Momentum Works

Momentum Works Momentum Works is a Singapore-headquartered venture outfit. Even the most successful companies often stumble in oversea markets.

We leverage our insights, community, and experience to help leaders make sense of, and act on, Asia’s fast-evolving digital markets. Tech entrepreneurs, investors and established companies are increasingly exploring new markets and business models - a very challenging undertaking. Momentum Works builds solutions that help these stakeholders grow and expand in the world’s major markets (Asia, Middl

e East, Eastern Europe and Latin America):

1. Data & analytics that drive the most informed decisions;
2. Tools that enable seamless processes and operations in key areas;
3. Consulting & other services that address unique needs/challenges. In particular, Momentum Works fosters effective adaptation, in major developing markets, of proven business models that have survived and evolved through China’s hyper-competitive market. Momentum Works also incubates and accelerates ventures in collaboration with various stakeholders. Momentum Works is best placed to offer the above thanks to its team of experienced venture builders, network of serial entrepreneurs in all major markets, and good command of data. Find out how Momentum Works can help you by emailing [email protected].

Thailand grew 51.8%. Malaysia grew 47.6%. Yet Southeast Asia's largest ecommerce market, Indonesia, grew just 2.2%.Indon...
02/06/2026

Thailand grew 51.8%. Malaysia grew 47.6%. Yet Southeast Asia's largest ecommerce market, Indonesia, grew just 2.2%.

Indonesia remains the region's largest ecommerce market at US$57.7B in platform GMV, but growth is increasingly being driven by smaller markets that are still deepening ecommerce adoption and pe*******on.

Thailand and Malaysia were the standout growth stories in 2025, while the Philippines overtook Vietnam again to become Southeast Asia's third-largest ecommerce market by GMV.

Which Southeast Asian ecommerce market do you think has the strongest growth potential over the next few years?

We unpack the numbers and trends in our Ecommerce in Southeast Asia 2026 report.

Link in the comments.

Shopee is now trying to turn YouTube into a commerce gateway as a response to TikTok Shop’s massive content and user bas...
02/06/2026

Shopee is now trying to turn YouTube into a commerce gateway as a response to TikTok Shop’s massive content and user base.

Through YouTube Shopping Affiliate, creators can tag Shopee products directly in their videos, Shorts, and livestreams. Viewers discover a product while watching content, click through, and complete the purchase on Shopee.

For Shopee, this is not just another ad placement.

It is a way to fight TikTok Shop on its own battlefield: discovery.

TikTok Shop’s edge comes from having content, creators, traffic, and checkout inside one app. Demand is created before the user even thinks of searching.

Shopee does not naturally own that content layer. It is a transactional platform: users usually arrive when they already want to buy.

So the Google partnership helps Shopee create more entry points before search happens.

YouTube gives Shopee access to creators, video content, and off-app product discovery. Shopee then brings the transaction layer: assortment, vouchers, checkout, fulfilment, and seller network.

In simple terms:
TikTok Shop is building commerce inside content.
Shopee is trying to attach commerce to content outside its own app.

The bigger question now is whether that is enough.

More in Momentum Works’ Ecommerce in Southeast Asia 2026 report.

It is easy to blame the market when a product stops selling.Toshifumi Suzuki saw it differently.Suzuki built 7-Eleven Ja...
29/05/2026

It is easy to blame the market when a product stops selling.

Toshifumi Suzuki saw it differently.

Suzuki built 7-Eleven Japan not through grand slogans, but by paying relentless attention to how customers’ everyday needs were changing.

When a product stops selling, it is easy to blame the economy, competition, demographics, or timing.

But more often, the real issue is that the product has stopped evolving with the customer.
Customer needs do not stay still.

So businesses cannot stay still either.

For retailers, platforms, e-commerce companies, and consumer businesses, this is a lesson worth revisiting again and again.

We explore more of Toshifumi Suzuki's thinking and the strategy behind 7-Eleven Japan in the video.

Watch the full story on YouTube - link in the comments.

In 2025, TikTok Shop reached US$45.6B GMV, the second-largest platform across SEA. But in Singapore, it is last with US$...
29/05/2026

In 2025, TikTok Shop reached US$45.6B GMV, the second-largest platform across SEA. But in Singapore, it is last with US$0.4B (6% market share). Why?

Because TikTok Shop’s discovery-commerce playbook works best when there is enough supply of content, creators, sellers, and impulse-driven demand.

It needs a large creator ecosystem producing constant content, and a deep base of sellers willing to chase traffic across every channel.

Singapore have none.

This makes the market structurally different.

In Singapore, ecommerce is still more shaped by established platforms, trusted brands, reliable fulfilment, and convenience.

That is where Lazada has been stronger - especially with its brand-led positioning and RedMart ecosystem.

So Singapore is not just an exception in the ranking.

It is a reminder that regional ecommerce playbooks do not copy-paste neatly across SEA.

TikTok Shop can scale fast when the content engine is strong.

But when that engine is thinner, the race looks very different.

More insights in the Ecommerce in Southeast Asia 2026 report. Link in the comment.

SEA ecommerce is growing fast, with the platform GMV reaching US$157.6B, up 22.8% YoY. But winning in SEA is becoming mo...
28/05/2026

SEA ecommerce is growing fast, with the platform GMV reaching US$157.6B, up 22.8% YoY. But winning in SEA is becoming more about knowing what each market is actually becoming.

🇮🇩 Indonesia remained the largest market at US$57.7B
🇹🇭 Thailand jumped from US$23.5B to US$35.5B - the fastest-growing market
🇵🇭 The Philippines reached US$21.1B - overtook Vietnam to become the third-largest ecommerce market

And each market is behaving very different.

Thailand is accelerating fast, while regulatory oversight is tightening around imported goods and ecommerce platforms.

Vietnam is tightening ecommerce governance, with a new ecommerce law coming into force in 2026.

Malaysia is growing fast, while fulfilment and quick commerce are becoming more visible battlegrounds.

Singapore is seeing more brand-led and quick commerce moves, from Lazada’s brand-led strategy to RedMart Now.

Indonesia remains the largest market, but platform structure and policy risk continue to matter.

So the real question is no longer just:
“How big is SEA ecommerce?”

It is: “How local does your strategy need to be to win in each market?”

Because SEA ecommerce is a regional growth story, not just a single regional operating model.

More in our Ecommerce in Southeast Asia 2026 report. Link in the comment.

28/05/2026

SEA ecommerce 2025 Wrapped.
SEA ecommerce is growing fast, but who is actually capturing the value?

US$157.6B GMV. US$49.7B from content commerce. 22.3B parcels. Southeast Asia ecommerce had a massive 2025.SEA platform e...
28/05/2026

US$157.6B GMV. US$49.7B from content commerce. 22.3B parcels. Southeast Asia ecommerce had a massive 2025.

SEA platform ecommerce GMV reached US$157.6B in 2025, growing 22.8% YoY.

Content commerce became one of the region’s biggest demand engines, reaching US$49.7B - or 32% of platform ecommerce GMV.

Parcel volume also surged to 22.3B parcels, equivalent to more than 61M parcels per day.

On the surface, that looks like a clean growth story.
But underneath, the value equation is getting more complicated.

More parcels does not always mean better economics because delivery volumes are rising while revenue per parcel continues to face pressure.

More platform demand does not always mean more seller control because many sellers are increasingly dependent on platforms for traffic, logistics, payments, and demand - even as total platform-related costs can exceed 30% of GMV.

More content-driven discovery does not always mean brands own the customer relationship because the discovery, conversion, fulfilment, and data layers are increasingly controlled by platforms.

That is the real 2025 Wrapped.
SEA ecommerce is growing fast, but who is actually capturing the value?

Thailand has the density quick commerce needs. That may be exactly what makes it hard.Unlike markets where platforms can...
27/05/2026

Thailand has the density quick commerce needs. That may be exactly what makes it hard.

Unlike markets where platforms can still aggregate fragmented supply, Thailand’s convenience layer is already highly organised and heavily controlled by major retail conglomerates.

CP Group controls a large convenience and retail footprint through 7-Eleven, Lotus’s and Makro. Central Group has Tops and Tops Daily. BJC has Big C and Big C Mini.

Together, these players already control a large part of the supply, pricing power, retail access and even delivery capabilities.

That creates a different challenge for quick commerce.

In markets with fragmented retail, platforms may have room to aggregate supply.

In Thailand, much of the convenient supply layer is already owned by incumbents.

So the question is whether quick commerce can offer enough incremental convenience beyond what consumers can already access nearby.

Thailand’s opportunity may not sit in broad grocery delivery alone.

The better opening may be in vertical niches - pharmacy, flowers, gifting, pet supplies, or other categories where incumbent control is weaker and urgency matters more.

Thailand has the density.

But quick commerce may need to go niche to find real room to grow.

We explore this further in our latest report on Quick Commerce in Southeast Asia.

Link in comments.

Indonesia may already be too convenient for quick commerce to evolve the same way it did elsewhere.With more than 46,000...
27/05/2026

Indonesia may already be too convenient for quick commerce to evolve the same way it did elsewhere.

With more than 46,000 Indomaret and Alfamart stores across the country, Indonesia already operates one of Southeast Asia’s densest offline convenience networks.

That changes the role quick commerce plays in the market.

In many countries, quick commerce creates convenience from scratch. In Indonesia, convenience already exists almost everywhere.

Which means the bigger opportunity may not be building new behaviour, but integrating into existing retail habits and accelerating them through ecommerce and on-demand delivery.

This is also why ecommerce platforms may hold structural advantages in Indonesia’s quick commerce landscape.

Who do you think is best positioned to connect retail density, ecommerce demand and fulfillment at scale in Indonesia?

We explore this further in our latest report on Quick Commerce in Southeast Asia.

Link in comments.

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