The study was published in 2026 in the Asian Journal of Applied Business and Management (AJABM), Volume 5, Number 3, covering pages 753–772. The article does not provide a specific date for when the interviews were conducted, but records show that the manuscript was received on June 25, revised on July 22, and accepted on August 20, 2026.
Why Shopee Sales Events Matter
Online shopping has become closely connected with social media. Consumers can encounter product advertisements, influencer content, customer reviews, and limited-time promotions while using platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram.
Shopee has developed recurring promotional campaigns around double-digit dates, including 9.9, 10.10, 11.11, and 12.12. These campaigns commonly combine discounts, vouchers, free shipping, flash sales, and other limited-time offers. According to the researchers, repeated promotion increases the visibility of products and brands and encourages consumers to interact with them.
The Philippine e-commerce environment provides an important context for the study. The article cites projections that the country's e-commerce market could reach approximately ₱2.2 trillion by 2028, driven by increasing digital adoption and social commerce.
Researchers Interviewed 12 Marketing Students
The researchers used a qualitative approach focused on the lived experiences of consumers. They interviewed 12 Marketing students at Gordon College who actively use Shopee.
Participants were selected because they had direct experience with Shopee sales events. The researchers used open-ended, semi-structured interviews to learn how students encountered promotions, interpreted them, evaluated products, and made purchasing decisions.
The interview questions were reviewed by three professors and pilot-tested with students who were not part of the final group. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed by identifying recurring ideas and organizing them into broader themes. The researchers stopped collecting data when additional interviews no longer produced significant new themes.
Because the study involved only 12 participants and used a qualitative design, its findings describe the experiences and perceptions of these students rather than providing statistical conclusions about all Shopee users.
Discounts Capture Attention First
The students reported frequent exposure to Shopee's promotional campaigns. Double-digit sales, flash sales, free-shipping vouchers, payday sales, and major discounts were among the promotions they encountered most often.
These promotions were visible not only inside Shopee but also across social media. TikTok and Facebook were repeatedly identified as channels through which students encountered sales-related content.
Financial savings were particularly effective at capturing attention. Large discounts, free shipping, ₱1 deals, buy-one-get-one offers, and limited-time promotions made products appear more attractive because consumers perceived an opportunity to save money.
Visual content also played a role. Students mentioned product unboxing videos, price-drop announcements, attractive promotional designs, and countdown timers as content that could make them stop scrolling and investigate a product further.
Promotions Change How Brands Are Perceived
The researchers found that sales events can influence more than immediate purchase decisions. Promotional exposure can change the way students perceive the brands featured in those campaigns.
The researchers from Gordon College therefore connect sales-event exposure with several stages of consumer behavior: attention, product exploration, brand evaluation, and purchase decisions.
Sales Can Encourage Consumers to Try New Brands
Another important finding was that discounts can make consumers more willing to experiment with unfamiliar brands.
A lower price can reduce the perceived risk of trying a product for the first time. Several participants said they had explored or purchased new brands during flash sales because the discounted price made the decision feel less risky.
However, a promotional discount did not guarantee satisfaction. Some participants reported disappointment when unfamiliar products did not meet their expectations.
This suggests that sales events can help lesser-known brands gain initial exposure, but the quality of the product remains important for turning a first purchase into continued preference.
Price Gets Attention, but Quality and Reviews Matter
The study found that promotions can act as the final push toward a purchase. Students described discounts, vouchers, and flash sales as factors that encouraged faster decisions and sometimes impulsive buying.
Yet promotional prices were not the only factors considered. Participants continued to look at customer reviews, ratings, product quality, and credibility before making their final choices.
The researchers also identified a potential downside of excessive discounting. When a brand is constantly promoted at reduced prices, consumers may begin to associate it with being budget-oriented rather than premium. Some participants even questioned product quality when discounts appeared too frequently.
As the authors from Gordon College conclude, promotional strategies can attract attention and encourage product exploration, but lasting brand preference requires more than discounts. Product quality, credible information, and positive customer experiences remain essential.
Implications for Consumers and Businesses
For consumers, the findings highlight the importance of slowing down before purchasing during major sales events. Discounts and countdown timers can create urgency, but buyers can reduce impulsive decisions by checking product quality, customer reviews, seller credibility, and whether the product is actually needed. The researchers specifically recommend responsible and critical online shopping practices.
For brands and Shopee sellers, the findings suggest that promotions remain useful tools for increasing visibility and attracting new customers. However, long-term loyalty cannot depend entirely on price reductions. Maintaining product quality, transparency, credibility, and customer satisfaction is necessary to convert promotional attention into sustainable consumer relationships.
The study also has implications for education. Because Marketing students are simultaneously consumers and future marketing professionals, universities can use cases like Shopee sales events to teach digital marketing, consumer behavior, social media influence, and responsible consumption.
Author Profile
The article was written by Emmanuel Cajuguiran, Mar Angelo De Lara, Anne Kherstean Dela Cruz, Alfonso Hipolito, Justine Shane Legaspi, Joy Ann Ragasa, and Emar Kristian Aranda, all affiliated with Gordon College, Philippines. Their article focuses on digital marketing, consumer behavior, social media influence, e-commerce promotions, and brand preference.
The publication identifies Alfonso Hipolito as the corresponding author. The academic degrees of the individual authors are not stated in the journal article, so specific degree titles cannot be accurately provided from the source.
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