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Ecommerce in Southeast Asia is booming. Five of the 10 fastest-growing ecommerce markets in the world are to be found in the region, with sales in Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand all accelerating at a more rapid pace than in any Western economy or even in China. The consultant McKinsey reckons Southeast Asia’s ecommerce market could be worth $230 billion by next year, having grown at annual rates of more than 20% since 2022.
Still, doing business in the region remains challenging for large global brands unfamiliar with its nuances – everything from customer preferences to logistics and fulfillment arrangements. In particular, Southeast Asian consumers have embraced social commerce with un parallelled enthusiasm; in Indonesia, for example, research shows 60% of shoppers make purchases via live-streaming platforms.
“Live-stream shopping provides consumers an interactive experience that is different from brands – they feel directly connected to the brand, even though by online,” concluded a recent report from the market research group Ipsos. “Live-streaming shopping services add more value to the relationship between brands and consumers.”
Enter the Philippines-based start-up etaily, which is today announcing it has raised strategic investment from SMBC Asia Rising, a fund run by Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation. The ecommerce technology specialist will use the addition funding to increase its capacity to support brands with social commerce activity – creating content, producing live-streams and working with influencers, for example.
“We’re seeing a shift in shopper behaviours like we’ve never seen before,” says Alexander Friedhoff, the founder and CEO of etaily. “But social commerce is infrastructure heavy – for example, you need a studio to film content and a team of presenters ready to live-stream 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”
Friedhoff believes etaily, launched in 2020, is well placed to help. It already works with a range of international brands – examples include Levi’s, Skechers, Abbott, L’Oreal – facilitating their ecommerce activity in the region. Its platform provides services ranging from helping clients to launch their online presence in the region to distribution once sales have been made; its technology can underpin brands’ own ecommerce platforms and their presence on third-party platforms. And in a marketplace where consumers are increasingly connecting with brands through platforms such as TikTok Shop and Shopee, support with social commerce activity is the latest part of the company’s service offering.
I first interviewed etaily in November 2023. Since then, the company has doubled the number of brands it works with from 40 to 80; it has also launched a number of its own brands, including pet food business Floof Pets and supplements specialist Nutrie. The company’s revenues have doubled over the past 12 months.
Indeed, etaily was renamed the third-fastest growing business in the Asia-Pacific region in research carried out by the Financial Times. Significantly, the second-placed company in the report, Malaysia’s Borong, also makes its money from enabling brands’ ecommerce activities – highlighting the opportunity in this market, as well as the increasing competition.
Hence Friedhoff’s determination to move quickly. “2026 is going to be all about social commerce,” he says. “We will massively invest in our in-house infrastructure: by the end of 2026, we will have 100 live-stream studios, which will always be on – 24 hours, 7 days per week, 365 days a year.”
A new partnership with WPP Media strengthens etaily’s retail and media enablement capabilities in this regard. And the business is also focused on supporting affiliate marketing, a significant trend in the region. Brands work with influencers prepared to recommend their products – but pay them commissions for the sales they drive, rather than an upfront fee for simply plugging them.
Investors share Friedhoff’s optimism about the prospects of further growth for those who embrace Southeast Asian ecommerce opportunities. Today’s fundraising takes the total amount of money raised by the company to more than $24 million since its launch five years ago. The SMBC-led round has also been joined by investors including Kaya Founders, JGDEV of the Gokongwei Group, and a number of Asia-based families.
Katsufumi Uchida, the managing executive officer of SMBC, points to the opportunity “to contribute to the expansion of local commerce ecosystems and to connect financial services with the evolving digital marketplace through strategic partnerships”.
Meanwhile, the region’s growth continues. Consultant Bain & Company points out that the region will gain 140 million new consumers by 2030, with the Philippines leading in digital adoption. The country also records the highest online use rates in Southeast Asia, with Filipinos spending an average of eight hours a day on mobile devices.