E-commerce grows at fastest speed in Southeast Asia
E-commerce is growing exponentially in Southeast Asia, with 70 million online shoppers added since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a report by US consultancy firm Bain & Company commissioned by Facebook.
Overall, Southeast Asia is expected to be home to 350 million online shoppers – or 78 per cent of the region’s population – by the end of 2021, up from 310 million at the end of last year. Online spending is expected to grow 60 per cent per person this year, pushing total e-commerce sales to expand two-fold to $254 billion in gross merchandise value by 2026, the report finds.
The average consumer in the region was estimated to spend $381 online this year, compared to $238 last year. This figure was further projected to hit $671 per shopper in 2026.
Faster adoption than in other large markets
The survey polled 16,706 consumers across six Southeast Asian markets, namely Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. The researchers found a rapid pace of digital adoption during the Covid-19 pandemic and related lockdowns, noting that the speed of growth in online spending in Southeast Asia outpaces the likes of China with five per cent, India with ten per cent and Brazil with 14 per cent.
As a result, Internet and tech start-ups grew to dominate venture capital and private equity funding for the region, commanding 88 per cent of deals by value in the first quarter of this year, up from 75 per cent a year earlier. Financial technology, or fintech, was the dominant sub-category with 56 per cent of tech funding, spanning such services as buy-now-pay-later, peer-to-peer lending, digital wallets and cryptocurrency.
E-commerce is growing exponentially in Southeast Asia, with 70 million online shoppers added since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a report by US consultancy firm Bain & Company commissioned by Facebook. Overall, Southeast Asia is expected to be home to 350 million online shoppers – or 78 per cent of the region's population – by the end of 2021, up from 310 million at the end of last year. Online spending is expected to grow 60 per cent per person this year, pushing total e-commerce sales to expand two-fold to $254 billion in gross merchandise value by...
E-commerce is growing exponentially in Southeast Asia, with 70 million online shoppers added since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a report by US consultancy firm Bain & Company commissioned by Facebook.
Overall, Southeast Asia is expected to be home to 350 million online shoppers – or 78 per cent of the region’s population – by the end of 2021, up from 310 million at the end of last year. Online spending is expected to grow 60 per cent per person this year, pushing total e-commerce sales to expand two-fold to $254 billion in gross merchandise value by 2026, the report finds.
The average consumer in the region was estimated to spend $381 online this year, compared to $238 last year. This figure was further projected to hit $671 per shopper in 2026.
Faster adoption than in other large markets
The survey polled 16,706 consumers across six Southeast Asian markets, namely Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. The researchers found a rapid pace of digital adoption during the Covid-19 pandemic and related lockdowns, noting that the speed of growth in online spending in Southeast Asia outpaces the likes of China with five per cent, India with ten per cent and Brazil with 14 per cent.
As a result, Internet and tech start-ups grew to dominate venture capital and private equity funding for the region, commanding 88 per cent of deals by value in the first quarter of this year, up from 75 per cent a year earlier. Financial technology, or fintech, was the dominant sub-category with 56 per cent of tech funding, spanning such services as buy-now-pay-later, peer-to-peer lending, digital wallets and cryptocurrency.
