product must be optimized for mobile users. This requires simple navigation and less mobile data consumption. Lazada and Shopee are both mobile-optimized and easily accessed as applications consumers can download from Apple and Play Store.

A positive outlook for e-commerce in the Philippines

E-commerce in the Philippines years ago painted a different picture.

Many Filipinos have been hesitant to purchase online for reasons that involve identity theft, distrust in not seeing the actual product, and lack of payment options. The restrictions brought by the pandemic propelled consumers to transact online for their essential needs. This paved the way for the growth of the e-commerce industry in full throttle. As Filipinos are becoming comfortable and recognizing online shopping's convenience, the future of e-commerce in the Philippines looks bright.

If we are looking at statistics on how big the potential market of e-commerce in the Philippines is, it is massive given how many internet users are here. The country has one of the highest numbers of internet users in Southeast Asia, with about 97.5 million active users as of early 2025. Filipinos spend significant time online, averaging around 9 hours daily, with a notable portion, about 3 hours and 32 minutes, dedicated specifically to social media platforms. As a business, social media is one outlet where we can tap and integrate our marketing strategies in reaching out to our target market.

Current market trends suggest that a vast majority of Filipino consumers use the internet to search for goods and services to buy, with a high percentage ultimately completing a purchase online. With the number of online shoppers still growing, so is the market for sellers.

Government initiatives for the e-commerce industry

The Philippine government's increasing support for the eCommerce industry will also take it further. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) roadmap includes initiatives to make eCommerce part of the main sectors that can increase the Philippines' GDP. The roadmap comprises improvements on innovation, infrastructure and investment in the support systems the e-commerce industry needs.

Easier shipping logistics

Lazada and Shopee invest in logistics efficiency through partnerships with shipping companies such as Ninja Van and J&T. More in-house logistics may also be adopted in the Philippines, as they have been in other Southeast Asian neighbours.

Lazada already started in-house logistics as they opened several warehouses throughout the Philippines for faster shipping. The biggest fulfillment center in Southeast Asia, 54,000 sqm in total, owned by Lazada, can store about 5 million items. Upon completing national expressway linkages, the shipping time will be faster, especially here in Luzon.

E-commerce after the pandemic

The pandemic significantly accelerated eCommerce growth in the Philippines, and online shopping habits adopted during that period have proven durable. Rather than questioning if the trend would continue, experts observe that online shopping has maintained its strong growth trajectory well into 2025. Filipinos have embraced the convenience and wide range of products found online compared to traditional brick-and-mortar stores. With ongoing enhancements to e-commerce platforms, logistics, and payment options, market penetration for online shopping is expected to increase further.