Sector dossier · E-commerce & marketplaces
E-commerce and marketplaces in Asia
Asia's marketplaces no longer compete on assortment alone. Their real contest is for attention, merchant economics and fulfilment density, with livestreaming, retail media and embedded payments changing where profit is captured. Gross merchandise value can rise while the underlying marketplace weakens, so we separate subsidised volume from repeat demand, and seller-funded growth from platform-funded growth. This dossier explains how we assess marketplace quality, monetisation and the path from a high-traffic app to a durable retail infrastructure business.
What we are watching
Content becomes the storefront
Short video, livestreaming and creator commerce are shifting product discovery away from search, forcing marketplaces to buy or build attention.
Take rates rise selectively
Platforms are adding advertising, fulfilment and payment fees while protecting headline commissions for price-sensitive merchants.
Cross-border scrutiny
Low-value import rules, product safety enforcement and local-seller requirements are changing the economics of direct-from-factory commerce.
How the category is structured
- Horizontal marketplaces dominate broad assortment, while category specialists defend trust, curation or service depth.
- China's content-commerce model is spreading across Southeast Asia, but local logistics and payment behaviour determine conversion.
- India remains structurally different because cash-on-delivery, fragmented logistics and regulation shape both acquisition and returns.
- Retail media, payments and fulfilment increasingly provide the profit pool that first-party commissions cannot.