If you sell online in Singapore or the region, you almost certainly sell on one or more of three platforms. Momentum Works’ 2026 Southeast Asia e-commerce report shows just how concentrated the market has become. This guide uses news coverage of that report, which is how we could verify it, to explain what the numbers say, what they don’t say, and how a small seller should manage stock across three channels.

How fast did Southeast Asia’s platform e-commerce grow in 2025?

Gross merchandise value rose 23% year on year to US$157.6 billion in 2025, according to Momentum Works’ 2026 Southeast Asia e-commerce report, as reported by Yicai Global and DealStreetAsia in April 2026. Gross merchandise value, or GMV, is the total value of goods sold through the platforms.

It’s platform-wide GMV, not seller profit. It tells you the pool is growing, not that every seller’s share is.

How concentrated is the market?

Shopee, Lazada and TikTok Shop together held a combined 99% share of the regional market, according to the report as covered by Yicai Global. Almost all platform sales run through those three.

The coverage doesn’t give each platform’s individual share, so we can’t tell you who leads. What matters for a seller is that almost every platform shopper is on one of the three.

How big is TikTok Shop compared with Shopee?

TikTok Shop combined with Tokopedia had gross merchandise value equal to about two-thirds of Shopee’s, according to the report. That’s the combined figure for both TikTok Shop and Tokopedia, not TikTok Shop alone.

A new channel can grow into a significant one quickly. If you’re only on one platform today, plan for the day you’ll want to be on two or three.

Shopee, Lazada and TikTok Shop together held a combined 99% share of Southeast Asia’s platform e-commerce in 2025 (Momentum Works, via Yicai Global, 2026).

Which countries grew fastest?

Thailand grew 51.8% and Malaysia 47.6%, according to DealStreetAsia’s coverage of the report, and Yicai Global groups Singapore with Vietnam and the Philippines as growing above 20%. Growth was strong across the region.

For a Singapore seller, the lesson is that regional demand is growing quickly, including in nearby Malaysia.

Related: Shopee, Lazada or TikTok Shop: Where Should a Small Seller Start?

Does the report size Singapore’s market?

The coverage we could verify doesn’t give Singapore’s gross merchandise value, so don’t quote a Singapore market size from it. Singapore appears only as part of a group growing above 20%.

If you need a Singapore figure for a plan, look for it in the full report or from a Singapore source such as Enterprise Singapore, rather than estimating it from regional totals.

What are the platforms focusing on?

Platforms are focusing more on demand creation, delivery efficiency and profit margins, and Lazada has shifted to a brand-centric strategy, according to the Yicai Global coverage. Growth is no longer the only goal.

Platforms that watch margins tend to watch seller performance too. Late shipping and cancelled orders from stock-outs are what a platform notices first.

Platforms are focusing more on demand creation, delivery efficiency and profit margins, and Lazada has shifted to a brand-centric strategy (Momentum Works, via Yicai Global, 2026).

Should each channel have its own stock?

No. McKinsey says inventory should not be dedicated to one channel; pool it across channels instead, in its 2021 article on the omnichannel supply chain. The article is older than the other data here, but the principle holds.

With three platforms and a website, a separate slice of stock for each is a recipe for one channel selling out while another holds spare units.

McKinsey advises that inventory should not be dedicated to one channel; pool it across channels instead (McKinsey, 2021).

How do small retailers usually find out an item is gone?

Nearly one in four small retailers only learn an item is out of stock when a customer tries to buy it, according to the Global Payments 2025 Retail Inventory Report of 200 small retailers. On a marketplace, that means a cancelled order.

The report is small, so treat it as a pointer. It matches the experience of many multi-channel sellers.

Why do stock errors matter so much?

Out-of-stocks cause 65.6% of the roughly US$1.7 trillion lost to inventory distortion each year, or 6.2% of retail sales, according to IHL Group figures reported by Retail Insight Network (2026). These are global figures, not a Singapore number.

The more places you sell, the more places a count can go wrong.

How many small retailers still count by hand?

Over half of small retailers still rely on manual counts, according to Global Payments (2025), so any process built on those counts is only as accurate as the last count. Three platforms and a shop make hand counts hard to keep up.

One central count behind every channel is the practical answer. Asalta eCommerce links an online store and marketplace listings to central stock, and it’s one option to compare. A spreadsheet updated after every shift works for the smallest shops. You can read more on the Asalta eCommerce page.

Key Takeaways

• Know the pool: Southeast Asia’s platform GMV reached US$157.6 billion, up 23%.
• Expect three channels: Shopee, Lazada and TikTok Shop hold a combined 99%.
• Don’t split stock: McKinsey advises pooling stock across channels.
• Don’t quote Singapore: the coverage doesn’t give Singapore’s GMV.
• Count centrally: over half of small retailers still count by hand.