Mega shopping festivals like Singles’ Day continue to grow in pandemic era

For example, e-commerce platform Shopee reported a 60% year-on-year uplift in the number of active sellers on the platform since the start of the pandemic, according to Meltwater’s ‘Unlocking E-Commerce Success in Southeast Asia’ guidebook, which studied online conversations across the region to identify emerging trends and opportunities in the e-commerce landscape in the lead up to the upcoming holiday shopping season.

“Online shopping has become a natural way of life for South East Asian consumers now, but fatigue from the pandemic is causing them to seek out more engagement and novelty in their purchase journey,” said Mimrah Mahmood, senior director and partner for Asia Pacific at Meltwater.

“This presents both an opportunity and a challenge for retailers — and the key to success is to stay ahead of these trends to continue engaging and attracting shoppers.”

What are the guidebook’s findings?

• Mega-sales events like Singles’ Day and 9.9 are as popular as ever among South East Asia’s value-seeking consumers, with more than half a million online conversations surrounding the topic.

• One trending theme that emerged was the merging of entertainment with shopping experience, with nearly one in every five conversations revolving around K-pop partnerships by leading e-commerce platforms.

• Beyond discounts and entertainment, pandemic-riddled consumers are also drawn to immersive shopping experiences, as conversations around live streaming jumped more than twice (213%) this year.

• Shopee’s data corroborated this finding, reporting a 2.5 times increase in annual live stream viewership on its platform.