POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

A CASE STUDY ABOUT THE CREDIBILITY

OF AN ONLINE SELLERS IN SHOPEE

By:
Cadsawan, Julianna
Cansino, Arianne Nicole
Catadman, Christian
Condolon, Karen
Cortezano, Zyra Mae
Daquiz, Shanel
De Guzman, Luis
Delera, Denneve Joyce
Diezma, Sophia Anne

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS IN

ADMINISTRATIVE AND OFFICE MANAGEMENT
DECEMBER, 2021
 POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction………………………………………………………………………………….…… 1
Viewpoint……………………………………………………………………….......................... 2
Problem…………………………………………………………………………......................... 2
Objective………………………………………………………………………………………..…. 3
Areas of Consideration………………………………………………………......................... 3
Strengths………………………………………………………………………………..... 3
Weaknesses……………………………………………………………………………….. 3
Opportunities…………………………………………………………......,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, 4
Threats……………………………………………………………………………….… 4 - 5
Alternative Courses of Action…………………………………………………………...… 6 - 8
Recommendation…………………………………………………………….………………….. 8
Plan of Action…………………………………………………………………………………….. 9
References……………………………………………………………….................................. 10
 POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

INTRODUCTION

Business is the foundation of a person's choice of living; a person's regular

careeror job, creating profit so the person may do anything they like, and the practice of

making one's or a group's living by engaging in good conduct. Businesses are expanding and

gaining more attention these days by using social media as a new business platform, as well

as the use of e-commerce platforms to make money online. An online seller defines a person

who does business through the internet and performs a variety of duties. However, some

buyers do not trust internet purchases and prefer to make purchases in person. This case

study focuses on the use of e-commerce platforms in the business.

Shopee is a Singaporean e-commerce multinational company. It is an app-based

platform where you can electronically buy or sell products. It was launched in Singapore

last 2015 and is still impacting everyone's lives up to this day. Shopee was founded by

Chris Feng, and it serves consumers and sellers throughout Southeast and East Asia. This

app is known for its convenience and stress-free shopping experience. However, behind all

the success Shopee has received, there are some concerning issues the sellers and

buyers faced while using this app that will be addressed in this study.

In this case study, the researchers will focus about the Credibility of Online

Sellers in Shopee. This includes the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats of

a business, the alternative courses of action, plan of action, and recommendation. This

case study is intended to cover a wide range of issues related to Shopee's Online Seller

Credibility and how to ensure it through analysis.

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 POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

TIME CONTEXT

2015-2021 - Since Shopee was first launched in 2015 in Singapore, and has
expanded its reach to Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines.
The issue has occurred since its founding up to the present, and the study was conducted
in 2021.

VIEWPOINT

The Shopee is indeed expanding, with roughly 25 percent of current users being a
seller. The fact that Shopee is growing is undeniable, and it is also undeniable that various
problems arise. In building the credibility of a business, it starts with trust and consistency.
In this viewpoint, the Country Head of the Shopee Philippines, which is the Director, and
the Management of Shopee Philippines will play a vital role in the stance of concern.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Shopee, as the number one shopping app in Southeast Asia and Taiwan at
present, is playing a vital role in the market. Since its founding, it has taken four years to
be the best e-commerce of the year in the Philippines. In this case study, the problem that
will address is the credibility of an Online Seller at Shopee Philippines. The study aims to
answer the question:
 How to determine if an online seller is credible to help Shopee remain the best e-
commerce choice of customers in the Philippines?

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to discover the ways on how to determine if the Shopee's seller
is credible to help Shopee remain the best e-commerce choice of customers in the
Philippines.

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AREAS OF CONSIDERATION (SWOT)

Strengths

1. Testimonials and feedback from clients and customers. Consumer feedback on

products and services would always come in, regardless of the nature of your company
activities, such as whether it deals in product sales or services. Consumers will also have a
good or unfavorable opinion of your company based upon customer expertise provided by
the company. Including customer evaluations on your website immediately communicates
to visitors that your company is open and eager to take control of its image. Transparency
and consistency are both important components in establishing your brand's long-term
confidence.

2. High Ratings. They have the potential to boost merchant trust, compare shopping
rankings, and conversion rates. They can boost consumer involvement while also keeping
track of customer support activities. Through the power of word of mouth marketing, ratings
and reviews may do all of this and more.

3. Large volume of sales/goods sold. The most important factors determining a

company's sales revenue is the value of products sold. The direct expenses connected
mostly with manufacturing of an item, such as material costs, are referred to as the cost of
sales for that service or commodity. As a result, a rise in the cost of items supplied can
reduce gross profit. Because gross profit is calculated after deducting variable expenses
from total sales, rises in overhead expenses can reduce the profitability of the company.

Weaknesses

1. Financial resources. You will need money to buy all of the necessary supplies for
your product if you're going to sell it online. The seller may have trouble budgeting his or
her funds. They may lose money if their product is no longer trendy among customers.

2. Shipments. There were some buyers that placed large orders with the seller. If this
happens, shipping will be more expensive. This may have an impact on the seller's
finances.

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 P OLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

3. Payment distrust. Scammers exist among buyers. Sometimes, especially when it

comes to large orders, the seller does not trust the seller. If this occurs, the seller will
experience a significant financial loss.

4. Bad reviews or low ratings. Having some negative evaluations is beneficial to the
business because it informs them of the product's shortcomings. However, it may harm the
company's image, as most consumers increasingly depend their judgment of a seller's
legitimacy on the item's evaluations or ratings.

Opportunities

1. Improvement in the demand for a product. Offering something your market

appreciates is one method to raise product demand. Companies often utilize product
development and research to create or improve their product offerings. If you improve
current items in ways that people want, they will become more popular over time.

2. Advancements in technology. Quantitative statements, sensitive regulations act, as

well as other trade secrets may all be protected using technology, giving you a comparative
benefit. Simply put, technology assists firms in keeping their ideas out of the hands of their
competitors.

3. Niches that are unique. The sections of the market that you haven't yet reached are
known as potential markets. To expand your firm, you must reach out to new prospective
markets. These might be new items for current consumers or old products for new
customers.

Threats

1. Bogus buyers or scammer. The majority of online sellers have dealt with consumers
like this before. They will buy your stuff, then either not pay for it or cancel it at the last
minute. Having an impact on the amount of time they spend preparing for their orders
as well as the delivery charge they pay to the courier.

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2. Internet trolls. Every internet platform, including e-commerce platforms, has this type
of account. The majority of their goals are to incite unneeded hatred, spread false
information, and shame people online. Some of them irritate online sellers by ordering
something from them and then canceling it later, claiming it was a "prank." They're also
disseminating false information about the seller's items, which could harm the store's
reputation and image, as well as the seller's identity.

3. Competition between the sellers. There is always competition in business between

sellers that are selling similar commodities or goods. It depends on their marketing approach
as to how they will sell more than other sellers, such as cutting product prices or offering
consumer promotions

4. Slow or irresponsible courier service. A poor courier service may have an adverse
effect on the seller-buyer relationship. Some couriers, for example, are excessively slow,
causing delays in the estimated arrival time of their orders. Also, some courier workers
carried and handled their packages recklessly, which could result in product damage.

5. Website or app crash. This type of issue is more likely to occur on e-commerce
platforms. Depending on when the site or app crashes, this can have an impact on online
sellers' earnings for that day. As a result, the seller earns less money than usual for the day.

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 POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

ALTERNATIVE COURSE OF ACTION

1.Observe for ratings and feedback from previous customers regarding the number of
stars given and the positivity of comments.

Advantages:
• Honest feedbacks from their previous customers will guide current and future customers on
a course of action.
• Feedbacks with pictures of products will help customers visualize the actual product.

Disadvantages:
• Feedbacks and star ratings may have been fabricated and paid for by the online seller to
acquire positive feedback.
• False and misleading feedbacks from previous customers will confuse current customers.

2.Require a thorough look at the profile, products, and prices of the Shopee online
seller.

Advantages:
• Customers will see products and prices according to their preferences.
• Customers will be able to check the seller's information and use their judgment concerning
its legitimacy.

Disadvantages:
• The seller is free to include false information to persuade customers.
• Deceptive pictures of products and low prices can mislead customers.

2. Inquire trusted individuals about credible sellers they have dealt with in the
past.
Advantages:
• Individuals, especially friends and family, can give honest feedback.
• Similarities in the preference of individuals can lead to satisfying results.

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Disadvantages:
• Individuals may give biased information.
• Differences in the preference of individuals may lead to unsatisfying results.

4. Purchase from a preferred seller on Shopee

Advantages:
• Buyer will immediately know that the shop upholds excellence standards. For example,
have high shop ratings, provide good customer service, ship out orders quickly and
efficiently.
• Consumers can easily determine whether it is a trusted shop or not. It can also allure the
customers' eyes, and they also get reliant on the seller's services which results in good
customer loyalty too.

Disadvantages:
• Not all the items a buyer wants are listed on that preferred shop
• Some of the items the buyer can receive is incomplete due to high volumes of order

5. Choose the shop that is listed under Shopee mall

Advantages:
• Buyer can confirm that the products from that shop are authentic or legit.
• Always have promos, discounts, and freebies

Disadvantage:
• Since all items listed on Shopee mall are branded, which means the items you have to pay
will be the same as the price in official physical stores.

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 POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

6. Look for Spelling or Grammatical Mistakes; If There is a False Sense of Urgency.

Advantage:
• You can see the credibility of online sellers by their effort. They make an effort to ensure
minimum quality standards in all communication consumers may be likely to find the seller
favorable.

Disadvantage:
• Some of the legit small business owners that accidentally made a grammatical mistake may
be judged easily that may affect their credibility.

RECOMMENDATION

Establishing legitimacy that leads to credibility by developing key performance or

metrics to assess a seller’s overall performance to remain the best e-commerce choice of
customers in the Philippines.

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 POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

PLAN OF ACTION

ACTION TASK PERSON/ TIME

MANAGEMENT PERIOD
RESPONSIBLE
1. Making an overall plan Leading the Head Director of 1 year
and strategies to overall Shopee,
improve the illustration operations and Philippines
and transparency of the executing
credibility of sellers. successful
leadership that
aligns with the
company's goal.
2. The company should Recruiting and HR Department 1-2 months
increase their workers selecting of
to be more efficient in employees.
handling and
addressing concerns.
3. Making a team at Obtain or Operation 1-2 months
overseeing the demand more Management
operation of all listings information
and ensuring that all about the seller's
things posted by the products.
seller are legal and
meet all the necessary
requirements.
4. Shopee could also set a Improve and Marketing 1 year
system approach to create a new Management
warn the buyers design of the
scrolling in a shop with system of Program and
a rate lower than 3.9. app/website of Project
An example would be a Shopee. Management
sentence showing in the
customer's screens Web Designer
saying, "This shop
seems to have a lower
rating. Are you sure you
want to proceed?"
5. Developing new key Researching and Research and 1-2 years
performance metrics to developing ways development
assess a seller's overall to provide a management
performance. Such as more reliable
giving a "top seller of and trustworthy
the month" badge website.
and/or requiring to
provide the seller's
background.

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 POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

REFERENCES

Shopee. (2021). Retrieved from:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shopee?fbclid=IwAR1p63xBkg0ulFSutXkYUaSJurlYY

GF_Y8W2ybJgUXcM3rrntC9ujeT7dpM

Smith, S. (2021). Why You E-Commerce Needs SWOT Analysis. Retrieved from:

https://www.doofinder.com/en/blog/swot-for-e-

commerce?fbclid=IwAR1p7o6peMlLA0_PWei_FlYgeO01BfoORfIpD8aP65YMgJnyB

mbZrh63jKk

Work That Touches Millions. (2021). Retrieved from:

https://careers.shopee.ph/?fbclid=IwAR3Sjlkpqin0eM0-0UspC5uvxYwuhd1B-

0W5MLYB84Gr-CStTTGEFNsyNeU

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