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Hi there,
Today is 9.9 – another monthly mega sale event.
As a shopper, you’re probably bombarded with online ads from literally everywhere – not just Facebook and Google but also ecommerce platforms.
Shopee, for one, is finding that advertising could become its huge moneymaker. But why do brands want to advertise directly on ecommerce sites?
These platforms possess large amounts of data about you, the brands you prefer, and your buying patterns. Generally, shoppers who open an ecommerce app also have a higher intention to buy than those who are still searching on Google for different options.
Both Amazon and Alibaba have been growing their share of ad revenue in recent years, challenging the Google-Facebook duopoly.
In the case of Shopee, Sea Group says its ads business is still at a “very early stage.” But our analysis shows that if Shopee can just capture 8% of the digital ad spend in Southeast Asia, this would translate to about US$400 million in advertising revenue. And that doesn’t even count Shopee’s potential markets like India and Poland, where it’s reportedly expanding to.
But advertising can be a double-edged sword – too much of it will turn off consumers.
This week’s big story, written by our industry analyst Simon Huang, examines whether Sea Group has what it takes to build an advertising powerhouse.
— Huong
THE BIG STORY
Sea: The next advertising powerhouse?

Image credit: Timmy Loen
Shopee’s ads business is poised to drive Sea Group’s revenues even higher, but Garena has a role to play as well.
DEEP READ
TRENDING NEWS
STARTUP WATCH
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