A report by Xendit, an Indonesia-based payments infrastructure startup, and Cube, due out on October 15, estimates that Southeast Asia’s ecommerce market reached US$197 billion in 2025 and could approach US$400 billion by 2031.

The report said combined quarterly merchandise value at Shopee, Lazada, and TikTok Shop rose 33% year on year, from US$29 billion to US$39 billion, in Q1 2026.

Among six Southeast Asian markets, Singapore had the highest cross-border share.

Outside Singapore, shoppers most often abandoned carts because their preferred payment option was unavailable.

The report also said 53% of shoppers use generative AI for product search and forecast Southeast Asia’s first agent-completed purchase in 2027.

Card networks are setting standards for agentic commerce, while Visa said it is enabling AI agents to make purchases securely.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations said cross-border QR code linkages are making transactions simpler, while the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office said authorities have made progress on payment connectivity, though work remains.

🔗 Source: Xendit

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