SINGAPORE, 18 March 2021: Website traffic for online shopping platforms increased by leaps and bounds in six Southeast Asian nations, according to an e-commerce 2020 yearend report.
iPrice Group, an e-commerce aggregator, collaborated with SimilarWeb and AppsFlyer to discover the impact of Covid-19 in their Map of E-commerce Yearend Report 2020.
Singapore led the trend with a surge of 35% compared to 2019, followed by the Philippines (21%), Vietnam (19%), Malaysia (17%), Thailand (15%), and Indonesia (6%). Average spending increased by 19%, specifically in the six countries
The e-commerce industry in the six Southeast Asian markets will likely reach USD172 billion in value in 2025, according to assessments by Temasek and Bain company.
iPrice data showed that online department stores’ web traffic experienced a 52% average increase from Q1 of 2020. This could be a tell-tale sign that most countries in the region flocked to online department stores instead of physical stores due to social distancing.
Nonetheless, some e-commerce sites’ web traffic has taken a beating due to the pandemic. For instance, platforms that offer travel services, cosmetic products showed an average web traffic decrease of 35% from Q1 to Q4 2020. Fashion and electronics sites also experienced a slight decrease of 14% in traffic in the countries.
Covid-19 broadened the online demand of Southeast Asian consumers for non-essential items such as fashion, electronics, health & beauty, and sports & outdoors that were seen through online spending instead.
Although fashion and electronics sites saw a slight decrease in web traffic, the average basket size for these categories significantly increased. Sports & outdoor products met the same fate as well.
iPrice Group’s platform found that consumers in Southeast Asia spent an overall average of USD32 per order in 2020, which was 19% higher than in 2019. Singapore and Malaysia saw the largest average basket size of USD61 and USD41 respectively in 2020.
These unprecedented shifts have presented a sign of digital acceleration in online retail despite the global pandemic that is affecting consumers in Southeast Asia.
The Covid-19 pandemic will provide further impetus for growth as shopping behaviour will continually shift. It remains imperative for most e-commerce companies to strengthen their relationship with consumers through relevant campaigns, the report concluded.
Link to the official study. Partners: AppsFlyer & SimilarWeb
About iPrice Group
iPrice Group is a meta-search website operating in seven countries across Southeast Asia focused on Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, and Hong Kong.
Currently, iPrice catalogues more than 500 million products and receives close to 20 million monthly visits across the region. iPrice currently operates three business lines: price comparison for electronics and health & beauty; product discovery for fashion and home & living; and coupons across all verticals.
