Chinese e-commerce giants dominate Southeast Asia’s online shopping

Chinese online shopping platforms have taken control of roughly half the internet retail business in multiple Southeast Asian nations, marking a major shift in the region’s digital commerce landscape, according to new findings from consulting firm Bain and Company released Thursday.

The report shows that in Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, Chinese-owned platforms including Alibaba, TikTok Shop from ByteDance, Shein and Temu from PDD now make up about 50% of local online retail activity based on 2024 data. These companies have also established positions in growing internet shopping markets stretching from the United States to Brazil.

The research arrives as Chinese businesses speed up worldwide growth efforts while facing slower economic expansion at home and increasing trade friction between Washington and Beijing.

“Far from being killed by tariffs, the internationalization of Chinese retail is entering a new phase,” the report stated. The authors noted these Chinese merchants have typically done better “in markets with lower online purchasing power.”

Singles Day goes global

Bain highlighted that Alibaba’s Taobao platform is bringing its Singles Day shopping event to 20 regions this year, turning what was once purely a China-focused promotion into a global shopping occasion that now competes with Amazon.com’s Black Friday sales worldwide. While the extent of past international Singles Day promotions remains unclear, the recent expansion is significant. Last year, Taobao in Malaysia said it would promote the shopping event in English for the first time alongside Chinese.

Alibaba’s overseas operations, known as its “International Digital Commerce Group,” posted revenue of 34.74 billion yuan ($4.85 billion) for the three months through June 30, showing 19% growth compared to the same period a year earlier.

This figure slightly exceeded what the company’s cloud computing division earned but remained well below the 140.07 billion yuan in sales from Alibaba’s China e-commerce operations, which grew at a slower 10% rate. Like Amazon.com, Alibaba allows merchants to set up accounts on its platforms for direct consumer sales.

Lending data shows rapid expansion

Lending data reveals how quickly Chinese sellers are growing their overseas online sales. Fintech company FundPark has arranged $3 billion in loans to small Chinese businesses for international e-commerce in just over a year. The company previously needed six years to reach the same $3 billion lending mark, according to Anson Suen, co-founder and CEO, who spoke with CNBC.

FundPark, backed by $750 million from Goldman Sachs and HSBC, uses technology-based data assessment to determine borrowing amounts for small merchants. The startup announced Tuesday it secured $71 million to support a new artificial intelligence tool for “dynamic funding” designed to help merchants deal with tariff uncertainties.

The Chinese e-commerce firms’ achievements stem partly from experience gained in their home market, which includes live streaming sales, quick product changes and fast delivery systems, Bain analysts said.

Amazon actually closed its China marketplace in 2019 due to rising pressure from local competitors. China’s massive market has offered valuable preparation.

Last year, China’s e-commerce market reached $2.32 billion in gross merchandise value sold, more than double the U.S. market’s $1.05 billion in GMV, Bain reported. GMV tracks total sales on an e-commerce platform during a specific timeframe.

Within Southeast Asia, Indonesia led with $62 billion in e-commerce GMV last year. Thailand and Vietnam each recorded $30 billion in GMV. The Philippines saw $20 billion in 2024 GMV, while Singapore’s total was much smaller at just $8.55 billion.

However, growth for Chinese players faces obstacles in certain markets.

Bain noted that in Singapore, Alibaba’s Lazada platform has lost ground to local competitor Shopee, while Amazon and Walmart continue to control the U.S. market.

American giants still lead globally

Although PDD, Alibaba and ByteDance split most of the Chinese market among themselves, the U.S. presents a completely different picture, with Bain data indicating non-Chinese e-commerce platforms held nearly 95% of the market.

American e-commerce giants also maintain substantial international operations. Amazon reported North American net sales of $100.1 billion for the quarter ending June 30, with international sales at $36.76 billion, meaning the U.S. company still generates more net sales than Alibaba domestically and internationally combined. Amazon was scheduled to report earnings Thursday local time.

Walmart posted $23.7 billion in U.S. online sales for the quarter through July 31, plus $8.3 billion from overseas operations, up 22% year-over-year.

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