---
title: "Southeast Asia's Surging Consumer Power Is Becoming the First Stop for Merchants 'Going Global'"
description: "In Ho Chi Minh City late at night, Diva, a post-00s international student, scrolls through her phone and quickly buys a cushion foundation during a TikTok Shop livestream. Such young consumers are reshaping Southeast Asia's e-commerce landscape, with a young population, high internet penetration, and consumption patterns similar to China's Gen Z, making the region a prime destination for Chinese merchants seeking growth."
author: "听筒Tech工作室"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2025-09-10"
categories: "E-commerce & Instant Retail, Industry Trends"
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original_source: "https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/RSGS98g2C8_Fri72YEdpXA"
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citation: "听筒Tech工作室. “Southeast Asia's Surging Consumer Power Is Becoming the First Stop for Merchants 'Going Global'.” New Distribution, 2025-09-10. https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/southeast-asia-s-surging-consumer-power-is-becoming-the-first-stop-for-m-b90c0465/"
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# Southeast Asia's Surging Consumer Power Is Becoming the First Stop for Merchants 'Going Global'

> In Ho Chi Minh City late at night, Diva, a post-00s international student, scrolls through her phone and quickly buys a cushion foundation during a TikTok Shop livestream. Such young consumers are reshaping Southeast Asia's e-commerce landscape, with a young population, high internet penetration, and consumption patterns similar to China's Gen Z, making the region a prime destination for Chinese merchants seeking growth.

### **Source** | Handset Tech
In Ho Chi Minh City late at night, Diva, a post-00s international student, lies in bed, fingers sliding across her phone screen. At that moment, a beauty blogger on TikTok Shop is livestreaming, demonstrating the effect of a cushion foundation.
As the words "Limited-time discount ends in 15 minutes" flash on the screen, Diva clicks the purchase button almost without hesitation.
In fact, in Vietnam, young people like Diva are very common. They are fresh, enthusiastic, embrace diversity, and are highly dependent on social media. On social platforms, their consumption behavior is even described as "fierce"—with strong purchasing desire, willingness to pay for preferences, and endless enthusiasm.
Countless Divas are reshaping Southeast Asia's e-commerce landscape and overturning traditional perceptions of the market. For instance, Southeast Asia boasts enviable demographic dividends: of its approximately 680 million total population, over 70% are under 30, with Gen Z and millennials forming the main consumer force.
Meanwhile, internet penetration in Southeast Asia exceeds 75%, making it one of the fastest-growing and most promising regions for digital economy development globally.
More critically, Southeast Asia's young consumer group exhibits consumption characteristics highly similar to China's Gen Z: they embrace digital life, naturally align with content e-commerce represented by TikTok Shop, are easily inspired by interest to purchase, and advocate for individual expression.
With geographical proximity, deep cultural ties, and obvious consumption upgrade trends, this market holds irreplaceable strategic importance for Chinese merchants.
In a sense, Southeast Asia is becoming the "indispensable blue ocean market" that global e-commerce platforms are vying for, and also the first stop for domestic merchants' transformation to going global.
Southeast Asia's Young People Are Consuming "Fiercely"
International student Diva has found many "like-minded" friends in Southeast Asia.
As a typical Gen Z girl, Diva grew up with the internet, loves checking in on social platforms, enjoys "shopping sprees," and has a strong desire to share.
After a year in Vietnam, Diva has made many friends. These friends, like Diva, like fresh and cute little things, have strong receptivity and sharing desire, love checking in on social platforms, are willing to listen to key opinion leaders (KOLs), and especially enjoy ordering many "trending same-style" items in livestream rooms.
Opening Diva's e-commerce purchase history, there are over a dozen orders in just one week, ranging from Chinese-made sun-protective clothing, crocs, hoodies, to various beauty products, covering multiple life scenarios.
As a "student party," Diva has always preferred online shopping, seeking convenient, personalized, and social shopping experiences. Diva also finds that her Southeast Asian friends share very similar philosophies: "We pursue a free and diverse life, like trying new things, are willing to spend for current happiness, but also value cost-performance."
Yuki, who lives in Southeast Asia, also said on social platforms, "Coming to Southeast Asia, I see a new world."
Yuki, a post-80s from China, found that Southeast Asians' consumer life philosophy is very different from that in China: "Take Vietnam for example, the proportion of young people is high; on streets and buses, there are more young people, making society feel full of vitality."
Yuki said it feels like "happiness is the most valuable. For instance, they generally don't like saving money; salaries are paid daily, spent upon receipt, and they leave work on time. Night culture businesses are booming; in Ho Chi Minh City, a cup of iced coffee costing 30,000 Vietnamese dong (about 8.5 RMB) can be enjoyed while chatting until late."
Local people's spending power on electronic products is astonishing, and their dependence on social media and e-commerce is also very high. Additionally, although Southeast Asian countries have different economic foundations, the middle class is expanding, and the trend of consumption upgrade is obvious.
Yuki also found that Southeast Asians are especially willing to pay for healthy food, beauty care, fitness, pet-related products, etc. "And they prefer products with 'strong visualization, low decision-making, and high repurchase,' so categories like beauty and personal care, small home appliances, and clothing accessories are very popular on e-commerce platforms."
Image: Social platform discussions on "Southeast Asia Consumption" topics
In a sense, the Southeast Asian market is a highly attractive complex.
Especially in recent years, many regions have skipped the PC era and directly entered the mobile internet era, with explosive economic growth, continuously rising e-commerce penetration, and vigorous consumer power, growing into a new growth pole for the global economy.
The "2024 Southeast Asia Digital Economy Report" jointly released by Google, Temasek, and Bain & Company shows that in 2024, Southeast Asia's digital trade total is expected to reach $263 billion, a year-on-year increase of 15%, growing into the world's most distinctive consumer market.
According to a research report released by Guotai Junan in January 2025, Southeast Asia's consumer market and e-commerce scale are growing rapidly, with consumers' attention to healthy living continuously increasing. Among them, high-end consumption and cost-effective consumption coexist: high-income countries like Singapore and Brunei have affluent populations pursuing high-quality life, while most countries focus on price and practicality.
Domestic Merchants Going Global, Seizing Southeast Asia
Compared to Southeast Asia's rapidly bursting consumer market, many domestic consumer brands face a relatively mature and increasingly saturated ecosystem.
Finding new windows has become a contemporary issue for many merchants. In fact, relying on domestic supply chain advantages and cross-border e-commerce platform exploration, "Let's go global" has become an indisputable fact in the industry for domestic merchants.
But "how to go," "where to go," and "how to break the growth dilemma of going global" have also become difficult problems that many domestic merchants must solve.
Compared to the white-hot competition in Japan, South Korea, Europe, and the United States, and the continuous trade risks in some regions, in the past two years, domestic merchants have begun to look at and venture into Southeast Asia, which has more "vitality" and "opportunity dividends."
Many consumer brands have already taken the lead in reaping the benefits of cross-border e-commerce in Southeast Asia.
If Camel, a domestic brand that has already established a firm foothold and accumulated a large audience in the domestic market, has been "continuously improving" locally in the past two years; after targeting incremental growth and going global to Southeast Asia, it has achieved "breakthrough popularity."
In 2023, Camel successfully replicated the classic playbook of "explosive product strategy + content marketing drive" in Southeast Asia through cross-border e-commerce platforms, and grew into a Southeast Asian bestseller. Public data shows that on multiple cross-border e-commerce platforms in Southeast Asia, Camel's sales figures rank among the top.
Camel's brand general manager, Wan Guangyang, explained, "From industry trends, Southeast Asia is one of the fastest-growing regions for global e-commerce, currently in a golden period of vigorous development, and the high-speed growth window is rare."
When reviewing the growth logic in Southeast Asia, Wan Guangyang pointed out that their optimism about Southeast Asia's trends is based on "trend + opportunity + replicability." The reason is that Camel's core consumer group shows a high degree of consistency between Southeast Asia and the Chinese market.
For example, the consumer group's age is concentrated at 25-44 years old; the regional e-commerce foundation is solid, mobile devices are fully popularized, and there is high acceptance of immersive content conversion paths like short videos or livestreams; in consumption decisions, "professional endorsement" and "visual quality" form key purchase touchpoints; in addition, they are willing to pay for "quality" and "brand."
Domestic beauty brand Perfect Diary, unable to bear the fierce competition in the domestic beauty track, has also found a breakthrough door to the market in Southeast Asia.
In 2023, Perfect Diary's loose powder product topped the sales chart on TikTok Shop Vietnam; during the 2024 platform promotion period, sales became TOP10 in the Southeast Asian domestic beauty category.
In the view of Perfect Diary's e-commerce general manager, Liu Shu, "Southeast Asia has a young demographic structure, is keen on market trends, and places great importance on personalized expression and cost-performance. This consumption characteristic is highly compatible with domestic beauty brands' product features of superior quality and affordable prices. Therefore, it has become the first stop for Perfect Diary's overseas expansion."
In fact, in the view of more merchants going global, the Southeast Asian e-commerce market has enough room for growth. Public data shows that the current e-commerce penetration rate in Southeast Asia is only 11%, lower than the global market's 12% and China's 27%.
"The industry is currently in an early dividend period, and you can occupy it in advance," a Hebei pet supplies merchant going global told this author. "After comprehensively comparing domestic and foreign environments, I suggest merchants go global to Southeast Asia. Especially for categories like our pet industry, which may not have absolute advantages in Europe and America, but in Vietnam and the Philippines, market demand is very large."
Finding Increment on TikTok Shop Southeast Asia Cross-border E-commerce
In fact, whether it is Perfect Diary or Camel and a series of other merchants, the confidence of many domestic merchants in transformation comes from the natural fit between China's supply and consumption characteristics and the Southeast Asian market.
Taking content e-commerce as an example, according to Asian Retail Review, 6 out of 10 TikTok users in Southeast Asia watch livestreams that integrate entertainment and shopping every day.
Partipost's "2024 Influencer Marketing Report" also shows that about 75% of Southeast Asian consumers say they are more willing to buy products recommended by influencers, and 80% of respondents have made at least one purchase decision based on influencer endorsements. The report also proposes that TikTok is the main channel for influencer marketing.
This has led some domestic merchants to find increment on TikTok Shop. Of course, the empowerment from TikTok Shop Southeast Asia cross-border e-commerce is also visible, allowing domestic merchants to find a relatively more suitable path for going global.
Taking Camel as an example, when first entering the TikTok Shop Southeast Asia cross-border e-commerce platform, Camel was not smooth sailing.
The first thing to solve was cultural differences and language barriers. According to Camel, when communicating with overseas influencers and consumers, the same product selling point has very different expressions in different regions. In addition, consumption habits and aesthetic preferences vary by country, which brings certain difficulties to product promotion and sales.
The TikTok Shop Southeast Asia cross-border e-commerce team provided support to Camel, helping them understand the culture, consumption habits, and market characteristics of Southeast Asian countries. At the same time, they provided calibration services for translations of key content such as product detail pages to avoid cultural misunderstandings as much as possible.
In addition, Camel, which is good at social play, attaches great importance to market promotion and marketing.
It is reported that TikTok Shop Southeast Asia cross-border e-commerce also provided Camel with formal support, including more precise commercial advertising placement; using inventory subsidy policies to lower product price thresholds, etc. At the same time, the brand also uses the platform's short video and livestream functions to open brand awareness by establishing cooperation with local top influencers.
For more domestic merchants going global, the early stage of going global is definitely difficult, but the platform is improving ecosystem construction.
Taking the TikTok Shop Southeast Asia cross-border e-commerce practical manual as an example, it covers the entire chain of mall products, content alliance, advertising marketing, customer experience, etc., providing scenario-based and actionable practical methodologies, which is "relatively worry-free" for merchants.
In the view of investor Gao Lin, who focuses on Southeast Asian livestream e-commerce projects, the adaptability shown by cross-border e-commerce and the Southeast Asian market is not only reflected in superficial levels such as user structure and consumption habits, but also goes deeper into the deep dimensions of cultural resonance and digital development trends.
Gao Lin said, "For example, domestic business logic can be migrated and replicated in Southeast Asia. The business logic accumulated by domestic merchants on content e-commerce platforms, such as product selection strategies, marketing methods, customer service, and advertising investment methods, can be replicated and migrated to the TikTok Shop Southeast Asian market, lowering operational thresholds."
Another example is cultural and aesthetic commonality. Southeast Asia and domestic consumers have commonalities in aesthetics, culture, and popular preferences, so domestic products are easily accepted, and merchants can directly reuse existing product portfolios, giving them an advantage at the start.
In terms of product premium potential, Southeast Asia is by no means a low-price market.
In fact, Southeast Asia's main consumers are young people, and these consumer groups place more emphasis on cost-performance, which lays the foundation for product premiums. The strong social attributes of short videos and livestreams amplify product highlights and brand value, helping merchants create popularity, promote premium implementation, and increase profitability.
More importantly, "Southeast Asia's return rate is still lower than domestic, because the market is still in its early stages, consumers are more tolerant of products, and they won't easily choose to return," Gao Lin admitted.
However, Gao Lin also pointed out, "Domestic upstream and downstream enterprises have invested heavily in Southeast Asia in terms of enterprise and capital in the past two years. The current ecosystem may not be as complete as domestic, but all aspects are developing rapidly, and seizing the first opportunity is equivalent to seizing business opportunities."
To some extent, on the new route of the digital era, TikTok Shop cross-border e-commerce is becoming a warship for merchants going global, and Southeast Asia is the golden port of departure.
For more Chinese merchants going global, the Southeast Asian market is still just a starting point. The experience, brand awareness, and user insights accumulated by domestic merchants will lay a new foundation for entering the global e-commerce market.
This is not only an offensive strategy for a promising market but also a long-term investment in building a global brand.


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## Citation metadata

- Publisher: New Distribution
- Author: 听筒Tech工作室
- Published: 2025-09-10
- Canonical: https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/southeast-asia-s-surging-consumer-power-is-becoming-the-first-stop-for-m-b90c0465/
- Original source: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/RSGS98g2C8_Fri72YEdpXA

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