Gratification is just one swipe away

Welcome to Tech in Asia’s daily newsletter, your essential dose of Asia’s tech and startup buzz. Not on the mailing list? Register here. Got a story tip? Send it to editors@techinasia.com.

In focus

For your weekend reading, we have:

• Melissa Goh on TikTok’s newest recipe driving offline transactions
• A Google-backed genAI styling tool giving your shopping habits a makeover
• Singapore’s upgraded MERaLiON – the LLM, not the national symbol

---

Hello reader,

Ecommerce firms are pulling out all the stops to get consumers in Southeast Asia to spend at a time when various economic indicators are sounding alarm.

Or perhaps that’s precisely why they’re pushing hard.

If people are tightening their purses around me, I can’t really tell. Restaurants remain bustling, a recent launch of a local clothing store’s collection sold out within minutes, and a close friend just made a downpayment for a house.

This week, we delve into TikTok Go – an affiliate program that’s so new, there’s no official information on it. Creators in Indonesia, for instance, are only learning about this initiative through word of mouth.

It’s the typical influencer or “affiliate” playbook: Creators recommend items on their channels and tag the stores.Users can avail of discounts when they make a purchase. Shoppers pay for less, the platforms get more transactions, and creators earn commissions – everyone’s happy.

Lazada also pledged US$100 million this week to boost its affiliate program. That’s a clear sign that the next wave of online spending will come through creators who organically share and recommend products – or at least as organic as social media can get.

In India, Glance AI – a commerce platform owned by local unicorn InMobi – is taking a different approach to lure consumers: Its genAI styling tool will recommend outfit ideas based on your uploaded selfie, offering options from the hundreds of brands on the platform. You’ll then be routed to product pages directly so you can make your purchases.

It’s too early to know whether the tool could change the way people shop.

But large language models (LLMs) are already changing the way people do online searches, sending brands scrambling to adjust and adapt. Meanwhile, a new ecosystem of services has sprouted around “generative engine optimization.”(If you’re curious about what this is all about, check out the good read we’ve linked below.)

---

Editor’s picks

---

Short cuts

---

Weekend deep dive

---

One data story you shouldn’t miss

---

Tickets are selling fast – secure your access before they’re gone