SEA e-commerce online conversations reached 1 million in 2021

Meltwater said brands should utilise the region's top online shopping trends.

A media intelligence firm, Meltwater, released its new guidebook, Unlocking E-Commerce Success in Southeast Asia, on 8 November.

The guidebook showed it studied over one million online conversations on social media, which showed half of the conversations focused on mega-sales events like Singles' Day and 9.9. It also revealed the emerging trends of K-pop partnerships by leading e-commerce platforms and immersive shopping experiences such as live streaming.

Senior Director and Partner Mimrah Mahmood said, "Online shopping has become a natural way of life for Southeast Asian consumers now, but fatigue from the pandemic is causing them to seek out more engagement and novelty in their purchase journey. It presents both an opportunity and a challenge for retailers. The key to success is to stay ahead of these trends to continue engaging and attracting shoppers."

Shopee's data corroborated these findings, reporting a 2.5 times increase in annual live stream viewership on its platform, as well as a 60% year-on-year uplift in the number of active sellers on the platform since the start of the pandemic.