New shopping methods are emerging in Southeast Asia, but retailers still face many challenges

While e-commerce was destined to change the retail industry, Covid-19 has undoubtedly accelerated its trajectory .

Nowadays , whether people will shop online is no longer a question, but how often they buy and how much they spend have become new questions.

Over the past decade, Asia has become the engine leading retail growth and the region now accounts for more than 50% of global e-commerce sales .

At the same time, with the rapid development of e-commerce , live streaming , group buying and new forms of social shopping are emerging in Southeast Asia.

In Thailand, the number of households shopping online increased by 58%, with growth also seen in other Southeast Asian countries: Singapore ( 47%), Hong Kong (46%) and Indonesia (15%), with the Philippines seeing a whopping 325% increase.

In addition, South Korean consumers increased their online shopping by 29% in the past 12 months, while online spending in Singapore also increased by 16%.

As e-commerce has grown, the power dynamics between consumers, brands, and retailers have also changed. Today, e-commerce platforms are leading the way in Southeast Asia’s e-commerce boom in other ways:

Shopee , Lazada and other platforms strengthen the bonds of consumer loyalty and trust by engaging in social shopping networks and communities.

While each country’s level of digital maturity will vary, it is a safe bet that nearly all growth in FMCG retail will now come from e-commerce.

The next 20 years will drive different business characteristics and different ways of solving problems, where the challenge facing retailers will no longer be logistics, but pushing the limits of personalized discovery and management .

In the next phase, sellers may face the challenge of reality divergence, as the delivery of seamless shopping experiences across platforms and channels creates more possibilities for consumers to shop, and sellers will have to embrace this technology and create omnichannel through these possibilities.

Additionally, if retailers want buyers to spend more money in their stores , they need to go deeper into digital and play on their trusted image or the relationships they have built over the years. Combining shopping experience and social engagement can help them beat e-commerce retailers in the process .

E-commerce platform

Cross-border e-commerce market

Southeast Asia