With Chinese New Year (CNY) just around the corner, competition among retailers will be intense. South-east Asia’s e-commerce market is projected to triple at a compound growth rate of 22% from 2022 to 2026.
As we prepare for the Lunar New Year celebrations, we anticipate a surge in online sales throughout South-east Asia (SEA). Criteo’s CNY 2023 report showed robust increases in 2023, with 3 weeks prior to CNY compared to 2022 up 13%. Additionally, the highest spike was observed on 5 January 2023, peaking at 26% with an average during 18-31 December 2022 as a baseline.
This year, New Year traditions and the growing e-commerce industry drive demand for fresh fashion, beauty essentials, and celebratory meals. Categories like Fashion, Health & Beauty, and Food & Groceries are usually the top-performing categories for CNY and are poised to capture strong sales this year again, making this Lunar New Year an exciting time for both shoppers and retailers.
According to McKinsey, the SEA e-commerce market is projected to triple at a compound growth rate of 22% and will reach around US$230 billion in gross merchandise volume between 2022 and 2026. This indicates that competition will be more intense, and retailers need to stand out.
Considering this, coupled with the increased festive demand, retailers can leverage the power of granular product data, the maturation of retail media networks, and the continued rise of omnichannel. Retailers who embrace these trends stand to transform their advertising and customer experiences, driving increased engagement and sales.
Notably, the pivotal role of commerce media should not be overlooked by retailers. As shoppable moments can arise in diverse environments, emerging environments such as retail media will continue gaining traction in 2024.
Forward-thinking retailers recognize the importance of continually expanding their media offerings to own their end-to-end customer journey and marketers will keep investing in retail media because it works. In doing so, they are better poised to seize the opportunities presented by evolving consumer behaviors and market dynamics.
Retailers can also tap into SKU data for personalization and marketing. These capabilities allow retailers to attribute specific products to their marketing efforts, and then tailoring strategies based on their performance to their customers’ unique preferences. This hyper-personalized approach can lead to better campaigns that drive stronger results.
Recognizing the power of first-party data, retailers will increasingly leverage their own media networks, leading to standardization and collaboration across the industry. This maturing ecosystem will open doors for brands (both online and in-store) and simplify processes for advertisers through streamlined operations and enhanced transparency.
