Comparative Analysis of Lazada and Shopee E-commerce Firms in Southeast Asia: Alibaba Strategies for Competing in the Regional Market

Qiaoying Qiu

doi:10.54097/6en80496

Authors

Qiaoying Qiu

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54097/6en80496

Keywords:

E-commerce in Southeast Asia, Competitive strategy, Lazada, Shopee, Alibaba

Abstract

This thesis aims to compare Lazada with Shopee, a Southeast Asian e-commerce enterprise, to assess the efficacy of Alibaba's strategies for entering and succeeding in the Southeast Asian e-commerce sector. Within this thesis, It gives an in-depth analysis of the current state of e-commerce in South East Asia. Due to its diversified consumer behaviors and specific commercial constraints, this region has recently emerged as a worldwide focal point for digital commerce. Alibaba, the world's largest e-commerce company, is a significant Southeast Asian player through its subsidiary Lazada. However, local e-commerce businesses may provide unique perspectives and approaches based on location. This research examines the similarities and differences between Lazada and regional e-commerce competitor Shopee to identify the primary market forces in each firm's practice in the industry. The study compares and contrasts the two kinds of online retailers by looking at how each one approaches the market, handles logistics, and interacts with customers in Southeast Asia. The research provides a framework of best practises, actionable insights, and recommendations by identifying the strategies that have allowed Alibaba's success in Southeast Asia and comparing them to those adopted by local companies.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Alibaba (BABA) - Market capitalisation. (n.d.). https://companiesmarketcap.com/alibaba/marketcap/

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (BABA) Stock Price & Chart | Trade Now. (n.d.). https://www.alibabagroup.com/

Anwar, S. T. (2017) Alibaba: Entrepreneurial growth and global expansion in B2B/B2C markets. Journal of International Entrepreneurship, 15, 366-389.

Aria, M., & Fajriansyah, S. P. (2019, November) Business E-Commerce Strategy to Increasing Profits. In IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering (Vol. 662, No. 3, p. 032051). IOP Publishing.

Arora, S., Chu, F., Melnikov, S., & Zhang, L. (2022, December 21) E-commerce is entering a new phase in Southeast Asia. Are logistics players prepared? McKinsey & Company. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/travel-logistics-and-infrastructure/our-insights/e-commerce-is-entering-a-new-phase-in-southeast-asia-are-logistics-players-prepared

Benmamoun, M., Singh, N., Lehnert, K. and Lee, S.B. (2019) Internationalisation of e-commerce corporations (ECCs) Advanced vs emerging markets ECCs. Multinational Business Review, 27(4), pp.317-338.

Bena, K.(2021) An empirical analysis of the relationship between corporate social responsibility and competitiveness. Journal of International Entrepreneurship, 15, 219-240.

Bevan, J. (2023) Shopee revenue and Usage Statistics (2023), Mobile Marketing Reads. Available at: https://mobilemarketingreads.com/shopee-revenue-and-usage-statistics/ (Accessed: 11 December 2023).

Chanthinok, K., Ussahawanitchakit, P., & Jhundra-Indra, P. (2015) Social media marketing strategy and marketing performance: Evidence from e-commerce firms in Thailand. AU-GSB e-JOURNAL, 8(1).

Chen, H. and Feng, Y. (2022) March. Analysis of the Business Model of e-commerce Companies under COVID-19: Taking Alibaba as an Example. In 2022 7th International Conference on Financial Innovation and Economic Development (ICFIED 2022) (pp. 2685-2692). Atlantis Press.

Cortez, R. M., & Johnston, W. J. (2017) The future of B2B marketing theory: A historical and prospective analysis. Industrial Marketing Management, 66, 90-102.

Cheung, S. (2023) [new report] food delivery platforms GMV in Southeast Asia grew to US$16.3 billion - the low down - momentum works, The Low Down - Momentum Works - On tech & new economy in China, Southeast Asia & beyond. Available at: https://thelowdown.momentum.asia/new-report-food-delivery-platforms-gmv-in-southeast-asia-grew-to-us16-3-billion/ (Accessed: 11 December 2023).

Ellis, M. (2023, August 17) Top Local SEO Takeaways from MozCon 2023. Moz. https://moz.com/blog/mozcon-2023-local-seo-takeaways

Ezekiel, A. O. (2021) Marketing Strategies: From Door to Door to Evangelism to E-Commerce, and M-Commerce Marketing. European Journal of Management and Marketing Studies, 6(3).

Farzin, M., Shababi, H., Shirchi Sasi, G., Sadeghi, M., & Makvandi, R. (2023) The determinants of eco-fashion purchase intention and willingness to pay. Spanish Journal of Marketing-ESIC.

Gandini, A. (2016) Digital work: Self-branding and social capital in the freelance knowledge economy. Marketing theory, 16(1), 123-141.

Gilal, F. G., Zhang, J., Paul, J., & Gilal, N. G. (2019) The role of self-determination theory in marketing science: An integrative review and agenda for research. European Management Journal, 37(1), 29-44.

Groening, C., Sarkis, J., & Zhu, Q. (2018) Green marketing consumer-level theory review: A compendium of applied theories and further research directions. Journal of cleaner production, 172, 1848-1866.

Hutchinson, A. (2023, September 17) 3 Important Social Media Trends of Note for 2023. Social Media Today. https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/4-important-social-media-trends-note-2023/693896/

Ismail, N.A. and Masud, M.M. (2020) Prospects and challenges in improving e-commerce connectivity in Malaysia. E-commerce Connectivity in ASEAN, 78.

Janjevic, M. and Winkenbach, M. (2020) Characterising urban last-mile distribution strategies in mature and emerging e-commerce markets. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 133, pp.164-196.

Jin, H. and Hurd, F. (2018) Exploring the impact of digital platforms on SME internationalisation: New Zealand SMEs use of the Alibaba platform for Chinese market entry. Journal of Asia-Pacific Business, 19(2), pp.72-95.

Johnson, M. (2022, September 3) Business model innovation: research review and prospect. Marketing theory, 16(2), 123-143.

Kotler, P., Burton, S., Deans, K., Brown, L., & Armstrong, G. (2015) Marketing. Pearson Higher Education AU.

Kwak, J., Zhang, Y. and Yu, J. (2019) Legitimacy building and e-commerce platform development in China: The experience of Alibaba. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 139, pp.115-124.

Lu, Y., Zhang, Q., Wang, L. and Zhang, Y. (2021) December. The Business Competitiveness and Future Proposing of Alibaba Group. In 2021 3rd International Conference on Economic M.

Lazada. (2023) Lazada ESG Impact Report FY2023: Enrich Lives, Emerging Stronger. Available at: https://lazada-com.oss-ap-southeast-1.aliyuncs.com/194-press-release.pdf (Accessed: 21 August 2023).

Morgan, N. A., Whitler, K. A., Feng, H., & Chari, S. (2019) Research in marketing strategy. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 47, 4-29.

Naughton, B. (2020) Chinese Industrial Policy and the Digital Silk Road. Asia Policy, 15(1), pp.23-40.

Novak, J. (2023, October 3) Digital Marketing In 2023: The Ultimate Guide. Forbes Advisor INDIA. https://www.forbes.com/advisor/in/business/digital-marketing/

Oh, Y.A. and No, S. (2020) The patterns of state-firm coordination in China's private sector internationalisation: China's mergers and acquisitions in Southeast Asia. The Pacific Review, 33(6), pp.873-899.

Products - eMarketeer. (2023, February 9) eMarketeer. https://www.emarketeer.com/products/

Reardon, T., Belton, B., Liverpool‐Tasie, L.S.O., Lu, L., Nuthalapati, C.S., Tasie, O. and Zilberman, D. (2021) E‐commerce's fast‐tracking diffusion and adaptation in developing countries. Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, 43(4), pp.1243-1259.

Reardon, T., Heiman, A., Lu, L., Nuthalapati, C.S., Vos, R. and Zilberman, D. (2021) "Pivoting" by food industry firms to cope with COVID‐19 in developing regions: E‐commerce and "copivoting" delivery intermediaries. Agricultural Economics, 52(3), pp.459-475.

Rui, W. (2018) Internationalization Strategy of Chinese E-Commerce Firms. The Case of Alibaba Group.

Saura, J. R., Palacios-Marqués, D., & Barbosa, B. (2023) A review of digital family businesses: setting marketing strategies, business models and technology applications. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 29(1), 144-165.

Schmuck, R., & Benke, M. (2020) An overview of innovation strategies and the case of Alibaba. Procedia Manufacturing, 51, 1259-1266.

Sethi, V., & Gujral, R. K. (2022, May) Survey of Different Recommendation Systems to Improve the Marketing Strategies on E-commerce. In 2022 International Conference on Machine Learning, Big Data, Cloud and Parallel Computing (COM-IT-CON) (Vol. 1, pp. 119-125). IEEE.

Schone, M. (2022) Lazada vs. Shopee Performance: Who’s winning in Asia?, Split Dragon. Available at: https://blog.splitdragon.com/lazada-vs-shopee-performance-whos-winning-in-asia/ (Accessed: 11 December 2023).

TechCrunch is part of the Yahoo family of brands. (2023, September 19). https://techcrunch.com/2023/09/19/techcrunch-startup-battlefield-pitches-disrupt-founder/

Tian, L. and Li, X., (2023) Global expansion with takeovers and value creation with integration in China: a case study of Alibaba and Lazada. Asia Pacific Business Review, 29(2), pp.372-391.

TMO Group. (2023) 2023 Ranking of e-commerce platforms in popular Southeast Asian countries. Available at: https://www.tmogroup.com.cn/sea/ (Accessed: 19 September 2023).

Wei, Y.D., Lin, J. and Zhang, L. (2020) E-commerce, taobao villages and regional development in China. Geographical Review, 110(3), pp.380-405.

Wu, X. and Gereffi, G. (2018) Amazon and Alibaba: Internet governance, business models, and internationalisation strategies. In International business in the information and digital age (pp. 327-356). Emerald Publishing Limited.

Y. (2022, June 16) Alibaba Clone Website: How to Build Similar Multi-Vendor Marketplace. Codica - Custom Software Development Consultancy. https://www.codica.com/blog/how-to-create-website-like-alibaba/

Yun, J. J., Zhao, X., Park, K., & Shi, L. (2020) Sustainability condition of open innovation: Dynamic growth of alibaba from SME to large enterprise. Sustainability, 12(11), 4379.

Zeithaml, V. A., Jaworski, B. J., Kohli, A. K., Tuli, K. R., Ulaga, W., & Zaltman, G. (2020) A theories-in-use approach to building marketing theory. Journal of Marketing, 84(1), 32-51.

Zhu, J. (2022, December) SWOT Analysis and Strategic Choice of Alibaba Group's Acquisition of Lazada. In 2022 International Conference on Economics, Smart Finance and Contemporary Trade (ESFCT 2022) (pp. 1491-1500). Atlantis Press.

Zhu, J., Lan, W. and Zhang, X. (2021) Geographic proximity, supply chain, and organisational glocalized survival: China's e-commerce investments in Indonesia. Plos one, 16(9), p.e0256837.