Question 1 (30 marks)

Shopee Pte. Ltd. (Shopee) is a Singaporean multinational technology company focusing on ecommerce. It provides consumers an easy, secure, fast, and enjoyable online shopping experience enjoyed by tens of millions of consumers daily. With over 343 million monthly visitors, the company is currently the largest online marketplace in Southeast Asia. The company also has great ambitions to conquer the other parts of the world. Shopee started its European expansion in Poland in early September 2021, when it launched a localized website and mobile app. In October 2021, the company entered Spain with a Spanish version of its marketplace. As of October 2021, Shopee was the top shopping app in Poland and Spain among Android users, according to an app analytics site. In Spain, Shopee outperforms global platforms like Shein, Amazon, and AliExpress. In Poland, it beats local ecommerce platforms such as Allegro. As a data-driven company, Shopees strategies are formulated with data-led insights and cater directly to local consumers needs and shopping behaviour patterns. It adopts a localised marketing approach as each market differs significantly in terms of culture, user behaviour and shopping preferences. For example, during the National Day Sale in Singapore, Shopee launched a host of localised games to win prizes such as Discount Vouchers or Coin Cashback Vouchers. In Thailand, where consumers favour celebrity endorsements, Shopee invited nine top stars to join the recent marketing campaign. Shopees websites targeting European countries look identical to the Shopee platform available in Southeast Asian countries. Localized online marketplaces also offer similar categories of goods such as fashionwear, mobile phones and gadgets, home appliances, games, and consoles. Shopee partners with Stripe for online payment processing in Europe. Europe sounds like a promising market for any internet company because of its stable political and economic environment, combined with high internet and smartphone penetration. The regions ecommerce sector is expected to grow fast. Besides Europe, Shopee is also growing aggressively in Latin America. Shopee has gained a strong presence in Brazil since launching local operations in 2019. Currently, it is expanding to other countries in this region, including Mexico, Chile, and Colombia. Shopee is also reportedly planning to expand to India, where it is currently ramping up hiring in the country

Answer the questions with reference to the above case:

1a. Discuss TWO benefits of globalization for Shopee. (10 marks)

1b. How would you characterize Shopees international marketing strategies? (20 marks)