Southeast Asia leads global e-commerce growth

Southeast Asia includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam . Five of these countries occupy five of the top ten spots in the global e-commerce growth rate : Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam .

In fact, the e-commerce industry in Southeast Asia has only developed in recent years. There are many factors that affect the development of e-commerce in the region, including backward infrastructure, low Internet penetration rate and consumer distrust.

However, the situation has now improved greatly. Basically every Southeast Asian has a smartphone, and data shows that the Internet penetration rate in these five countries will be close to 100% in 2022.

In 2020 and 2021, many physical stores had to close due to the epidemic, and consumers had to turn to online shopping.

According to a report from Google, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand added a total of 40 million new Internet users in 2020.

Research firm eMarketer predicts that e-commerce sales in Southeast Asia will increase by 20.6% in 2022 , much higher than other parts of the world.

According to ecommerceDB data, the five countries with the highest e-commerce growth rates in Southeast Asia are as follows:

Indonesia : With a population of 278 million and the largest e-commerce market in Southeast Asia, online sales reached US$43.4 billion in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 32%. The major e-commerce platforms in Indonesia are Tokopedia (a local company), Shopee, JD.com and Lazada. Consumer electronics and home products are the two best-selling categories in the country. Indonesia's e-commerce penetration rate is currently 73.7%.

Malaysia : With a population of 32.8 million, e-commerce sales in 2021 were $6.3 billion, up 15% year-on-year. Shopee is the most popular e-commerce platform in the country, followed by PGMall, a local brand in partnership with JD.com. Electronics and fashion products are the most popular categories in Malaysia. The e-commerce penetration rate in Malaysia is currently 89.6%.

Thailand: With a population of 70 million, e-commerce sales in 2021 reached US$10.5 billion, a year-on-year increase of 28%. JD.com, Shopee and Lazada are all commonly used e-commerce platforms in the country. Consumer electronics and beauty and personal care are the two best-selling categories in the country. The e-commerce penetration rate in Thailand is currently 77.8%.

Vietnam: With a population of 98.2 million, e-commerce sales in 2021 were US$8 billion, up 24% year-on-year. The largest local e-commerce platforms are Shopee and two local brands. Currently, Vietnam's e-commerce penetration rate is 73.2%.

Philippines: With a population of 112.7 million, it is second only to Indonesia, but the e-commerce penetration rate is not very high, currently only reaching 68%. E-commerce sales in 2021 are expected to be between US$5.5 billion (Global Data) and US$12 billion (Statista). Shopee and Lazada are the two most popular e-commerce platforms in the country.

Southeast Asia

E-commerce