Southeast Asia is home to some of the world’s fastest expanding economies, with a combined economy about the size of the United Kingdom’s (UK’s) or US$2.6 trillion. Armed with a younger, urbanised and more affluent consumer base, the region continues to grow at a phenomenal pace. In 2017, the region’s gross merchandise value (GMV) of first-hand goods surpassed US$10 billion, up from US$5.5 billion in 2015.
Southeast Asians are spending more on Valentine’s Day, with new research confirming that the most romantic day of the year is becoming increasingly commercialised.The 2019 Mastercard Love Index released yesterday reveals that Asia Pacific leads the world when it comes to growth in sentimental spending for Valentine’s Day. Compared to 2016, Asians spent 33 percent more on their loved one in 2018 – with the overall number of transactions up by 37 percent.
For most people in Southeast Asia, when the festive season comes around it is an important time where traditions and family come first. Some look forward to spending time with their families; be it with a reunion dinner the night before Chinese New Year or by visiting other family members at their homes. For many others, it is the big Chinese New Year sales that they look forward to.Sales during festive periods is common in the region.
Lazada’s plans to ramp up expansion in Southeast Asia might spell trouble for the region’s traditional retailers.
2018 was the year e-commerce established itself as one of the region’s fastest growing sectors. Over the past three years, it has been the most dynamic sector of the digital economy accounting for close to US$11 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV) in 2017, exceeding US$23 billion in 2018.
A recent report revealed that the government of Thailand has passed a bill that it hopes will ensure more effective tax collection, especially from e-commerce businesses.
Indonesia is one of the region’s best success stories. Despite having faced economic turmoil in the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis under the authoritarian Suharto regime, Indonesia is today one of the fastest growing economies in the world. The main focus of its economy has been the export of goods such as textiles, automobiles, electrical appliances, and oil and gas.
Mobile is the future, and this is especially the case in ASEAN member states. As a matter of fact, e-commerce logistics management platform, Parcel Perform, recently noted that emerging markets like Myanmar and Thailand are seeing rapid growth in mobile marketing. A case in example is Myanmar which recorded a tremendous increase in mobile penetration from just 10 percent in 2014 to above 80 percent or 46 million mobile users in 2017.
Online shopping in Singapore is lacklustre even after Amazon debuted its Prime service in mid-2017. The island’s malls are trying hard to keep it that way.With some of the nation’s biggest mall operators reporting falling rents and rising vacancies, landlords, just like those elsewhere in Asia and the United States (US), are being forced to reposition.
A recent joint report by Google and Singapore’s Temasek Holdings has revealed that Southeast Asia’s internet economy could be worth more than US$240 billion by 2025 – surpassing previous estimates of US$200 billion. One of the key drivers of this burgeoning internet economy is the e-commerce sector.
Southeast Asia’s internet economy is slated to be worth more than US$240 billion by 2025 according to a joint study by Google and Singapore’s Temasek Holdings covering the six most advanced internet economies in the region – Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines. Previous projections foresaw a US$200 billion internet economy for the region by 2025.
The digital economy stands to change the way we look at taxes. In Malaysia, the previous National Front-led government was mulling the decision to raise revenue by taxing the digital economy.
