Online retail revenue across Southeast Asia rose 21% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2025, driven by higher conversion rates rather than website traffic gains.

Commerce platform Criteo revealed that regional consumers spent an average of 22 days researching items between their first product view and completing an order around Singles’ Day.

Sukesh Singh, Managing Director (SEA) at Criteo, noted that shoppers have learned to take their time across monthly discount cycles, extending consideration windows beyond those seen in Western markets.

Southeast Asian shoppers evaluated an average of 3.8 brands within a single retail platform during the month before buying, almost double the two brands averaged by American and European consumers. When checking across multiple merchants, regional shoppers examined 5.8 brands before committing capital.

Merchant web traffic across the region remained largely flat throughout the quarter, shifting the burden of expansion entirely onto basket completion and repeat orders. Singapore recorded a 15 per cent year-on-year decline in retail website visits, yet merchant sales grew 18 per cent because conversion rates jumped 39 per cent.

Malaysia emerged as the regional growth leader over the period. Conversion rates and retail revenue in the country both increased 34 per cent year-on-year.

Western digital storefronts tracked in the opposite direction. Retail traffic in the United States grew 3 per cent while conversion rates fell 10 per cent, and European platforms saw visitor numbers rise 6 per cent alongside a 2 per cent drop in conversions.

Marketplace and department store platforms collected the bulk of regional gains, expanding online revenue by 41 per cent year-on-year during the quarter.

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