How to Categorize Products for Shopee Markets

Understanding Shopee Product Categorization

Shopee has emerged as Southeast Asia's dominant e-commerce platform, revolutionizing mobile commerce across the region since its launch in 2015 by Sea Group (formerly Garena). With operations spanning Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, and expanding into Brazil, Shopee processes over 2 billion orders annually and boasts more than 343 million monthly active users. The platform's mobile-first approach, gamified shopping experience, and integrated digital payment system (ShopeePay) have made it the go-to marketplace for hundreds of millions of consumers across diverse Asian and Latin American markets.

Shopee's product taxonomy reflects its unique position as a mobile-native, social commerce-driven marketplace that emphasizes entertainment-based shopping experiences. The platform organizes products through a hierarchical category system optimized for smartphone browsing and in-app discovery, with particular depth in categories that resonate with younger, mobile-savvy consumers including fashion, beauty, electronics accessories, and lifestyle products. Understanding Shopee's category structure is crucial for sellers because the platform's algorithm heavily weights category placement in determining product visibility in both search results and the personalized feed recommendations that drive much of Shopee's traffic.

What distinguishes Shopee from competitors is its deep integration of social and entertainment features into the shopping experience. Shopee Live streaming, Shopee Games, and interactive promotional campaigns create discovery pathways that extend beyond traditional category browsing. Products appearing in appropriate categories are more likely to be surfaced in these entertainment-driven discovery channels. Additionally, Shopee Mall for authorized brands, Shopee Preferred for top-rated sellers, and cross-border programs each have category-related requirements that affect listing eligibility and visibility. Our AI-powered categorization API understands these complex platform dynamics across all eight Shopee markets, ensuring optimal category placement for maximum visibility in Shopee's gamified, mobile-first e-commerce ecosystem.

Shopee Category Taxonomy System

Shopee organizes its massive multi-market product catalog through a mobile-optimized hierarchical taxonomy designed for thumb-friendly navigation and rapid product discovery. The structure prioritizes categories popular with Shopee's predominantly young, mobile-native user base while accommodating regional variations across the eight markets where Shopee operates. This taxonomy architecture reflects Shopee's evolution from a mobile-first marketplace to the region's most downloaded shopping app, with category structures optimized for in-app browsing, flash sales, and the gamified shopping experiences that define the Shopee experience.

The primary category structure includes major departments such as Women's Fashion, Men's Fashion, Mobile and Gadgets, Electronics, Home and Living, Beauty and Personal Care, Babies and Toys, Food and Beverages, Health, Sports and Outdoor, Automotive, Pets, and Hobbies and Collections. Each primary department contains multiple subcategory levels typically ranging from 3 to 4 levels deep. Shopee's taxonomy places particular emphasis on fashion and beauty categories which dominate transaction volume, with highly granular subcategorization for trending styles, Korean fashion influences, and specific product types popular with the platform's young demographic.

A key feature of Shopee's categorization system is its tight integration with promotional programs and seller tiers. Shopee Mall brand stores, Shopee Preferred sellers, and products eligible for Free Shipping programs may have category-specific requirements and benefits. Flash sale participation, which drives significant traffic on Shopee, often requires products to be in specific categories that are featured in daily deal promotions. Additionally, Shopee Live commerce integration means products in appropriate categories are more likely to be recommended for livestream shopping events. Our AI system understands these platform-specific dynamics and provides categorization recommendations that optimize for both browse visibility and participation in Shopee's various promotional and discovery programs.

Primary Shopee Categories

Shopee continuously evolves their category taxonomy to reflect trending product types and seasonal campaigns. The platform introduces new categories for emerging product trends popular with their young user base, and promotional categories appear for major shopping events like 9.9, 11.11, and 12.12 mega sales. Our AI models are updated in sync with Shopee's taxonomy changes across all eight markets, ensuring optimal categorization for both evergreen browse traffic and participation in Shopee's highly traffic-driving promotional campaigns.

API Integration Guide

Integrating our Shopee categorization API into your multi-market e-commerce operations is straightforward and designed for both individual product lookups and high-volume catalog processing across all eight Shopee markets. The API accepts product information in any language and returns Shopee-specific category paths optimized for each market. Our system also provides Shopee Open Platform compatible category IDs for direct integration with Shopee's seller tools and third-party listing applications.

import requests

def categorize_for_shopee(product_description, api_key, market="all"):
    base_url = "https://www.productcategorization.com/api/ecommerce/ecommerce_category6_get.php"
    params = {
        "query": product_description,
        "api_key": api_key,
        "data_type": "shopee",
        "market": market  # Options: all, SG, MY, ID, PH, TH, VN, TW, BR
    }
    response = requests.get(base_url, params=params)
    return response.json()

# Example usage for Shopee markets
result = categorize_for_shopee(
    "Korean Style Oversized Hoodie Women Autumn Winter Streetwear",
    "your_api_key_here"
)
print(f"Category: {result['category']}")

async function categorizeForShopee(productDescription, apiKey) {
    const baseUrl = 'https://www.productcategorization.com/api/ecommerce/ecommerce_category6_get.php';
    const params = new URLSearchParams({
        query: productDescription,
        api_key: apiKey,
        data_type: 'shopee'
    });
    const response = await fetch(`${baseUrl}?${params}`);
    return response.json();
}

// Example usage for Shopee mobile accessories
categorizeForShopee('iPhone 15 Pro Max Case Clear Shockproof MagSafe', 'your_api_key')
    .then(result => console.log('Shopee Category:', result.category));

curl -X GET "https://www.productcategorization.com/api/ecommerce/ecommerce_category6_get.php" \
  -d "query=COSRX Snail Mucin 96% Power Repairing Essence 100ml" \
  -d "api_key=your_api_key_here" \
  -d "data_type=shopee"