The Day Shopee Kills 'Search': Can Japanese Products Survive in an AI-Curated EC Market?
I’ve heard this from multiple sellers since the start of the year: 'My sales on Shopee suddenly dropped, even though I haven't changed anything.' It's not a drop in product quality or a price hike—yet, visibility is down, and items aren't moving. Why?
The Day Shopee Kills 'Search': Can Japanese Products Survive in an AI-Curated EC Market?
"My sales on Shopee dropped suddenly, and I haven't changed anything." Consultations like this have been coming in frequently since the start of this year.
It isn't that the product quality declined, nor have prices risen. Yet, for some reason, visibility has plummeted, and sales have stalled.
The true nature of this "invisible reason" is finally starting to become clear.
Search Is No Longer the King of Cross-Border EC
Until recently, the fundamental path of E-commerce was simple: a user searches for "Japanese shampoo" or "Made in Japan rice cooker" and selects a product from the results.
This structure is changing quietly but surely.
Since around 2023, Shopee has strengthened its home feed personalization, shifting toward an AI recommendation algorithm that proactively presents products to users before they even search. This is likely a counter-strategy to the "impulse buy through browsing" experience TikTok Shop has solidified in Southeast Asia, and it aligns with Shopee's increased emphasis on live commerce.
Even based on observations within the Rinda platform, we’ve seen a shift: the ratio of traffic coming from searches is decreasing compared to traffic from the organic feed. Sellers who have relied solely on SEO-style optimizations are finding themselves at a structural disadvantage.
How Can Japanese Exporters Win in the Era of AI Recommendations?
We need to stop and consider: when AI and recommendation algorithms choose what to show, what basis do they use?
The answer is simple: Engagement Data.
Click-through rates (CTR), conversion rates, number of reviews and ratings, add-to-cart rates, total live-stream viewing time, and share counts. These signals, representing how users feel and interact, determine whether an item earns its place in front of the next user.
For a long time, the strength of Japanese products on Shopee has been "Trust in Quality." However, the algorithm cannot "read" trust directly. It only judges quality through indirect signals like reviews, repeat purchase rates, and low return rates.
In other words, even high-quality Japanese products are being ignored by the Shopee algorithm if their engagement signals are weak.
"I'm confident in the quality, but I don't know how to convey it." This is the reality most Shopee sellers are currently facing.
3 Reasons Why 'Keyword Optimization' Alone Is No Longer Enough
1. The Weight of Home Feed vs. Shop Tab Has Shifted
When users open the Shopee app, they scan their home feed first. The items displayed there are personalized based on viewing history, past purchases, and followed shops.
The search bar is increasingly reserved only for users who have already decided exactly what they want. To reach those who haven't decided yet, your products must appear in the feed.
2. Live Commerce and Video Content Get Priority
Shopee promotes its live streaming feature across Southeast Asia. Products currently being featured in a live stream—or products with video reviews attached—are widely understood to have higher algorithmic priority (though not officially confirmed, this is a common observation among seller communities).
Listings relying solely on static images and text are becoming relatively disadvantaged. If Japanese exporters remain passive, lacking live streaming and video content, this gap will only widen.
3. 'Emotional Reviews' in Local Languages Are Fueling the Algorithm
Review volume and quality have always been important, but lately, the content has become critical. Long-form reviews containing emotional expressions ("I was moved," "I can't go back to using anything else," "My child absolutely loves it") generate high engagement and strengthen the signals the algorithm prioritizes.
Listings that use machine-translated Japanese product descriptions often fail to resonate emotionally with local consumers, resulting in lower-quality reviews. Pages that have gone through "Japanese -> English -> Local Language" translations are often noticeably suboptimal.
The Reality-Based Reason Why Japanese Products Can Still Survive
It’s not all pessimistic. While analyzing the data, a lightbulb moment occurred.
In a world chosen by AI, 'Brand Recall' becomes even more critical.
How do users judge products that appear in their feed? When evaluating the risk of buying an unknown brand, the "Made in Japan" label acts as a powerful shortcut.
According to the "e-Conomy SEA 2023" report by Google, Temasek, and Bain & Company, "trust in quality" remains a leading reason why Southeast Asian cross-border shoppers choose foreign products. Particularly in daily necessities, cosmetics, food, and baby supplies, the "Made in Japan" label is repeatedly confirmed to drive conversions.
However, to harness that label, you must first "get into the feed." It is a tragedy when high-quality Japanese goods are ignored by the Shopee algorithm simply due to weak engagement signals.
How to Build a Winning Cross-Border EC Strategy
I am not suggesting you stop doing SEO. I am suggesting you move from a "search-only strategy" to a "multi-signal growth structure."
Don't Leave Reviews to Chance
Use post-purchase follow-up messages to encourage reviews in a way that respects Shopee’s seller policies. Actively managing the volume and quality of reviews directly impacts your feed visibility.
Cultivate Shop Followers
Shops with many followers are more likely to appear in their followers' feeds. Using Shopee’s "Follow Prize" (voucher) features is key to long-term visibility stability.
Lower the Bar for Live Streaming
Don't aim for a professional TV-broadcast style stream. Several sellers have noted that even short, 15–20 minute streams once or twice a week provide algorithmic boosts. Focus on "frequency and consistency" rather than high production quality.
Put Effort into Localizing Product Pages
Don't just rely on machine translations for Thai, Indonesian, or Vietnamese. Have a local Japanese speaker or a bilingual freelancer verify the nuances and search keywords. Consulting with official Shopee channel partners is also a smart move.
'Search' Isn't Dying, But the Era of 'Search-Only' Is
While this title is provocative, search isn't disappearing. It will remain a tool for those who already intend to buy.
However, it is certain that feeds, live commerce, and videos have become the leading routes to reaching consumers who have not yet decided what to buy.
When Japanese brands use Shopee as a cross-border sales channel, they must shift their mindset from "register products and wait" to "actively building signals."
If you have confidence in your quality, prove it by building up the data (reviews, return rates, repeat rates) in a language the AI algorithm can read. This is the most realistic path for Japanese products to survive in an AI-curated EC market.
We are continuing to track the movements of the Shopee algorithm. Feel free to comment if you have questions or specific challenges.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. Does the Shopee algorithm change affect all categories equally?
A. No, the impact varies. Daily consumption goods like cosmetics, food, and baby products benefit significantly from the "Made in Japan" trust effect in discovery-based feed shopping. Conversely, products where the user knows exactly what they want—like home appliances or professional tools—will continue to rely on search traffic. Adjust your priorities based on your product category.
Q2. I want to start live streaming, but is it effective if I only speak Japanese?
A. It’s better than nothing, but the gap compared to local language support is significant. For the Southeast Asian market, collaborating with local bilingual staff or influencers is realistic. Focus on frequency over production quality to gain algorithmic favor.
Q3. As a Japanese exporter, where should I start on Shopee?
A. The priority should be 1) local language optimization for product pages, 2) establishing a post-purchase review generation flow, and 3) growing your shop followers. SEO remains useful, but building an engagement-driven pipeline for feed visibility is the foundation for long-term cross-border success.
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