Southeast Asia Ecommerce achieved $99.5 billion gross merchandises value (GMV) in 2022, 1.8 times that of 2020 – the first year of the pandemic, a report showed Thursday.

Momentum Works said in a statement on Thursday that despite strong headwinds in Southeast Asia’s ecommerce sector in 2022, growth and competition continued.

According to the statement, Shopee registered $47.9 billion GMV, almost half of the region’s GMV.

Meanwhile, Lazada remains the second largest player in all countries except Indonesia. Its GMV of $20.1 billion remained at the level of 2021.

TikTok Shop has also become a meaningful player, clocking $4.4 billion GMV, with $2.5 billion GMV in Indonesia.

Indonesia contributed 52 percent of the region’s total GMV, while Singapore and Malaysia ranked top in GMV per capita.

Momentum Works also sees four key trends in ecommerce: 1) geopolitics and shifts of supply chain, 2) increased investment in logistics and payment infrastructure, 3) disruption of TikTok, and 4) brand’s evolving involvement in ecommerce.

It projected that Southeast Asia’s ecommerce total GMV to reach $175 billion in 2028 under the normal scenario, with the potential of upside to US$232 billion under the best case scenario.

“Ecommerce in Southeast Asia will likely follow a normal and healthy trajectory over the next few years,” said Jianggan Li, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Momentum Works.

In his opinion, Shopee and Lazada will always be there, splitting market share with one or two other global players.

He opines that single-country focused players, for survival, will move more into an omnichannel play; while in third party (3PL) logistics, only 2-3 large, diversified regional players will survive.

He also said brands will continue to work with a myriad of enablers/distributors, with more emphasis on building their own loyalty.

“Ultimately, the end game might not be a steady state, but a result of continuously shifting currents and how leading platforms are able (or unable) to ride such currents,” he added.

Momentum Works is a Singapore-headquartered venture outfit, which builds, scales and manages tech ventures across the emerging world.

The firm also leverages its own knowledge, community and experience to inform, connect and enable the tech/new economy ecosystem.

Its key business areas include ventures, insights, academy and advisory.

Its “Ecommerce in Southeast Asia” report, offering in-depth insights into the region’s six core ecommerce markets.

SEA food delivery platforms total GMV grows 5% y-o-y to $16.3B in 2022