Sea Ltd’s e-commerce arm Shopee has reportedly run into trouble with Indonesia’s competition watchdog KPPU, which is said to be investigating it for allegedly directing users to Shopee Xpress, Tech in Asia reported on Monday quoting the antitrust body’s spokesperson Deswin Nur.
Shopee Xpress is a logistics provider that is an affiliate of Shopee.
If true, such a practice restricts consumer choice and impacts other logistics partners while unfairly boosting shipping volumes for Shopee Xpress. The e-commerce company also collaborates with delivery service providers such as J&T Express, JNE, SiCepat, AnterAja, as well as Gojek’s GoSend and GrabExpress, for instant and same-day deliveries.
The case is under investigation and pending trial, the report said, adding that if deemed guilty, Shopee could be subject to a minimum fine of 1 billion rupiah and a maximum penalty of 50% of net profits or 10% of total sales earned during the violation period.
DealStreetAsia has reached out to Sea Ltd and KPPU for comments.
Instances of e-commerce platforms favouring specific logistics partners aren’t new. In October last year, DealStreetAsia reported similar allegations involving TikTok Shop and its preference for J&T Express. Before the social commerce ban in late September, J&T Express reportedly handled the majority of transactions on TikTok Shop, despite the latter’s collaborations with other companies such as Sicepat and Ninja Xpress.
Shopee Xpress was introduced in 2020. According to a Populix survey conducted in June 2023, Shopee Xpress ranked as the third most utilised courier service by e-commerce sellers in Indonesia. Leading the list was J&T Express at 58%, followed by JNE at 45%, and Shopee Xpress at 28%. SiCepat and GoSend secured the fourth and fifth positions, with 27% and 21% share, respectively.
Other major players in the marketplace also operate their own delivery service affiliates such as Lazada Logistics by Lazada and GoTo Logistics affiliated with Tokopedia.