THE COVID-19 pandemic has sped up Southeast Asians’ embrace of e-commerce in surprising – and permanent – ways, a new guidebook from media intelligence firm Meltwater found.
In fact, online conversations around e-commerce in the region have already crossed the one million mark in 2021, and the year is not even over yet.
“As more customers flocked to the convenience of online shopping amidst lockdowns and restrictions, so did retailers,” the report said.
Leading e-commerce platform Shopee, for example, had reported a 60% year-on-year (yoy) uplift in the number of active sellers on the platform since the start of the pandemic.
The new guidebook from Meltwater titled ‘Unlocking e-Commerce Success in Southeast Asia‘ studied online conversations across the region to identify emerging trends and opportunities in the e-commerce landscape in the lead-up to the upcoming holiday shopping season.
Meltwater further found that mega-sales events such as Singles’ Day and 9.9 are as popular as ever among Southeast Asia’s value-seeking consumers, with more than half a million online conversations surrounding the topic.
One particular trending theme that emerged was the merging of entertainment with shopping experience, with nearly one in every five conversations revolving around K-pop (Korean pop) partnerships by leading e-commerce platforms.
Beyond discounts and entertainment, pandemic-riddled consumers are also drawn to immersive shopping experiences as conversations around live streaming jumped more than twice (213%) this year.
Data from Shopee corroborated this finding, reporting a 2.5 times increase in annual live stream viewership on its platform.
“Online shopping has become a natural way of life for Southeast Asian consumers now, but fatigue from the pandemic is causing them to seek out more engagement and novelty in their purchase journey,” commented Meltwater Asia Pacific senior director and partner Mimrah Mahmood.
“This presents both an opportunity and a challenge for retailers – and the key to success is to stay ahead of these trends to continue engaging and attracting shoppers.” – Nov 8, 2021
