While large traditional retailers announce big lay-offs because of the pandemic, sometimes shedding thousands of staff, coronavirus lockdowns have in contrast given e-commerce a major boost.Recent data shows a shift to shopping online - according to Kantar consulting group, international e-commerce grew 41 percent in only three months compared with 22 percent growth for 2020 as a whole to date, as the pandemic "transformed" retail habits.The trend was brought into sharp relief on 18

Global demand for personal luxury goods has been steadily increasing for decades, resulting in an industry worth US$308 billion in 2019. However, the coronavirus crisis has hurt major industries and even negatively affected livelihoods and the economy in general. Fast-fashion brands have even closed down their retail stores, one by one.

The COVID-19 pandemic which is expected to be prolonged and drawn out at least until a vaccine is readily available, has rekindled the call for ASEAN, a market of nearly 700 million people and growing middle class, to further forge and foster regional integration. At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic has also been a catalyst and impetus in exposing the critical need for business and commerce to further digitalise and explore usage of new technologies. The one geo-economic

E-commerce is big business in Southeast Asia. Digital consumers in ASEAN will be spending three times as much in 2025 according to a 2019 study from Facebook and Bain & Company. The report found that while consumers in Southeast Asia spent US$125 on average on online purchases in 2018, that sum is expected to more than triple to US$390 in 2025.Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been implemented in many major industries since the term was first coined in the 1950s.

The logistics and delivery services sector in ASEAN is booming as an indirect result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The lucrative sector has now attracted players from China like Best Inc. The integrated smart supply chain and logistics solutions provider based in Hangzhou, China, has announced that it has started express delivery services in Malaysia, Cambodia and Singapore following its entry into the Thai and Vietnamese markets last year.

It is no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of a digital culture worldwide. Governments have imposed lockdowns and movement controls as preventive measures against the deadly outbreak. Urged to stay home and practice social distancing – people are now working from home, buying groceries online and using digital wallets. It seems like almost everyone has become a digital native. ASEAN member states are no exception.

ASEAN citizens are not unfamiliar with digital payments.In a survey by Visa, around 64 percent of consumers in Southeast Asia are confident of going cashless for a full day, highlighting the region’s strong drive towards digital payments.

Based on a 2019 study by Facebook and Bain & Company, a global management consulting firm, digital consumers in ASEAN will be spending three times as much in 2025.The joint study found that while consumers in Southeast Asia spent US$125 on average on online purchases in 2018, that sum is expected to more than triple to US$390 in 2025.Highlighting increasing choices, better internet access and rising affluence as factors that will continue to drive more spending online, the report also