iPrice study reveals the biggest e-commerce companies in Singapore and SEA in Q2 2019

iPrice Group, together with its partner App Annie Intelligence, recently updated its Map of E-commerce via the latest study to showcase the biggest developments in Singapore’s top e-commerce players based on their average quarterly traffic, mobile application ranking, social media followers, and number of staff.
The study was conducted to keep track on the latest developments of the internet economy’s most dynamic sector in Singapore and across Southeast Asia’s largest digital markets.


Lazada Recorded the Highest MAU (Mobile App) & the Highest Total Visits (Desktop & Mobile Web) on its Website in Q2 2019
According to App Annie Intelligence, Lazada is the most actively used mobile app in Singapore, Q2 2019. To date, the Alibaba-backed e-commerce company is also the most actively used app in H1 2019 as Lazada ranked 1st in MAU in the previous quarter as well.
Among the many initiatives the company implemented that perhaps attributed to its growth was through its “shoppertainment” initiative. The campaign was launched in conjunction with the company’s rebranding campaign which aimed to uplift the shopper’s experience and empowering its sellers in areas such as branding, marketing, and sales. This also benefited Lazada from its website standpoint as it rose to 1st place as the most visited e-commerce platform in Singapore, garnering an average 7.5 million visitors in Q2 2019.
From the regional point of view, Lazada’s mobile app is the second-highest most actively used shopping app and is the 2nd most downloaded e-commerce shopping app in Q2 2019. While in terms of total visits, Lazada is the second-highest most visited e-commerce website, garnering an average of 174 million visitors (desktop and mobile web) in the same period.
Shopee was the Most Downloaded Mobile E-commerce Shopping App in Singapore & Garnered More Than 2.8 Million Average Visitors
The SEA-backed e-commerce platform was probably the most successful in acquiring new consumers as Shopee was the most downloaded mobile e-commerce shopping application in Singapore in Q2 2019. The e-commerce company also saw improvements on its website as Shopee saw an increase in traffic by 11% when compared to the previous quarter, garnering more than 2.8 million average visitors in Q2 2019 in Singapore alone.
Among the many initiatives that most likely led to a high number of downloads was the introduction of various entertainment and engagement features in its recent sales event which recently saw an increase in sales up to 75% in its Shopee LIVE initiative. Shopee’s high number of total downloads was probably driven by marketing initiatives to promote its 7.7 Orange Madness sale which took place in July 2019.
Other incremental updated that possibly assisted in the high number of downloads was the introduction of additional features on its app such as a live streaming feature called “Shopee Live” that enabled sellers to engage with customers in an interactive and attractive manner.
In SEA, the Singapore-based e-commerce company is ranked 1st as the most actively used mobile e-commerce app and garnered the highest number of total downloads. In terms of the number of total visits, Shopee is also the most visited e-commerce platform, recorded an average of 200 million visitors on its website.
Qoo10 Remained as the Best Singapore-focused E-commerce Platform, Recorded the Second Highest in MAU and is the Third Most Downloaded App in the Country
The Singapore-focused e-commerce company remains a strong competitor as one of the top-three most actively used app. The company recorded the second-highest monthly active users, although it only ranked the 3rd most downloaded app – combined iOS and Google Play. Qoo10 performed consistently against the industry’s unicorns since Q1 2019 and remains as the 2nd most actively used app in Singapore for H1 2019. The e-commerce company obtained more than 7.1 million average visitors.
Additionally, Qoo10 was in a further push of its growth by deepening its localisation strategy to improve consumer’s affinity towards the e-commerce platform. Commenting on the localisation strategy of Qoo10 Sarah Cheah, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore’s Business School said, “They (Qoo10) started off as a local player, they had a certain advantage in familiarity with local consumers and preferences.”
Taobao is the Most Actively Used Mobile E-commerce Shopping App that isn’t Tailored for the Singaporean Market
Contrasting the localisation strategy of players such as Qoo10, Lazada, and Shopee, international mobile e-commerce shopping apps such as Taobao, AliExpress, and Amazon were actively used in Singapore as well. Currently, the Chinese and American apps rank at 4th, 7th, and 8th place respectively.
Apps by Alibaba such as Taobao and AliExpress remained prominent among Singaporean consumers, most likely due to the increased popularity of Chinese products and Chinese language proficiency in the country.
A similar story can be seen in the American e-commerce giant, Amazon. The data by App Annie Intelligence suggests that Singaporeans are more engaged on Amazon’s platform as compared to the localised Amazon Prime Now. This suggests that consumers remained highly interested in products from the United States as compared to products available on its Singapore-localised Amazon Prime Now app.