Southeast Asian consumer attitudes and behaviors are changing, creating opportunities for retailers. Today’s consumers are largely driven by convenience and value, which is why convenience stores and e-commerce players have seen significant growth lately.
Seven & I Holdings Co Ltd, operator of the 7-Eleven convenience store chain, stays Southeast Asia’s largest retailer by sales value. The company experienced strong growth as consumers shifted their shopping from large-format supermarkets to small convenience stores. Young city dwellers are starting to value the convenience of “takeaway” and “buy once you need” shopping. Convenience stores enable consumers to fulfill their most pressing needs, especially in cities scuffling with traffic congestion corresponding to Bangkok, Manila, Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur. 7-Eleven quickly adapted to consumer needs, and the chain increased the number of shoppers by developing its services. 7-Eleven now has ATMs, provides bill payment services and offers prepared meals for busy working adults.
Several e-commerce players, including Tokopedia PT, Sea Ltd and Bukalapak.com PT, have jumped up within the Top 50 Retailers in Southeast Asia 2019 rating, along with these players benefiting from the growing digital connectivity within the region and mobile device penetration, e-commerce retailers have adopted several progressive initiatives to extend sales and construct customer engagement.
Indonesian e-commerce platform Tokopedia has introduced an order success service to assist sellers easily reach customers without having to establish their very own warehouses. The sellers, generally known as TokoCabang, can stock their products in high-demand areas. Thanks to this, customers can receive their products cheaper and faster. Sea Ltd’s Shopee has also been very progressive and aggressive in promoting its e-commerce platform. Shopee has been hosting every day deals within the run-up to 9.9 Super Shopping Day, a sales event hosted by Shopee annually on September 9, and has brought back its iconic Shopee Shake game. To play Shopee Shake, customers open the Shopee mobile app and shake their phone at certain times of the day to win discount coupons.
Source: EuroMonitor International “Top 100 Retailers in Asia 2020”
