Singapore, 28 February 2018 – The online retail market in Southeast Asia region achieved positive growth from quarter to quarter. The Business to Consumer (B2C) E-Commerce market in Southeast Asia surpassed US$6 billion in Q4 2017, registering a quarter-on-quarter growth of 28.5%, as reported in the F&S E-Commerce Q4 2017 update released in February 2018.
In its latest analysis, Indonesia remains the single largest B2C e-commerce market in the region and its Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) grew by over 25% during that quarter.
“Although a large number of customers still use websites to do research on products and make their purchases, there is an increasing trend of customers increasingly preferring to use mobile applications,” stated Mr. Naveen Mishra, E-Commerce Program Director, Frost & Sullivan Asia-Pacific.
“Mobile applications also offer an opportunity for market players to connect with customers as well as a personalised shopping experience,” Mishra further added.
According to Frost & Sullivan’s Quarterly E-Commerce Market Program, Q4 2017 update released in February 2018, Indonesia contributed to over one third of the SEA E-Commerce market (in terms of GMV), whereas other markets in the region with the exception of Thailand contributed double digits numbers. Thailand’s B2C e-commerce market size is less than half of Indonesia.
During Q4 2017, retailers introduced a number of popular marketing campaigns to attract consumers to spend more during the year-end festive season. These include Singles Day, Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales as well as the traditional Christmas and year end flash sales. These activities drove sales and resulted in higher traffic on their websites and/ or mobile applications.
According to Mr. Avinash Sachdeva, Principal Analyst, ICT Research at Frost & Sullivan Asia-Pacific, retailers should also not underestimate the potential of the emerging economies on the E-Commerce sector.
“Emerging economies in the region are unlocking digital opportunities for market players as they enhance mobile platforms to improve customer experience,” explained Sachdeva.
Notes:
In the context of this research Frost & Sullivan defines “E-Commerce” as the sale of goods via an online medium which have been traditionally purchased via physical retail medium. The research excludes electronic sales of:
- Travel and holiday packages
- Tickets sale related to travel (air, rail and road) and events (sports, music concerts, etc.)
- Revenue generated by online gambling sites
- App store purchases, online gaming services and in-app purchases on such platforms
- Ride hailing services and delivery of foods, magazines, household goods, and DVD rentals
The research study primarily focuses on Business to Consumer (B2C) market, however the coverage includes individual sellers transacting on the e-commerce marketplaces such as Shopee, Lazada, Bukalapak and others. It excludes Person to Person (P2P) platforms (Mudah, OLX etc.) which primarily lists products and where the transaction does not conclude on the platform. Any revenue reported outside of the definition mentioned here is not part of the Frost & Sullivan’s numbers reported here.
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