Super apps and ‘shoppertainment’: Behind the rise of social commerce in APAC

_{By Haroon Qureshi, Head of Experiences, Mindshare APAC and Rina Simon, Principal Partner, Goat by GroupM}

Shopping directly through social media platforms is on the rise globally, but it’s in APAC that’s leading the social commerce space with the market poised to reach $8.9 billion by 2029, due to in part to the region’s innovative platforms.

TikTok and its mainland Chinese counterpart Douyin are the platforms generating the most excitement in social commerce today, pulling in unrivalled levels of attention from Gen Z and millennial audiences – one in three Douyin users in China is below 26 years old.

That attention is being converted into growth for brands through the platforms’ emphasis on features like shoppable videos, live streams, and influencer collaborations that drive sales.

The rise of super apps

While other regions have traditionally viewed social media, commerce, banking and private messaging as separate platforms, APAC consumers have long benefitted from having access to multiple services all within one app. 

Super apps like WeChat (China) and GoTo (Indonesia) offer integrated ecosystems, encompassing social media, messaging, payments, and shopping, creating a seamless user experience. But it’s TikTok that dominates the social commerce space in the region. Indonesia is already the largest TikTok userbase globally today. This has correlated with rapid social commerce adoption, with 73% of people in the countryusing social media as a shopping channel.

Southeast Asia’s overall e-commerce market’s gross merchandise value (GMV) grew by $15.5 billion in 2023 (though distributed unevenly across countries). TikTok Shop was the overwhelming driver of that increase, seeing net GMV growth of $11.9 billion over the period. 

By bringing together social, shopping, creators and entertainment, TikTok is offering a one-stop-shop ecosystem and unique ‘shoppertainment’ experiences.

Driving sales through entertaining livestreams

Vaseline and WPP tapped into the popularity of TikTok Shop in Indonesia for a video and livestreams strategy. 

By focusing on entertaining livestreams hosted by experienced creators with significant product knowledge of the brand, Vaseline increased its engagement rate to 4.85%, with a 105% uplift in views, a 461% uplift in GMV, and a 97.22% click-through rate (CTR) for the brand.

This example highlights the power of livestreaming in enabling real-time, authentic connections between brands and consumers, creating greater opportunities for engaging, entertaining commerce experiences that foster brand loyalty and growth. 

As the trend towards ‘shoppertainment’ continues, APAC is setting a new precedent for what ‘good’ social commerce looks like – and other regions will need to take note.