Summary
- Shopee remained Southeast Asia’s largest e-commerce platform by gross merchandise value in 2025.
- TikTok Shop reported in August 2025 that more than 1.8 million local sellers and 3.8 million affiliate creators.
- TikTok Shop’s video, livestream and creator-led format can give it an advantage for product discovery and demonstrations.
- Shopee is well suited to deliberate product searches, seller comparisons and review-led purchases.
- Established businesses should consider the platforms complementary channels rather than assuming that they must choose only one.
Shopee has been Malaysia’s default online marketplace for years. Consumers open the orange app to search for products, compare sellers, read reviews and collect vouchers before checking out.
Then, TikTok Shop enters the buying journey much earlier.
Instead of waiting for someone to search for a product, it places products inside videos, livestreams and creator recommendations. Someone may open TikTok for entertainment and purchase a skincare product without intending to shop.
Shopee is still larger, but the competition is increasingly about who controls product discovery, customer attention and the path from content to checkout.
How Large Is the Gap Between Shopee and TikTok Shop?
Reliable Malaysia-specific market-share figures are difficult to establish because the platforms do not regularly publish comparable country-level Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) figures.
Regional data nevertheless shows the direction of the market.
Momentum Works estimated that Southeast Asia’s platform e-commerce market reached US$157.6 billion in GMV during 2025, up 22.8% from the previous year.
- Shopee generated approximately US$83.2 billion, giving it around 53% of regional platform GMV.
- TikTok Shop reached about US$45.6 billion, or approximately 29%
- While Lazada generated US$18 billion.
Shopee therefore remained almost twice the size of TikTok Shop regionally. However, TikTok Shop’s GMV roughly doubled during the year, making it the fastest-growing major challenger.
Why Is TikTok Shop Growing So Quickly?
TikTok Shop’s main advantage is its ability to create demand rather than merely capture it.
A Shopee customer often begins with a clear intention, such as searching for running shoes, printer ink or a phone charger. TikTok can introduce a product before the consumer has decided that they need it.
This is effective for products that can be demonstrated visually, including:
- Beauty and personal care items
- Fashion accessories
- Food and beverages
- Household gadgets
- Parenting products
- Fitness equipment
- Affordable lifestyle products
A short video can show the problem, demonstrate the solution and direct viewers to checkout within seconds.
TikTok Shop also allows sellers to work with affiliate creators who promote products in exchange for commissions. Instead of building an audience entirely from scratch, a business can place its products in front of multiple creator communities, pretty smart all things considered.
The model has helped TikTok create a large distributed sales network. Its 3.8 million reported Malaysian affiliate creators significantly exceed the 1.7 million it reported in an earlier update, suggesting rapid ecosystem expansion.
TikTok Shop has also reported strong campaign performance in Malaysia.
- Its 2025 Raikan Raya campaign produced a 100% sales increase for participating micro, small and medium enterprises, local brands and affiliate creators.
- Its #JomLokal initiative later generated a reported year-on-year sales uplift of more than 130% for Malaysian-made products.
Impressive figures, so what is Shopee doing in return?
What Is Shopee Doing in Response?
Shopee has decided to match Tiktok head on by becoming more like a content platform while strengthening the areas in which it already leads.
1. Expanding Shopee Live and Shopee Video
Shopee has invested heavily in livestreaming and short-form video.
Sea Limited reported that livestreaming contributed around 15% of Shopee’s Southeast Asian orders in 2024. By the second quarter of 2025, livestreams and short videos together accounted for more than 20% of the platform’s physical-goods order volume.
That is a direct response to TikTok Shop’s discovery-led model.
2. Building a Larger Affiliate Network
Shopee has expanded its affiliate programme to connect sellers with influencers, publishers and content creators.
By the end of 2025, more than 23 million affiliates and creators had reportedly joined the Shopee Affiliate Programme across its markets.
3. Partnering With YouTube
Shopee has also partnered with YouTube Shopping in several Southeast Asian markets.
The collaboration allows eligible creators to tag Shopee products in videos and earn commissions when viewers purchase them.
This gives Shopee access to long-form reviews, tutorials, livestreams and YouTube Shorts, creating another route between product discovery and checkout.
What Are Malaysians Buying Online?
Online shopping is becoming part of everyday life in Malaysia, but browsing does not always lead to a purchase.
Ipsos found that 74% of Malaysians had browsed an e-commerce platform in the previous six months in 2026, while 60% completed a purchase.
Category | 2025 | 2026 | Example of Purchase |
Fashion | Not stated | 63% | Baju raya, tudung, sportswear and workwear |
Groceries | 34% | 47% | Snacks, coffee, household essentials and packaged food |
Beauty and cosmetics | 29% | 45% | Skincare, makeup and local beauty brands |
Healthcare products | 15% | 25% | Supplements, personal care items and basic health products |
The growth of groceries, beauty and healthcare shows that Malaysians are using marketplaces for routine purchases, not only major sales events.
Shopee benefits from search, product comparisons and a broad catalogue while TikTok Shop can create demand through videos, livestreams and creator demonstrations, especially for skincare, food and household products.
So, Which Platform Is Better for Sellers?
If you are a business owner it’s natural for you to choose a side. The answer depends less on overall market share and more on how the product is bought.
TikTok Shop Is Stronger for Discovery
TikTok Shop is generally better suited to products that are visual, affordable and easy to demonstrate.
A seller can show a cleaning tool removing stains, a cosmetic product being applied or a kitchen appliance solving a common problem. The content explains the product before the consumer needs to search for it.
As such, TikTok Shop may suit businesses that have:
- Visually demonstrable products
- Regular access to creators
- Strong video-production ability
- Products suited to impulse purchases
- Enough margin for affiliate commissions
- Frequent new launches or trends
The challenge is consistency. A viral video may generate a sudden sales spike, but high view counts do not guarantee revenue.
Sellers must continually test content, creators, hooks and livestream formats.
Shopee Is Stronger for Existing Demand
Shopee is better when customers already know what they are looking for.
Buyers can compare prices, ratings specifications and product variations across multiple sellers. This makes Shopee useful for replacement products, electronics and household essentials.
Shopee may suit businesses that have:
- Products customers actively search for
- A broad catalogue
- Competitive pricing
- Strong ratings and sales history
- Products requiring detailed comparisons
- Limited capacity to produce daily content
Competition can still be intense. Sellers may face price pressure, advertising costs and dependence on vouchers or campaign participation.
Should a Business Choose One Platform or Use Both?
A very small business like a startup may initially need to choose one platform because managing listings and fulfilment across multiple channels takes time.
We recommend you to:
- Choose TikTok Shop when the product needs to be seen in action, and your target audience regularly consumes short-form video.
- Choose Shopee when customers already search for the product or compare specifications carefully.
For established sellers, using both is usually more okay just be careful of the burnout.
Conclusion
TikTok Shop is clearly challenging Shopee, but it has not yet displaced it. Shopee remains the regional market leader and continues to benefit from stronger purchase intent, established reviews, logistics and marketplace familiarity.
TikTok Shop’s advantage is its ability to turn entertainment into product discovery. Shopee’s response has been to invest in video, livestreaming, affiliates, artificial intelligence and external creator partnerships while strengthening logistics and customer retention.
For most Malaysian sellers, the question is not which platform will eventually win. It is which role each platform should play in their own sales strategy.
Ready for more business insights? Keep in touch with the top business new sites in Malaysia.
Frequently Asked Questions About TikTok Shop or Shopee
Available regional data continues to place Shopee ahead of TikTok Shop. Comparable Malaysia-only GMV figures are limited, but TikTok Shop’s seller, creator and search numbers indicate that it has become a major competitor.
TikTok Shop combines videos, livestreams, creators and checkout in one platform. This allows sellers to introduce products to consumers who were not already planning to make a purchase.
Shopee is investing in Shopee Video, Shopee Live, affiliate creators, YouTube Shopping partnerships, artificial intelligence tools, logistics and membership benefits.
TikTok Shop may suit demonstrable and trend-driven products. Shopee may be better for products with existing search demand, detailed specifications and customers who compare multiple sellers.
Established sellers can benefit from both, provided they have the resources to manage each channel properly. TikTok Shop can create demand, while Shopee can capture deliberate product searches.
Businesses become vulnerable to fee changes, algorithm updates, account restrictions and rising advertising costs. Building a direct customer base can reduce this dependence.
