ASEAN internet sector is set for sustained elevated growth amid steady digital spending, Maybank Investment Bank said last Friday.

The research house said in a note that it sees highly resilient consumer spending that has improved as compared to last year.

“This favors large platforms and reinforces their positioning as price leaders, supporting our view of sustainable growth in coming quarters despite macro volatility,” it said.

The bank surveyed consumers and e-commerce sellers across ASEAN and scraped e-commerce/on-demand apps to gauge consumer spending direction, the state of competition and platform positioning.

According to the research house, ASEAN e-commerce remains resilient despite price hikes — only 13 percent of consumers have cut spend, and most still view online as cheaper.

This supports further seller take-rate hikes, especially as ASEAN rates remain below global norms.

Maybank also noted that consumers are shifting spend toward necessities, reinforcing the sector’s defensiveness.

It said Shopee continues to dominate preference and affordability, offering prices 20 percent to 25 percent below peers with faster delivery.

It also said two-thirds of sellers are neutral to positive on recent fee hikes and expect to pass future ones to buyers.

“Combined with low buyer sensitivity, this supports more commission upside,” it said.

It also noted that in Indonesia, TikTok Shop/Tokopedia are gaining favor among sellers.

Meanwhile, pricing remains key for ride-hail users (cited by 63 percent) and Grab now leads on affordability in Singapore and Indonesia — reversing its premium position from 1–2 years ago, while maintaining service quality.

According to Maybank, consumers are more tolerant of price hikes — 44 percent plan to cut usage versus 55 percent last year, while 40 percent can absorb higher fares (versus 30 percent last year).

It noted that ride frequency may dip slightly but sentiment is better year on year.

It is noted that Grab dominates regionally (56 percent preference), while Gojek leads in Indonesia (54 percent versus Grab’s 40 percent).

GSM, on the other hand, holds relevance in Vietnam but has yet to expand meaningfully beyond.

Maybank also highlighted that rising online food delivery (OFD) prices remain a concern, but pressure is easing — 75 percent of respondents saw price hikes versus 90 percent last year.

Price sensitivity is also improving, with 61 percent looking to reduce order frequency, down from 75 percent last year.

Usage may dip slightly, especially among high frequency users, but trends are stable year on year.

“Grab remains the top OFD platform across ASEAN (51 percent preference), while GoFood leads in Indonesia (57 percent) and ShopeeFood dominates in Vietnam (55 percent), marking a divergence from reported market share,” said the research house.

Maybank sees limited risk for Sea from MELI’s competitive ante