Shopee Product Research for Beginners: The Smart Shortcut No One Talks About

When you’re new to e-commerce, product research often feels like the biggest wall between “no sales” and “finally getting traction.” But here’s the truth I’ve learned through firsthand experience running Shopee stores and coaching beginners:

The market is full of only two types of sellers — total beginners and seasoned veterans.
And your job? Find a shortcut that lets you compete without burning months testing blindly.

Let’s break down how to do that in a practical, beginner-friendly, and data-driven way.

01. How to Take the Shortcut (Without Guessing or Gambling)

If you discover a product that’s already performing well in a veteran seller’s shop, here’s a hard truth:

➡️ You probably won’t beat them.

Why? Because:

• They already have high sales volume
• Their listing has strong historical performance (weight/authority)
• They own the “pit production” advantage

So instead of fighting a losing battle, use this smarter approach:

A. Copy only the veteran seller’s new products

I’ll give you an example from my own experience as a long-time seller.

In our team, every new product we launch goes through strict data validation — market demand, competition score, keyword opportunities, and potential click-through rate.

When a veteran seller uploads a new product:

• It has data-backed potential
• It has zero historical sales, meaning no weight advantage
• You can compete on equal ground

So the shortcut is simple:

🚀 Don’t copy their bestsellers.
Copy their newest releases.

B. The fastest method for beginners: Copy successful beginners

This works even better.

If you notice a fellow beginner (store age 1–2 months) upload a new product and suddenly it gets sales within a few days…

Ask yourself: “Why not me?”

This usually means:

• They stumbled onto a low-competition niche
• The product naturally has demand
• Rankings are still fresh and achievable

👉 Do the same listing — but do it better.

• Improve the images
• Improve the product page
• Slightly reduce the price

Often, their “lucky hit” can become your first breakthrough too.

02. The Real Logic Behind Getting Orders

Let’s assume you follow the strategy above — analyzing new products from veterans, tracking trending items from beginners, and uploading 10+ qualified items a day.

Will you automatically get orders?

Of course not.
You need to consider two essential factors to make it work.

1. What makes your listing better than your competitors?

Many beginners wrongly assume:

“If their product sells well, it will sell well in my shop too.”

But:

• Your images are weaker
• Your price is higher
• Your description is sloppy
• Details are missing
• You don’t optimize anything

If you don’t outperform competitors, why would buyers choose you?

So the first question is:

✨ What advantage does your listing have compared to theirs?

This is the foundation.

2. Understand Shopee’s traffic distribution logic: Weight and “Horse-Racing”

Even if a competitor started only two weeks earlier and gets 8–15 orders a day, their listing already has weight.

To surpass them, you must:

• Achieve higher CTR (click-through rate)
• Achieve higher CVR (conversion rate)
• Deliver better overall customer experience

And then comes the second key mechanic:

Shopee’s “Horse-Racing Mechanism”

Shopee often distributes a batch of random traffic to test new listings.

This is why you sometimes see:

• No traffic yesterday
• Sudden spike today (e.g., 50 clicks)

This is the system asking:

“Can this listing compete?”

If your performance is poor:

• Traffic shifts to someone else

If your performance is strong:

• Shopee continues feeding traffic
• You gradually gain stable ranking
• The listing starts scaling

This is how real growth happens.

What influences your conversion beyond basic optimization?

Beyond strong images, pricing, and descriptions, these also matter:

• Listing position (ranking)
• Whether you attract broad traffic or targeted traffic
• Customer service responsiveness
• Service quality (shipping speed, communication)
• Review quality and consistency

When random “horse-race traffic” lands on your listing, Shopee evaluates everything:

High CTR + high CVR + fast delivery + good service + positive reviews = Higher ongoing traffic distribution

This is how a product truly grows —
not only by choosing good items, but by proving you can outperform competitors.