The beauty category led the growth with a 77% year-on-year increase in order volume in 2024.
Orders for K-beauty product sets increased by 87% while skin care and makeup orders rose by 81%. Additionally, orders for makeup tools grew by 70%.
This helped to bolster the number orders placed to South Korean sellers by 63% year on year.
Overall, Shopee Korea revenue rose by 44%.
According to the firm, these were “remarkable” figures.
It revealed that compared to Shopee globally, Shopee Korea’s growth rate of orders during the same period was 1.8 higher.
It said this indicated that “Shopee Korea has consistently maintained a stronger growth trend than its global counterpart”.
Aside from beauty, other top categories included K-Pop merchandise, health products, mobile accessories, and food.
Geographically, Vietnam had the highest number of orders for another consecutive year with 134% more orders in 2024.
Thailand achieved the highest growth rate at 182% and was emerging as a key market for Shopee’s Korean sellers.
Across the rest of SEA, growth was relatively high, even in mature markets like Singapore, where growth was recorded at a robust 58%.
Additionally, emerging markets like the Philippines market grew by over 20%.
K-beauty brands in high demand
According to the e-commerce marketplace, which operates in SEA and Taiwan, the top performing brands included stalwarts including COSRX, Some By Mi, Torriden, and D’Alba.
Shopee said these brands “maintained their top-seller status with steady popularity”.
At the same time, several emerging brands experienced significant growth on the platform.
This included Papa Recipe and INGA, which are owned by Seoul-based cosmetics developer Cosstory.
According to Shopee, Papa Recipe and INGA collectively saw orders increase by 2,071%.
VT Cosmetics, the brand behind the viral Vt Reedle Shot Essence, reported an increase of 586%.
Additionally, SkinFood and Beplain also recorded remarkable growth of 561% and 408% respectively.
The e-commerce company said the staggering growth of these emerging brands brought them also on par with its top K-beauty brands.
Product-wise, the company highlighted the popularity of VT Cosmetics’ Vt Reedle Shot Essence, COSRX’s Acne Pimple Master Patch, and Inga’s Water Glow Lip Tint, especially in SEA.
The company’s report also highlighted the rising popularity of K-beauty brands such as Fwee, Jumiso, Anua, and SCINIC.
With the strong performance from both mature and emerging K-beauty brands on the platform, Shopee expects another strong year for K-beauty in 2025.
Supporting future growth
Shopee Korea CEO Kwon Yoon-ah said the firm was committed to achieving its 2025 goals of 300% revenue growth in Vietnam and Thailand, as well as 100% growth in the beauty category.
A key to this is strengthening its affiliate marketing network and live-streaming services with local influencers.
Consumers are increasingly turning to livestreaming broadcasts to determine product usage and effectiveness in real time.
In Vietnam, 31% of K-product orders were placed through live-streaming, followed by Thailand (26%) and Malaysia (20%).
Furthermore, Shopee said it would enhance its fulfilment-based logistics network.
In Malaysia, the share of K-products shipped via its Fulfilled by Shopee (FBS) service reached nearly 31%, followed by the Philippines (26%), Thailand (26%), and Singapore (23%).
Shopee Korea also introduced a domestic fulfilment service last year, enabling Korean sellers to compete with local vendors in terms of delivery efficiency.
The firm said it would focus on enhancing these services, focusing on the large and fast-growing markets of Vietnam and Thailand.
