[HO CHI MINH CITY] The rapid growth that South-east Asia’s e-commerce players enjoyed during the Covid-19 pandemic years has cooled considerably, and more brands are relooking their omnichannel strategies in the battle for consumers and their wallets.

The region’s e-commerce sales was estimated to be US$89.7 billion in 2022 – a 20.6 per cent increase from the previous year, the highest in the world – according to estimates from US-based market research company eMarketer.

But while online retail in South-east Asia is still thriving today, the days of such double-digit expansion seem to be over, with data from eMarketer projecting that the annual growth will fall below 10 per cent by 2026.