Southeast Asia has added 70 million online shoppers since the beginning of the pandemic, report finds

Southeast Asia has added 70 million online shoppers since the beginning of the pandemic, report finds

An estimated 70 million more people shopped online in six Southeast Asian countries since the pandemic began, according to . As governments encouraged people to stay home to slow the spread of the coronavirus, Southeast Asia saw a rapid adoption of digital services like e-commerce, food delivery, and online payment methods. And that trend is likely to continue. The report, which surveyed more than 16,000 people in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, projected the number of digital consumers in Southeast Asia will reach 350 million by the end of this year. By the end of 2021, Facebook and Bain expect more than 70% of people 15-years-old and above in the surveyed countries to shop online. The report predicted the number of online shoppers in Southeast Asia will reach 380 million by 2026. Among surveyed countries, the report said Indonesia, Southeast Asia's largest economy, continues to see the highest growth rate. Its digital consumer population is predicted to grow around 15%, from 144 million in 2020 to 165 million in 2021. E-commerce boom Many parts of Southeast Asia are grappling with a resurgence of Covid due to the highly transmissible delta variant. Vaccination rates remain low in some