ID ecommerce: rivalry up, growth down

IN FOCUS

In today’s newsletter, we look at:

• The key players in Indonesia’s growing ecommerce landscape
• WeChat Pay’s integration with Alibaba’s ecommerce platforms

Welcome to The Checkout! Delivered every fortnight, this free newsletter breaks down the biggest stories and trends in ecommerce. Get all our content, including The Checkout, by registering for a Tech in Asia account. Alternatively, sign up here if you just want to receive this newsletter.

Hi there,

There’s a running joke among Indonesian netizens about how Tokopedia is the ecommerce platform of choice for men, while Shopee is for women.

While this might be purely coincidental, my wife and I definitely fit this classification: She does her online shopping only on Shopee while Tokopedia is the sole ecommerce app installed on my phone.

As to why this is the case, I’d argue that it’s mostly due to what we buy online and how we discover these products. My wife’s shopping cart is mostly filled with skincare and cosmetics that she finds by watching hours of Instagram reels. I primarily buy electronic devices like wireless earphones and phone chargers recommended by Gadgetin, Indonesia’s top tech-focused content creator.

In short, fashion and beauty are the most popular categories on Shopee. Tokopedia, in contrast, has a more established catalog of mobile and electronic gadgets.

Despite slowing growth, Tokopedia and Shopee remain the leading ecommerce players in Indonesia, as noted in this week’s Big Story. The competition between the two has escalated lately, particularly in the social commerce segment, with each platform partnering with a video-streaming giant. 

Meanwhile, in this week’s Hot Take, I look into how China tech’s “walled gardens” continue to crumble as digital heavyweights like Taobao and WeChat are increasingly collaborating.

— Glenn

THE BIG STORY

Mapping Indonesia’s ecommerce sector as funding hits 10-year low

Image credit: Timmy Loen

Ecommerce players in Indonesia have only raised US$27.3 million so far this year, just 1.5% of the overall 2023 figure.

THE HOT TAKE

E-commerce: A Driving Force for Southeast Asia’s Tech Future