SEA e‑commerce GMV hits $157.6B

South-east Asia’s online shopping platforms sold US$157.6 billion worth of goods in 2025, up 22.8 per cent from a year earlier. (businesstimes.com.sg) Momentum Works said the region’s platform gross merchandise value rose from US$128.4 billion in 2024 to US$157.6 billion in 2025, the fastest pace in four years. The consultancy released the figures on April 14, 2026, in its fourth annual South-east Asia e-commerce report. (businesstimes.com.sg) (momentum.asia) The market is now concentrated in three companies. Shopee, TikTok Shop including Tokopedia, and Lazada controlled about 98.8 per cent of regional e-commerce gross merchandise value in 2025, according to Momentum Works. (momentum.asia) (businesstimes.com.sg) Shopee remained the largest player with US$83.2 billion in gross merchandise value and a 53 per cent regional share. TikTok Shop reached US$45.6 billion, and its combined scale with Tokopedia equaled 65.7 per cent of Shopee’s 2025 gross merchandise value. (businesstimes.com.sg) (momentum.asia) The growth was uneven across the six biggest markets. Thailand expanded 51.8 per cent to US$35.5 billion and Malaysia grew 47.6 per cent to US$17 billion, while Indonesia rose just 2.2 per cent to US$57.7 billion. (businesstimes.com.sg) (momentum.asia) Indonesia still accounted for 37 per cent of the region’s gross merchandise value, making it the largest single market. Momentum Works said its slower growth reflected Bukalapak’s exit from physical goods and Tokopedia’s post-acquisition rationalisation under TikTok Shop. (momentum.asia) (businesstimes.com.sg) A bigger share of sales is now coming from videos, livestreams, and affiliate links inside shopping apps. Momentum Works said content commerce generated US$49.7 billion in 2025, equal to 32 per cent of total platform gross merchandise value, up from 20 per cent in 2024. (momentum.asia) (businesstimes.com.sg) That shift follows a year earlier when the region’s platform market grew 12 per cent to US$128.4 billion and the top three platforms held 84 per cent share. In 2025, the same trio tightened their grip as smaller national platforms lost room to compete. (momentum.asia 1) (momentum.asia 2) The backdrop is a wider digital economy that Google, Temasek, and Bain said has matured from rapid expansion into a more selective phase focused on profits and artificial intelligence. In e-commerce, that has meant fewer serious contenders, heavier spending on logistics and live selling, and more growth flowing to the biggest platforms. (temasek.com.sg) (businesstimes.com.sg) Li Jianggan, founder of Momentum Works, said new challengers are now more likely to come from well-funded giants with large consumer ecosystems than from small start-ups. In South-east Asia e-commerce, 2025 looked less like a land grab and more like a race among three incumbents. (businesstimes.com.sg)