Scroll, Spin, Spend: How China is Influencing Southeast Asia’s E-commerce
Chinese platforms are exporting more than cheap goods; they’re reshaping digital behavior, seller strategy, and platform design across Southeast Asia.
When it comes to e-commerce trends, China often sets the pace, and the rest of the world follows. These days, online shopping isn’t just about searching for what you need—it finds you. Whether through livestreams or algorithm-driven video feeds, e-commerce in Southeast Asia is being reshaped by platforms that treat shopping more like entertainment or even a game.
The China Playbook
At the heart of this shift are two Chinese giants: TikTok Shop and Temu.
In China, the line between entertainment and instant purchasing has long been blurred. Taobao Live, launched by Alibaba in 2016, was a game changer. It lets users watch livestreams and shop at the same time, kicking off what’s now known as live commerce.
But it wasn’t until the pandemic that things really took off. In 2020, the China livestream shopping market surged 196% to hit US$180 billion, then grew another 136% in 2021 to reach US$425 billion, according to ECDB. By 2023, it was estimated at US$695 billion and is on track to top US$1 trillion by 2026.
TikTok Shop leans into China’s content-commerce model, turning every scroll into a potential purchase through creator-driven feeds, viral product moments, and algorithmic targeting.
Temu plays a different game. Built on Pinduoduo’s aggressive growth engine, it turns shopping into a reward loop: spin-to-win games, referral bonuses, and race-the-clock deals. It’s less about finding what you need and more about triggering impulse buys with a sense of urgency.
Influence on Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia’s major platforms—Shopee, Tokopedia, and Lazada—started experimenting with live shopping as early as 2019. But it was TikTok Shop’s arrival in Indonesia in 2021 that pushed live commerce into the mainstream. Shopee has since doubled down, adding a short video feed that looks a lot like TikTok’s, all in an effort to keep users inside the app and ready to buy.
Temu, the cross-border shopping app from China’s Pinduoduo, has also been making waves globally, especially in the US, where it is seen as a serious threat to Amazon. Its appeal goes beyond rock-bottom prices. Temu uses gamified tactics like spin-the-wheel rewards, referral bonuses, and flash deals to keep users engaged and spending.
Southeast Asian platforms have also embraced these features, signaling that entertainment and e-commerce are now intertwined. This isn’t just a UX upgrade; it’s a new playbook. As Chinese platforms gain ground, Southeast Asia’s homegrown players must adapt or risk falling behind.
Changing Behavior
Back in the early 2010s, getting into online selling was pretty straightforward. Take decent product photos, upload them to a marketplace, maybe play around with some ads, and you're in business.
But today, it’s a whole different game. Sellers now need to create engaging video content, host livestream sessions, and perhaps even team up with content creators or affiliates to push their products in front of potential buyers.
Sure, every marketplace still has a search bar to help buyers find what they want. But these days, that’s not enough. Simply uploading a listing and waiting doesn’t cut it anymore. You need to capture people’s attention, or risk losing them to sellers who are louder, faster, and everywhere.
Platform-based e-commerce in Southeast Asia hit US$128.4 billion in gross market value (GMV) in 2024, up 12% from the year before, according to MomentumWorks. Live commerce alone drove US$17.6 billion in sales, or 14% of total GMV. Add video commerce to the mix, and content-led formats now make up 20% of regional e-commerce, signaling a major shift in how people shop.
Shopee, Lazada, and TikTok Shop handled over 90% of all parcel volumes. Shopee held onto its lead with 52% market share, but TikTok Shop, which operates in Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore, is catching up fast, especially after completing its integration with Indonesia’s Tokopedia.
From Search To Scroll
One of the biggest shifts quietly unfolding in Southeast Asia is the move from search-based shopping to algorithm-driven discovery, mirroring what’s already dominant in China through platforms like Douyin and Taobao. Instead of users typing in what they need, products now surface through endless feeds, personalized by behavior, trends, and watch time.
Shopee and Lazada are adapting quickly. As mentioned, Shopee has launched a TikTok-like short video feature and it is investing in real-time product recommendations. Lazada is pushing algorithmic suggestions across its homepage and livestream tabs. This shift favors impulse purchases and content-first marketing, forcing sellers to think like creators rather than just merchants.
Same Game, Different Terrain
Yet for all the excitement, there’s a catch: Southeast Asia isn’t China, and parts of the playbook don’t translate well. The region lacks the unified infrastructure that powers China’s e-commerce giants. Logistics are fragmented, digital payments are uneven, and consumer trust is still catching up.
Then there are the growing pains. Shoppers burn out from endless flash sales. Algorithms confuse more than they help. Sellers chase virality over quality. And platforms struggle to moderate fake reviews or misleading content.
Regulation is also becoming a flashpoint. Cheap, cross-border Chinese goods are flooding local marketplaces, prompting backlash from governments and local sellers alike. In Indonesia, TikTok was pushed to acquire Tokopedia after a ban on social commerce. Temu, meanwhile, remains blocked entirely.
Temu’s direct-to-consumer model—where sellers ship goods to its China-based warehouses and the platform handles the rest—offers low prices but threatens local businesses. Smaller firms are under pressure to cut margins just to compete.
To adapt, Temu has rolled out a "half-consignment" model in markets like the US, UK, Japan, and South Korea, giving sellers more flexibility. It’s unclear if this approach will be used in Southeast Asia, but one thing is certain: Chinese e-commerce platforms are resilient, aggressive, and rarely back down from a challenge.
Empowering the Micro-Merchant
Inspired by China’s Pinduoduo and Weidian, platforms are also rolling out tools that lower the barrier for small sellers. TikTok Shop, for example, lets micro-merchants pair up with content creators through its affiliate marketplace. No need for a warehouse or ad budget; just a product and a creator with reach.
Shopee and Lazada are following suit with their own affiliate programs and bundled seller tools. The power is slowly shifting from big brands to smaller sellers who understand how to navigate the content-commerce loop.
Chinese platforms are learning that Southeast Asia isn’t a monolith. In Vietnam and Thailand, TikTok Shop’s creator-first model is gaining fast traction thanks to high mobile usage and relaxed regulations. These are fertile grounds for content-led shopping.
Indonesia, however, is a tougher market. With tighter regulation, TikTok had to acquire Tokopedia just to stay in business due to a ban on social commerce. In the Philippines and Malaysia, Temu’s deep discounts and gamified experience are driving early adoption, but logistics and trust still favor local players.
The New Rules Of Retail
The influence of Chinese e-commerce in Southeast Asia goes beyond viral features or aggressive pricing—it’s reshaping how people shop. Discovery now trumps search. Impulse is the new intent. Entertainment is baked into every transaction.
For local platforms and sellers, this isn’t a trend to sit out. The future of e-commerce in Southeast Asia will be defined by how effectively the different players integrate these dynamic, content-driven, and often gamified approaches into their business.
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