Study: How the pandemic affected Southeast Asia’s online shopping behavior

The ecommerce industry in Southeast Asia’s six largest markets is set to continue growing, likely reaching US$172 billion in value in 2025, according to Google, Temasek, and Bain & Company.

Photo credit: Stanisic Vladimir

Ecommerce aggregator iPrice Group collaborated with SimilarWeb and AppsFlyer to discover the impact of Covid-19 in its Map of E-commerce Yearend Report 2020.

The report uncovered three major changes, specifically in Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines:

1. Which ecommerce sites gained web visits
2. The average spending of Southeast Asians increased by 19%
3. The drivers for Southeast Asians to install and uninstall shopping apps

Which ecommerce sites gained web visits?

2020 has signified strong customer confidence in ecommerce retail despite mobility restrictions and mounting concerns over the pandemic.

The report reveals that the overall website traffic of online shopping platforms increased across all countries year over year. This can be seen most in Singapore, which experienced a surge of 35% compared to 2019, followed by the Philippines (21%), Vietnam (19%), Malaysia (17%), Thailand (15%), and Indonesia (6%).

Data also showed that the web traffic of online department stores experienced a 52% average increase from the first quarter of 2020. This could be a telltale sign that people in most countries in the region flocked to online stores instead of physical stores due to social distancing.

Nonetheless, some ecommerce sites saw their web traffic take a beating due to the pandemic. For instance, platforms that offer cosmetic products showed an average web traffic decrease of 35% from Q1 to Q4 2020. Meanwhile, fashion and electronics sites also experienced a slight decrease of 14% in traffic in the six aforementioned countries.

While demand for essential goods is the necessity, Covid-19 has broadened the online demand of Southeast Asian consumers for non-essential items such as fashion, electronics, health and beauty, and sports and outdoors equipment that were seen through online spending instead.

Average spending in Southeast Asia increased by 19%

Although fashion and electronics sites saw a slight decrease in web traffic, the average basket size for these categories significantly increased. Sports and outdoor products had similar outcomes as well.

Consumers in Southeast Asia spent an overall average of US$32 per order in 2020, which was 19% higher than 2019’s figure, according to findings by iPrice Group’s platform. Singapore and Malaysia saw the highest average basket size of US$61 and US$41 in 2020, respectively.

These shifts have presented a sign of digital acceleration in online retail despite the pandemic that has affected consumers in Southeast Asia.

What drives Southeast Asians to install and uninstall shopping apps?

As more people begin embracing technology in response to a volatile and uncertain situation, there’s a prime opportunity for mobile shopping apps to continuously engage with Southeast Asian consumers.