Facebook chats power a new US$48bil market in social commerce

Social commerce accounted for about 44% of South-East Asia’s US$109bil (RM448.53bil) e-commerce market last year, according to Bain & Co. — Coffee photo created by jcomp - www.freepik.com

Samantha Proyrungtong, co-owner of an artisan food shop in downtown Bangkok, keeps three phones and a laptop glued to Facebook and Softbank Group-backed Line Corp’s social-media app throughout the workday. She needs them not to hear from friends and relatives but to get orders from customers since her shop, Vivin Grocery, relies on chat applications for a big part of its sales of goat cheeses, locally sourced jams and organic vegetables.

Throughout South-East Asia, consumers’ affection for haggling and interacting with businesses is fueling a boom in social commerce. Unlike the US or China, where most consumers do their Internet shopping with established platforms run by companies like Amazon.com Inc and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, in Thailand almost half of all e-commerce takes place through social media or chat rooms on Facebook, WhatsApp or Line’s app.