Ever since being launched in 2015, Shopee has risen through the ranks as the most popular e-commerce in Southeast Asia. Shopee has been well-loved by younger audiences due to its many varieties of sellers, famously known for the knick-knacks from small businesses and local brands.
However, with this popularity comes a certain image labeled by the common people, especially after knowing the audience personas. Shopee users are characterized by their penchant for hunting affordable items, thus earning the platform itself a ‘cheap’ brand image.
Just in Indonesia, the brand itself has integrated into the younger culture by gaining the local term ‘Shopee outfit’, which usually refers to cheap and affordable clothing that looks cute and charming.
Shopee has embraced the local image for almost a decade before launching a new feature called Shopee High-End Brands in January 2024. This new feature might cause some changes for the platform itself, particularly the brand image that has been closely related to the low-middle class audience. We’ll talk about this new change in Shopee and how the audience might perceive the brand in the future.
Reaching a New Target Market Segmentation
Shopee High-End Brands introduces Indonesian famous designers to the mainstream audience, such as Sebastian Gunawan, Tex Saverio, Harry Halim, Didiet Maulana, and Ghea Panggabean.
This new feature comes with a brand-new look for Shopee, with an entirely new user interface and 360° product showcase. The clean and premium look represents the luxury brand it offers as well as the unusual Shopee price range starting from 2 million at the lowest.
The stark difference between Shopee High-End Brands and normal Shopee itself has already separated audience segmentation, as Shopee High-End Brands successfully opened up the platform to reach the higher class audience.
This new change in target market doesn’t just provide Shopee with new audience insight, but also a new brand image. It will be a matter of time before Shopee develops a brand identity as the premium curator of Indonesian famous fashion designers collection, in addition to being the home of affordable clothing and unique trinkets.
From the marketing and branding perspective, Shopee High-End Brands is a great way to elevate a brand without abandoning the established branding, as the budget-friendly Shopee is still available for the general public. This is a special case of branding where one brand has two separate images perceived by the audience, yet still proving to be consistent to each of its own.
Taking Indonesia’s Fashion Industry to The Next Level
Indonesia’s fashion industry has the potential to be as advanced as any other country, yet not have enough exposure to properly showcase the ability of local designers to the mainstream audience. With this special category from Shopee, high-end fashion products will be more widely accessible to the general audience.
According to the Shopee Executive Director, Shopee High-End Brands also serves a greater purpose of expanding Indonesia’s fashion industry. Aside from Indonesia, this feature is available in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Philippines, which will help to introduce the local Indonesian designers to penetrate the international market.
Changing Brand Image is A Tricky Thing
Business owners could try as much as they want to create a brand image of their dreams, and with good branding, it will certainly be achievable. Even if, due to one or many things, the audience fails to grasp the desirable brand image, it can always be changed with a subtle yet meticulous plan. For that, you can always contact Avond Studio to talk about the future of your brand.
