Online shops must ride South-east Asia's digital wave

E-COMMERCE is growing at a blistering pace in South-east Asia, as middle-class consumers embrace the digital world. Between 2015 and 2018, the number of online shoppers in the region rose from 90 million to 250 million, or 59 per cent of the population. By 2025, another 60 million people are expected to join their ranks, and average spending is projected to increase to US$392 per person - more than three times what it is today.

As customers come online and buy more, the opportunity for brands has never been greater. Compared with other markets, South-east Asia's online penetration is low: Online sales make up just 3 per cent of the US$587.5 billion retail market. China, with its overall online retail penetration rate of 23 per cent, offers a glimpse of what is possible. How can companies capture this opportunity? It starts with getting to know South-east Asia's fast-growing cadre of online shoppers.

In collaboration with Facebook, Bain & Company surveyed nearly 13,000 consumers in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam about their buying habits.