How shopping on Facebook, Instagram will impact e-commerce in SE Asia

Having a pleasant online experience through social commerce will make people trust digital purchases, reports Tech in Asia

It is no surprise that social commerce is flourishing in Southeast Asia as Facebook and Instagram are among the most popular social networks where internet users spend up to 3.7 hours every day on average.

It is very likely while browsing Instagram or Facebook that you’ve seen sponsored posts from many unknown brands selling clothes, shoes, or something similar. There’s also quite a high chance a coworker bought that nice top she’s wearing from a Facebook “shop.”

But how does social commerce affect e-commerce overall?

Thailand is the world’s biggest social commerce market where 51 per cent of online shoppers have purchased goods directly via social media. Every third online shopper in Malaysia and Indonesia have done social media shopping, while globally around 16 per cent of online buyers have done so.

Page365, a start-up that helps small retailers sell products via social media, estimated that social commerce is worth more than $500 million per year or around one-third of total e-commerce market in Thailand alone.

As the e-commerce market size in Southeast Asia is expected to increase nearly 15 times to $88 billion by 2025, social commerce will likely grow as well thanks to a relatively low online presence of Western brands.

Although it does take away customers from traditional e-commerce websites, the popularity of social commerce allows consumers to adopt online shopping habits, gain more trust in online merchants, and become more comfortable with online transactions.

Having a pleasant online experience through social commerce eventually will encourage customers to trust digital transactions and purchase on marketplaces and other online stores.

This is an excerpt from Tech in Asia. You can read the full article here