Ecommerce / news
Savvy shoppers account for $11.5b in Southeast Asian e-commerce spending, study finds
About one in four online shoppers in Southeast Asia spends 31% more each month than the typical buyer, a gap valued at $11.5b in annual marketplace spending, according to a Lazada-commissioned study.
The 2026 eCommerce Savvy Shopper Report: Southeast Asia puts that spending differential at about 7% of total annual marketplace spending across the region in 2026.
The research, commissioned by Lazada and carried out by Cube, surveyed 6,000 consumers across six markets: Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia. It was designed to track how buying behaviour is shifting as e-commerce in the region matures.
Shoppers were classed as "savvy" if they scored above the regional median on four measures. The first, product and seller verification, covers how consumers assess items, reviews, sellers and authenticity signals.
Value optimisation looks at how effectively shoppers compare offers, promotions and overall value. The third measure, confidence and protection, examines their grasp of safeguards, returns and seller credibility.
Digital fluency, the fourth category, tracks use of platforms and digital information alongside social commerce and emerging tools such as AI.
One in four respondents fell into the savvy group, and their monthly outlay ran 31% above that of general shoppers.