ecommerce

Southeast Asia eCommerce in 2026 Is Broken, Here’s How to Fix It for SMEs

In 2026, the ROI math that sustained the early Southeast Asian ecommerce boom has fundamentally broken. For those who entered the market during the pre-COVID era of 2018 or 2019, the current landscape of Shopee, Lazada, and the TikTok-Tokopedia entity feels like a different industry entirely.

Back then, “growth at any cost” was fueled by venture-backed subsidies and a land-grab mentality. Today, the digital economy has reached a stage of aggressive maturation where profitability is the only metric that matters, yet it is harder to achieve than ever before.

For small business owners and corporate marketing professionals, the transition signaled by the latest industry reports from Google, Temasek, and Bain is no longer a forecast. It is a daily operational struggle. The primary challenge in 2026 is that the “cost of business” has scaled faster than consumer spending power.

If you are operating with the same mental models used five years ago, your margins are being erased by a combination of platform fee hikes and the disappearance of shipping subsidies.

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By David Tong, ago

Entering the China eCommerce Market – A Guide for the Uninitiated

You’ve been assigned the exciting task of expanding into China’s massive eCommerce market, congratulations! Soon after, you realize China presents unique challenges and opportunities compared to Western markets dominated by Amazon. The distinct characteristics of China’s eCommerce landscape and unique consumer demands require strategies to navigate this dynamic market successfully. Read more

By David Tong, ago

Opinion: AI’s Influence on eCommerce Search Results and How CPG Brands Content Strategy Needs to Adapt

As AI technology continues to evolve, it brings about three significant changes that will reshape search results on eCommerce marketplaces and, consequently, force CPG brands to rethink future digital shelf content strategies. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has undeniably revolutionized the way we interact with technology, and its impact on eCommerce search Read more

By David Tong, ago

The Need for NOW. How Modern Online Shopping Demands Affect Delivery Workers

Shopping Used to Be an Event

As consumers, we’re always conditioned to consume through a number of signals from companies. After all, without consumerism, much of our economy won’t exist and most of us probably won’t have a job.

Back in the olden days, consumerism tends to focus on thematic periods that justify spending.

This could be the classic holiday season, birthdays, graduation, weddings, and similar peaks spread throughout the entire year. This event-based relationship with shopping tends to make us think more carefully about what we buy, especially during cash/cheque-dependent days.

However, today’s shopping malls and commercial areas blanket every corner in most metropolises, and the prevalence of credit-based shopping made impulse purchases easier than ever. Efficiencies in production and globalization also contributed to most non-essential goods being more accessible to purchase than ever.

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By David Tong, ago