Business

Sea's Shopee to enter Mexico online market with app launch

Shopee plans to offer online sales in what would be its second market in the Americas after Brazil

Photo: REUTERS/Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana
  • Shopee’s Mexico website (shopee.com.mx) was not yet available, and it was not clear if the company had begun accepting orders;
  • The description of the app says Shopee aims to offer a shopping platform similar to its existing ventures in southeast Asia and Taiwan.

Shopee, the e-commerce arm of Southeast Asia’s Sea, has launched an app for Mexico, where it plans to offer online sales in what would be its second market in the Americas, a Reuters review showed on Monday.

Shopee, the largest e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia, according to market researchers, launched a small presence in Brazil in 2019 as a pilot initiative of its cross-border team, and has since been scaling up operations.

READ ALSO: Shopee is moving executives and opening positions in Brazil, says Reuters

Although sources in January said the e-commerce arm was evaluating the potential of other Latin American markets, the company had not yet announced plans for other countries.

The expansion to Mexico, Latin America’s second-largest economy, could mark a major new growth opportunity in cross-border sales, a market already explored by shopping app Wish.

READ ALSO: Argentina was the country where e-commerce grew the most in 2020

According to a preview of the app on the Apple website in Mexico, Shopee will offer free shipping throughout Mexico, offering items including electronics, clothes, toys and home goods.

The description of the app says Shopee aims to offer a shopping platform similar to its existing ventures in southeast Asia and Taiwan.

“We have launched in Mexico to offer the same experience,” the description says.

READ ALSO: Study shows that Brazil already has 598 companies operating with e-commerce

Shopee’s Mexico website (shopee.com.mx) was not yet available, and it was not clear if the company had begun accepting orders.

Sea, a Singapore-headquartered technology group, was not immediately reachable for comment.

Shares in Sea surged more than 400% last year. On Monday, its market capitalisation reached $132.68 billion. It raised close to $3 billion in a stock offering in December.

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