How to scrape Shopee: A step-by-step guide

Written by: John Fáwọlé

Shopee has established itself as one of Asia’s leading ecommerce platforms, connecting millions of buyers and sellers across the region. Its rapid growth and dominance make it a goldmine of valuable data for businesses in the region looking to analyze market trends, monitor pricing, and track competitor strategies. 

However, extracting this data can be far from easy. 

If you’ve ever tried to scrape Shopee the way you scrape other websites, you’d have realized how surprisingly difficult it can be as the website has sophisticated anti-scraping measures — such as IP bans, CAPTCHAs, and bot-detection algorithms.

Many scraping tools fail to scrape Shopee outright or require constant maintenance to bypass Shopee’s evolving defenses.

This is where SOAX comes in. Unlike standard scrapers that struggle against Shopee’s barriers, SOAX Shopee Scraper API can navigate even the most advanced anti-scraping systems. 

In this post, you’ll learn how you can easily scrape Shopee data with SOAX.

Shopee homepage with the Asian countries in which it's available listed.

Why scrape Shopee?

Shopee has become a dominant force in Southeast Asia’s ecommerce landscape, making it a valuable source of data for businesses, researchers, and marketers. 

Whether you’re looking to track pricing trends, analyze consumer behavior, or monitor competitors, scraping Shopee provides a wealth of actionable insights. 

Let’s explore why Shopee is a prime target for data extraction and what kind of information you can gather.

Shopee’s popularity

Shopee is one of the largest and fastest-growing ecommerce platforms in Southeast Asia, with approximately 47% market share dominance, serving millions of users across countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines. 

Since its launch, Shopee has revolutionized online shopping with its user-friendly mobile-first approach, attractive deals, and localized shopping experience tailored to each market. This massive reach makes it an ideal platform for businesses looking to understand consumer behavior across different regions.

The platform hosts an extensive range of products, from everyday essentials to niche items. Sellers range from small local businesses to global brands, all leveraging Shopee’s logistics and payment solutions. As a result, Shopee provides a dynamic and competitive marketplace where businesses must continuously optimize their pricing and marketing strategies to stay ahead.

Beyond just a shopping platform, Shopee plays a crucial role in shaping online shopping trends. Its integration of in-app livestream shopping, gamification features, and aggressive promotional events like 11.11 Mega Sale and ShopeePay cashback offers have influenced consumer purchasing behaviors across the region. By analyzing data from Shopee, businesses can gain insights into these trends and adjust their strategies accordingly.

For companies looking to expand in Southeast Asia, Shopee’s data is invaluable. Understanding what products perform well, how pricing varies by region, and what customers are searching for can provide a competitive advantage. 

Valuable data you can scrape from Shopee

Shopee’s platform is a goldmine of data that can help businesses refine their strategies, optimize pricing models, and improve customer engagement. From product details to market trends, scraping Shopee provides actionable intelligence for decision-makers. Here are the key data points you can extract:

Product data

One of the most valuable data categories on Shopee is product data. Businesses need to track pricing, descriptions, stock availability, and customer feedback to make informed decisions. 

Pricing data is particularly crucial for ecommerce sellers who need to stay competitive. By scraping Shopee, businesses can monitor price changes, flash sales, and discount trends to adjust their own pricing strategies.

Product descriptions are another key data point. These include technical specifications, materials, and usage instructions. By analyzing this information, businesses can optimize their own product listings, ensuring they provide clear and compelling descriptions that attract customers. 

Additionally, it helps manufacturers track how their products are being presented by third-party sellers.

Stock availability data is essential for businesses tracking supply chain trends. Knowing when a competitor runs out of stock allows sellers to adjust their inventory levels strategically. By scraping stock data over time, businesses can identify patterns in product demand and plan restocking accordingly.

Customer ratings and reviews provide insights into product quality and customer satisfaction. Businesses can analyze review patterns to identify common issues with their own products or their competitors' offerings. Positive and negative feedback can also guide product improvements, marketing strategies, and customer service enhancements.

Market insights

Shopee is a constantly evolving marketplace, and staying ahead requires a deep understanding of market trends. Scraping Shopee allows businesses to identify trending products, track search behavior, and analyze category performance to optimize their offerings.

Trending items reflect consumer demand and can indicate emerging market opportunities. By monitoring best-selling products, businesses can spot seasonal trends, identify rising product categories, and make informed purchasing decisions. This is particularly useful for resellers and dropshippers who need to stay ahead of demand.

Popular search keywords provide insight into what customers are actively looking for. By scraping search data, businesses can refine their search engine optimization (SEO) strategies, ensuring their products rank higher in Shopee’s search results. Understanding consumer search behavior also helps sellers anticipate upcoming demand for specific items.

Category analysis enables businesses to see which product categories are performing well across different regions. Some categories may be more popular in specific countries due to cultural or economic factors. By analyzing category trends, businesses can decide where to focus their marketing efforts and product expansion.

By leveraging these market insights, businesses can make data-driven decisions that enhance their competitiveness. However, Shopee’s anti-scraping measures make extracting this data difficult, requiring a robust scraping solution like SOAX.

Competitive analysis

Competition on Shopee is fierce, with thousands of sellers offering similar products. To stay ahead, businesses must continuously monitor their competitors' pricing, product offerings, and promotional strategies. Scraping Shopee allows companies to gather competitive intelligence that informs strategic decision-making.

One of the most critical aspects of competitive analysis is pricing tracking. Competitor pricing fluctuates frequently based on demand, promotions, and stock levels. By scraping Shopee’s pricing data, businesses can adjust their prices dynamically to remain competitive. This is especially important during major sales events when pricing wars are at their peak.

Beyond pricing, businesses can track their competitors’ product offerings. Understanding what new products competitors are launching, how they position their brands, and what features they highlight can provide valuable insights. By analyzing this data, businesses can refine their own product strategies and identify gaps in the market.

Monitoring customer reviews on competitors’ products also provides useful intelligence. If customers are consistently complaining about a specific issue, businesses can use this knowledge to improve their own products or highlight their advantages in marketing campaigns. Additionally, analyzing competitor feedback helps identify areas where customer service can be improved.

With a data-driven approach to competitive analysis, businesses can optimize their ecommerce strategies, improve product positioning, and increase market share. 

Why is scraping Shopee difficult?

Scraping Shopee isn’t as straightforward as scraping many other ecommerce platforms. The company has implemented multiple layers of anti-scraping measures to protect its data and prevent automated access. 

For businesses and researchers who rely on Shopee’s data, these restrictions pose significant challenges. However, understanding the barriers in place helps in choosing the right tools and strategies to overcome them.

Shopee’s anti-scraping mechanisms

Shopee employs sophisticated anti-scraping techniques to detect and block automated bots. One of the most common defenses is CAPTCHA verification, which appears when Shopee detects unusual activity, such as multiple rapid requests from the same IP address. CAPTCHAs require human input, making it difficult for traditional scrapers to proceed without manual intervention.

Another challenge is dynamic content loading, where product details, prices, and even search results are loaded asynchronously using JavaScript. This means that a basic scraper that simply fetches raw HTML will not capture essential data. Instead, scraping Shopee effectively requires handling JavaScript rendering, which adds complexity and resource requirements.

Additionally, Shopee uses aggressive IP tracking and rate limiting. Suppose a scraper makes too many requests in a short period. In that case, Shopee will flag the IP address and either block it temporarily or present additional security measures, such as requiring a login. To bypass this, scrapers need access to a large pool of rotating residential or mobile proxies to simulate real user behavior.

Lastly, Shopee constantly updates its bot detection algorithms. Unlike static security measures, these algorithms adapt over time to identify new bot patterns and block unauthorized access. This requires scrapers to stay updated and continuously adjust their techniques.

For businesses seeking Shopee’s data, these anti-scraping measures make it virtually impossible to extract information without a specialized solution. SOAX Shopee Scraper API offers a seamless way to overcome these barriers and gain access to Shopee’s valuable data.

JSON output from the SOAX Shopee Scraper API

The SOAX Shopee Scraper API is designed to handle even the most complex ecommerce platforms, including Shopee. Unlike traditional scrapers that struggle with Shopee’s anti-bot measures, SOAX offers a robust, automated solution that mimics real user behavior to avoid detection.

With built-in proxy rotation, SOAX dynamically switches IP addresses to prevent rate limiting and IP bans. This ensures uninterrupted data collection, even when making thousands of requests. Additionally, the API can render JavaScript, making it possible to extract content from Shopee’s dynamically loaded pages, where traditional HTML scrapers fail.

Another key feature of the SOAX API is its ability to bypass login restrictions. Since some Shopee data requires authentication, SOAX can manage sessions and cookies to retrieve information that is otherwise hidden behind login screens. This makes it an essential tool for businesses that need comprehensive insights beyond what’s available to anonymous users.

Supports product search and product details

SOAX enables businesses to search for products on Shopee and extract detailed information, all in an automated manner. Instead of manually browsing through pages, the API can fetch search results based on keywords, categories, and filters, providing structured data for analysis. This is particularly useful for businesses looking to track product trends, identify emerging items, or analyze search behavior.

Beyond search functionality, SOAX retrieves complete product details, including:

  • Pricing information (including discounts and promotional prices)
  • Stock availability (helpful for monitoring supply trends)
  • Product descriptions (to compare how different sellers position their offerings)
  • Customer ratings and reviews (to gauge sentiment and identify product strengths and weaknesses)

With this data, businesses can monitor competitors, optimize pricing strategies, and improve their product listings to attract more customers.

Works across Shopee’s Asian domains

Shopee operates in multiple countries, and pricing, availability, and demand vary across regions. A product that performs well in Singapore might not be as popular in Indonesia, and localized promotions affect pricing strategies in different markets.

SOAX supports scraping across all of Shopee’s major Asian domains, including:

By providing access to multiple regional Shopee platforms, SOAX enables businesses to compare pricing across markets, analyze regional shopping trends, and track localized promotions. This is invaluable for brands expanding into new countries or adjusting their marketing strategies based on regional demand.

Handles dynamic Shopee pages using browser-style URLs

Since Shopee loads much of its content dynamically, traditional scrapers struggle to extract complete data. SOAX overcomes this by handling browser-style URLs, meaning it can render JavaScript just like a real user’s browser. This ensures that all content—whether it’s product listings, reviews, or search results—is fully loaded before being extracted.

With headless browsing capabilities, SOAX can navigate Shopee just like a human shopper, clicking through pages, loading reviews, and interacting with dropdown filters. This makes it possible to scrape even the most complex Shopee pages, where data might otherwise remain hidden.

By leveraging SOAX’s powerful scraping API, businesses can extract reliable, real-time data from Shopee without interruptions. With support for multiple regions, automated CAPTCHA bypassing, and the ability to handle dynamic content, SOAX makes Shopee scraping not just possible, but effortless. In the next section, we’ll explore real-world use cases and how companies can leverage SOAX for competitive advantage.

Step-by-step guide to scraping Shopee with SOAX

Scraping Shopee can be challenging due to its strict anti-bot measures, but SOAX simplifies the process with its powerful scraping API. This guide will walk you through the steps to get started, from accessing the API to crafting requests and extracting valuable product data.

shopee2

Get access to the SOAX API

Before you can start scraping Shopee, you need to gain access to the SOAX Shopee Scraper API. SOAX offers a secure and efficient solution for bypassing Shopee’s restrictions, but API access requires approval.

  1. Contact the SOAX sales team – To get started, visit the SOAX contact page and follow the steps. A representative will guide you through the setup process.
  2. Receive your API key – Once your account is approved, you will be issued a unique API key, which is required to authenticate your scraping requests.
  3. Choose your plan – Depending on your scraping needs, SOAX offers different pricing plans with varying levels of access, request limits, and proxy options.
  4. Set up your environment – Ensure you have the necessary tools installed, such as cURL or Python, to send API requests and handle responses.

Once you have your API key, you’re ready to start making requests to scrape Shopee data.

Craft your API requests

To scrape product data or search results from Shopee, you need to send a properly formatted request to the SOAX API. Here’s an example of how to structure your request using cURL:

curl --location 'https://scraping.soax.com/v2/shopee-t/products?url=FULL_SHOPEE_URL' \  
--header 'X-SOAX-API-Secret: YOUR_KEY'

Breaking down the request:

  • https://scraping.soax.com/v2/shopee-t/products – This is the SOAX endpoint for scraping Shopee product data.
  • url=FULL_SHOPEE_URL – Replace FULL_SHOPEE_URL with the actual Shopee product or search URL.
  • X-SOAX-API-Secret: YOUR_KEY – Replace YOUR_KEY with the API key provided by SOAX.

This request will return structured data, allowing you to extract pricing, descriptions, availability, and other valuable information.

Supported Shopee domains

SOAX supports scraping across all major Shopee regional domains, providing flexibility for businesses targeting multiple markets.

Here’s a list of supported Shopee domains:

With SOAX, you can extract product data from any of these country-specific Shopee websites, making it easy to conduct region-based analysis, compare pricing trends, and track demand across different markets.

Scrape product data or search results

SOAX allows you to scrape two primary types of Shopee pages:

Product details

To scrape product information, provide a direct product page URL in your request.

Example:

https://shopee.ph/--i.1053623283.17695849989

This retrieves details like:

  • Product name
  • Price and discounts
  • Stock availability
  • Seller information
  • Ratings and reviews

Product search results

You can also scrape search results to track trending products and analyze competition. Simply provide a Shopee search URL with your desired keyword.

Example:

https://shopee.co.id/search?keyword=keyword

This returns a list of products that match the search query, including their prices, ratings, and availability.

Important limitations

While SOAX provides a powerful scraping solution, there are a few limitations to keep in mind:

  • Only the first page of search results is available – The API does not support pagination, meaning you can only retrieve data from the first page of a Shopee search query.
  • Login-required pages are not accessible – Some Shopee pages require user authentication, such as purchase history or restricted product listings. The SOAX API does not scrape these sections.
  • Shopee updates its defenses frequently – While SOAX continuously adapts to Shopee’s anti-bot measures, occasional disruptions may occur due to changes in Shopee’s website structure or security measures.

Use cases for scraping Shopee

Scraping Shopee provides businesses with critical data to optimize pricing, track competitors, and stay ahead in the fast-moving ecommerce landscape. Whether you're a retailer, market analyst, or data-driven entrepreneur, extracting Shopee data can unlock valuable insights.

Gathering product pricing, descriptions, and availability

For any ecommerce business, accurate and up-to-date product information is essential. Shopee features millions of products, and staying informed about pricing trends, product descriptions, and stock levels can give your business a competitive edge.

  • Monitor price fluctuations – Prices on Shopee change frequently due to promotions, discounts, and market demand. Scraping allows businesses to track these fluctuations in real time.
  • Ensure product descriptions are optimized – Well-structured descriptions improve conversions. Businesses can refine their listings by analysing competitor descriptions for better SEO and customer engagement.
  • Check stock availability – Running out of stock means lost sales opportunities. Scraping lets sellers monitor competitor inventory levels and adjust their own supply chain accordingly.

This data helps ecommerce businesses optimize their pricing strategies, refine product listings, and ensure they never miss a sales opportunity.

Conducting competitive analysis for ecommerce

Understanding your competitors is key to staying ahead in any market. Shopee is home to thousands of sellers, each vying for customer attention. Scraping Shopee data allows businesses to gain insights into competitor pricing, product selection, and marketing strategies.

  • Track competitor pricing – By scraping pricing data, you can adjust your own pricing strategy to remain competitive while maximizing profits.
  • Analyze best-selling products – Identifying which products perform well can help businesses decide which items to stock or promote.
  • Monitor discounts and promotions – Businesses can analyze competitor promotions and adjust their own offers to attract more buyers.

With this intelligence, companies can make data-driven decisions to gain an edge over competitors and refine their ecommerce strategies.

Tracking market trends in Asian markets

Shopee is one of the largest ecommerce platforms in Southeast Asia, operating in countries like Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Keeping track of emerging trends in these markets can give businesses a first-mover advantage.

  • Identify trending products – Scraping Shopee search results and bestseller lists helps businesses spot popular items before they become mainstream.
  • Analyze consumer demand – By tracking which products are frequently searched or reviewed, businesses can understand what customers want.
  • Expand into new markets – Shopee’s regional reach allows businesses to gauge demand in different countries before launching new products.

By leveraging Shopee data, businesses can identify trends early, adapt to changing market conditions, and expand strategically into new regions.

Scraping Shopee is a powerful tool for ecommerce businesses looking to stay competitive, optimize their product offerings, and track market trends in Asia. With the right scraping solution like SOAX, businesses can extract valuable insights with minimal effort.

Why choose SOAX for Shopee scraping?

Scraping Shopee can be a daunting task due to its robust anti-bot measures. However, SOAX stands out as the solution to this challenge, offering a reliable and scalable scraping platform tailored for Shopee. Here’s why SOAX is the best choice for scraping Shopee data.

Proven ability to scrape Shopee’s notoriously hard-to-scrape platform

Shopee’s anti-scraping defenses, such as CAPTCHA and dynamic content, make it a difficult platform to scrape. However, SOAX has a proven track record of bypassing these protections effectively.

  • Advanced techniques – SOAX uses advanced proxy rotation, browser-like scraping methods, and CAPTCHA-solving technology to navigate Shopee’s defenses.
  • Consistency – Whether you’re scraping product data or search results, SOAX ensures your requests go through even when Shopee updates its anti-scraping measures.
  • Tailored for Shopee – SOAX’s scraping infrastructure is specifically optimized to handle Shopee’s unique structure and dynamic pages, ensuring you can extract accurate data consistently.

shopee json

SOAX’s ability to overcome Shopee’s tough defenses makes it a trusted choice for businesses that need reliable access to Shopee’s data.

Reliable, scalable, and easy-to-use API

SOAX provides a powerful API designed to make Shopee scraping seamless. Whether you’re a small business or a large enterprise, SOAX’s API can handle your scraping needs.

  • Reliable performance – SOAX guarantees uptime and smooth operation, so you can scrape Shopee data without interruptions.
  • Scalable infrastructure – As your scraping requirements grow, SOAX’s platform can scale to accommodate increasing demand, ensuring that your data scraping remains efficient at all times.
  • Simple integration – SOAX’s easy-to-use API allows developers to integrate it quickly into their workflows, with minimal setup and effort.

With its reliable, scalable, and easy-to-use API, SOAX makes Shopee scraping accessible to businesses of all sizes.

Dedicated customer support to assist with integration

At SOAX, customer support is a top priority. When integrating the API or troubleshooting issues, SOAX offers dedicated support to ensure you get the most out of their platform.

  • 24/7 assistance – Whether you need help setting up your API key or optimizing your scraping requests, SOAX’s support team is available round the clock.
  • Guidance and advice – SOAX’s experts provide valuable insights on best practices for scraping Shopee and can assist with overcoming specific challenges.
  • Comprehensive documentation – SOAX also provides thorough documentation to guide you through the scraping process, with sample requests, troubleshooting tips, and FAQs.

With dedicated customer support, SOAX ensures you’re never alone in your scraping journey and can get the help you need quickly and efficiently.

Contact the sales team for access and personalized solution

To get started with SOAX and gain access to its powerful scraping tools, you must first contact our sales team. This is because the SOAX Shopee scraper requires custom setup.

  • Tailored solutions – SOAX will help you choose the right plan and customize the setup based on your specific Shopee scraping needs.
  • API key issuance – After reaching out, you will be provided with your unique API key, which grants you access to SOAX’s scraping infrastructure.
  • Consultation on integration – The sales team can also guide you through integrating the API into your business, ensuring a smooth and hassle-free setup.

SOAX’s proven ability to scrape Shopee, reliable API, and dedicated customer support make it the perfect choice for businesses looking to extract Shopee data. Don’t hesitate to reach out to the sales team for access to SOAX’s powerful scraping tools.

Conclusion

SOAX stands out as the ultimate solution for businesses looking to scrape Shopee’s valuable data. With its proven ability to bypass Shopee’s complex anti-scraping measures, a reliable and scalable API, and dedicated customer support, SOAX ensures you can effortlessly gather the insights you need, no matter how challenging Shopee’s platform may seem.

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to optimize your pricing strategies, track competitors, and stay ahead of market trends. By choosing SOAX, you can start gathering valuable ecommerce data today and use it to make more informed, data-driven decisions.

Reach out to SOAX’s sales team now to get started on your scraping journey!

John Fáwọlé

John Fáwọlé is a technical writer and developer. He currently works as a freelance content marketer and consultant for tech startups.

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