Another quarter has passed in the e-commerce war in Southeast Asia (SEA), which seems to be heating up day by day. New e-commerce stores are continuously emerging, equipped with impressive strategies, having closely observed their more established counterparts for a long time. It can be said that if you're not truly exceptional and can't capture customers' attention, be prepared for the newcomers to take your place. As usual, every quarter, iPrice, a price comparison shopping platform, updates its Map of E-commerce, showcasing the ups and downs of various e-commerce stores in the region, while also delving deep into the e-commerce war in Thailand. This quarter, iPrice has also partnered with AppAnnie, a market research company for smartphone applications, to reveal the top 10 shopping apps with the highest monthly active users in six countries: Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore, and Thailand. This new data subtly indicates which stores are truly dominating the smartphone user market in each country, along with many other important highlights.

Do Lazada and Shopee Really Dominate the Most Visited Stores in SEA?

           When discussing popular e-commerce stores, only a few names come to mind, primarily Lazada and Shopee. However, these two stores are not universally popular across the region, as some countries still have local champions. For instance, in Indonesia, Tokopedia ranks as the most visited platform, followed by Bukalapak, with Shopee and Lazada trailing behind. In Vietnam, Shopee holds the top spot, followed by local store Tiki, with Lazada in third place (a position it has held since Q3 2018, having previously been first). Finally, in Singapore, Qoo10 firmly holds the number one position, with Lazada and Shopee following.

Who Truly Holds the Throne in the App Market?




           In today's era, measuring the popularity of businesses by website traffic is not enough; app usage rankings have also become crucial. The popularity of apps comes from two sources: the App Store and Play Store. This quarter, Shopee has dominated, holding the top five positions in the App Store across six countries (including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam), while Lazada only secured the top position in the Singapore market. In the Play Store, Shopee also holds the top four positions in six countries (including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam), while Lazada takes the second position in two countries (Thailand and Singapore).

           Overall, while Lazada and Shopee frequently alternate between the first and second ranks, in the Indonesian market, Tokopedia and Bukalapak, local stores, are vying for their positions. In Vietnam, Tiki, another local store, seems unwilling to let anyone take its second position and is ready to claim the throne at any moment (App Store). It’s clear that anyone who slips up might easily lose their ranking.

Top 10 Shopping Apps with the Highest Monthly Active Users in SEA


           Now, let’s highlight the collaboration between iPrice and AppAnnie this quarter, revealing the rankings of shopping apps with the highest monthly active users in SEA from both the Play Store and App Store. From the top 10 hot apps in each country, it’s evident that when measuring the number of app users each month, Lazada outpaces Shopee by a ratio of 4:1 in six countries, with only Indonesia seeing Tokopedia take the top spot, pushing Shopee down to second, followed by Bukalapak and Lazada in fourth.

           The competition in the Singapore market is also intriguing, as Lazada has pushed Qoo10, which previously held the most visited store position, down to second, followed by Shopee in third and Chinese store Taobao in fourth.

           In Thailand, the data appears more noteworthy than in other countries. Although the rankings for the top three seem ordinary, the fourth position surprisingly belongs to JD Central, an e-commerce store that has been in the game for less than a year. Meanwhile, the tenth position is held by Joom, an e-commerce store that few Thais are likely familiar with, yet it has managed to secure a spot in the top 10, notable for its free shipping and guaranteed delivery, allowing refunds for damaged goods. This makes it a player that cannot be underestimated in the Thai e-commerce market, and local stores and veterans must be cautious about losing their rankings.

Study Methodology

  • Ranking of average monthly product visitors (Source: SimilarWeb)
  • Ranking of shopping apps by average usage (Source: App Annie)
  • Store list: We compiled stores with at least 100,000 monthly visitors or 100,000 social media followers. These stores do not include ticket sales, finance, funds, coupons, food delivery services, insurance, delivery services, meta search websites, classifieds, and advertisements.

Written and analyzed by Kanitha Sasa-kul iPrice