8 trends that will shape Southeast Asian ecommerce in 2019

Disclosure: EcommerceIQ is the research arm of aCommerce. All brands and companies mentioned below are affiliated with aCommerce in one way or the other.

US$102 billion. That’s the estimated value for Southeast Asian ecommerce in 2025.

Google and Temasek’s e-Conomy of Southeast Asia report confirmed the growing confidence among investors in the region. Startups raised US$9.1 billion in the first half of last year – almost as much as throughout the whole of 2017.

With 2018 dubbed the year of ecommerce for the region, what can we expect in 2019? EcommerceIQ spoke to industry leaders to find out the anticipated trends for online retailers and brands in Southeast Asia.

1. Brands are shifting from data gathering to data utilization

The biggest difference of online retail from offline is the ability to track, collect, monitor, and manage information – all in real time.

Through online channels, brands are able to access customer data through chat, social media, and their own websites. This information can be used to devise online strategies. Globally, 73 percent of brands plan to allocate their ecommerce budget on data and analytics services in 2019.

However, despite its obvious importance, many brands still have no concept of how to use data to their advantage.

“Even today, not all retailers have embraced data fully to the point where they think of themselves as data companies. And this might be why many companies are suffering,” wrote Srikant M. Datar, a Harvard Business School professor.

Data collection is easy, but having the analytics capability and optimizing it to use data is a completely different ball game.

A survey by ecommerceIQ identified data analysis as one of the most difficult skills to find among digital talents in Southeast Asia. Brands are constantly searching for data aggregators to consolidate information for convenient retrieval and use to target, re-target, and personalize products and services.

Reagan Chai, head of regional business intelligence and development at Shopee, told ecommerceIQ that data acquisition enables the company to map out and optimize buyer and seller user experience while preempting customer demand and anticipating future potential. The company has seen an increase in website traffic in the past year, which it claims even surpasses that of other regional players.

In China, Alibaba and JD have taken a step further by using the data gathered online to improve inventories and experiences at their physical stores. Chris Tung, chief marketing officer at Alibaba, said the company wants to help brands find the right consumers by tracking them through its system.

“We’re finding all data that has to do with people, their behavior, what they like, what they buy, and binding this online data to real people,” Tung explains.

Recognizing the need, aCommerce – ecommerce enabler and ecommerceIQ’s parent company – launched a data analytics platform called BrandIQ last year. It aims to help brands centralize customer data and offer customized products or services to each target group.