When the region’s internet penetration rate started to grow in the mid-2000s, many users in Southeast Asia started yearning for their very own “Amazon”, an e-commerce site where they could simply place an order online and have their goods delivered to their doorstep. Fast forward to 2018, and their dreams have come true with Lazada. The popular e-commerce portal currently serves six markets in Southeast Asia with millions of users.

Jack Ma’s shopping spree is starting to weigh on Alibaba’s bottom line just as profit and revenue growth ease. And investors have shaved about $60 billion off its market value to voice their displeasure.Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is projected to post its first decline in profit in a year and a half – the result of folding in major loss-making businesses and heightened spending to fend off a charge by Tencent Holdings Ltd. into retail and payments – traditionally its turf.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd recently announced that they will invest an additional US$2 billion into the Lazada Group. It is believed that this move by Alibaba is to counter Amazon’s plans of expanding its market to this region which has over 600 million potential customers. The American e-commerce giant officially launched a membership programme named Prime in Singapore in December, 2017.

Amazon recently announced that it would partner with the Vietnam E-commerce Association (VECOM) to allow local small and medium-sized enterprises to sell and export their goods using the company’s platform there. The e-commerce giant's foray into Vietnam is its second into Southeast Asia thus far.Presented with stiff competition from Lazada, Tiki and Shopee in Vietnam, Amazon is likely to be still testing the market there.

A key component of the digital revolution that has swept the region is the introduction of cloud computing. Cloud computing is the practice of using a network of remote servers hosted on the internet to store, manage and process data instead of using a local server. Cloud computing has become popular among smaller, growing businesses because usually, using a cloud service is cheaper than installing a local server. The boom of cloud computing in the world is parallel to the demand for data.

One of the biggest online retailers on the planet, Amazon is looking to creep into the burgeoning Southeast Asian e-commerce market. According to a TechCrunch report in November 2016, Amazon have been covertly buying assets and making new hires in the region. The report mentioned that Amazon’s plans in the region are led by Steven Scrive, head of Business Development in ASEAN. Singapore witnessed their first move into the region last year with the launch of Amazon Prime in the country.

It’s no secret that Southeast Asia has become a hotbed for tech startups. Since 2012, there have been a number of tech companies that have become household names and changed the lives of people in Southeast Asia.

Singapore's malls are one click away from irrelevance, though the investment trusts that own them are carrying on as if nothing has changed.The first hint of trouble showed up in January when department store John Little shut down after a 174-year run.

As Amazon.com pushes into Southeast Asia with a new venture into Singapore, the online retailer is facing some tough hurdles. Shopping in air-conditioned malls is practically a national sport, and e-commerce rivals moved in long ago.Delivery delays also marred Amazon’s debut in July, when on-the-ground operations began with Prime Now two-hour deliveries.