Online shopping has grow to be one of the crucial essential and fastest growing areas in Southeast Asia.
But do all countries have the identical characteristics and approach to online shopping?
Let’s see what the information says about them.
Online shopping in Indonesia: food and discounts
Indonesia currently has a population of about 285 million, and Internet usage reached 74.6% in January 2025. With such widespread Internet use, many Indonesians actively practice online shopping. According to DataReportal, 58% of Indonesians buy a product or perhaps a service online.
Moreover, the tendency to make use of the “buy now, pay later” service reaches 37.9%. Indonesians appear to be the most definitely to purchase groceries, with an annual spend of $10.8 billion. Do Indonesians like discounts? The data shows that purchases motivated by coupons and discounts rank in the highest three, although not in the primary place.
This data then reflects Indonesia’s digital transformation in online shopping culture. A straightforward example can be how Indonesians love ordering food online. Moreover, the presence of varied applications providing online food purchasing services enhances online shopping activities.
Online Shopping in Malaysia: The Rise of E-Commerce
In Malaysia, e-commerce contributed RM248.16 billion ($58.74 billion) to gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023. This shows how significant online shopping activity is amongst Malaysians. The leading e-commerce platform is Shopee, followed by Lazada, which achieved 56.81% and 11.58% utilization in 2024, respectively.
According to Statista, essentially the most purchased item amongst Malaysians is electronics, followed by fashion products. It is alleged that Malaysians’ shopping is primarily driven by free delivery, followed by the provision of coupons and discounts.
The above data emphasizes that Malaysians value convenience and products of great quality. With the rise in e-commerce activity in Malaysia, there may be a possibility that folks will turn to e-commerce on social media to seek out recent products through platforms akin to TikTok and Facebook.
Online shopping in Thailand: beauty products and culture
Thailand is among the many top countries within the Asia-Pacific region when it comes to online shopping activity – in 2024, 69.2% of Internet users make weekly online purchases, with South Korea taking second place.
While Indonesia ranks food as essentially the most purchased category and Malaysia focuses on electronics, DataReportal reports that essentially the most purchased products in Thailand are beauty and private care products. This reflects the indisputable fact that in Thailand you’ll be able to easily find many high-quality cosmetics which are often really helpful by tourists.
The indisputable fact that beauty and private care products top the list in Thailand highlights that Thais are very conscious of their style, which explains why many individuals, especially in Bangkok, are famous for looking stylish.
Online shopping data in these Southeast Asian countries reveals their digital activity habits, in addition to what each country values most in on a regular basis life. It offers an interesting insight into the personality of every country and the chance to present yourself to the worldwide community.
