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Last year, the country was tied for No. 1 globally (with the Philippines) but dropped 15 minutes YoY. Brazil led the region in daily time spent with desktop/laptop/tablet devices at 3:59 daily. That’s 16 minutes greater than the regional average. Brazil’s only rival in the region is Argentina. Brazil ranked No. 2 in the region in time spent on social media/messaging at 3:35 daily.

Retail ecommerce sales growth in Southeast Asia, which has been blazing ahead in recent years, is set for a slowdown as the global economy faces challenges and tech funding shrinks. This year, the Philippines and Malaysia will lead the region in growth.

And in October 2024, Meta announced plans to roll out Meta AI in several countries in the region—including the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Additionally, it plans to add support for regional languages like Tagalog, Thai, and Vietnamese. Nations in Asia-Pacific balance safety guardrails with innovation-driving guidelines.

The Philippines, Malaysia, India, Thailand, and Vietnam rank among the 10 fastest-growing ecommerce markets globally. China's retail and ecommerce sector is still facing serious headwinds but is beginning to see signs of recovery. Ecommerce growth has slowed due to cautious consumer spending and economic challenges. But it will begin to tick up in 2026.

The Philippines will lead the world in ecommerce growth. If China is excluded, the worldwide ecommerce penetration rate will be 12.5%. China will reach a major threshold this year, as more than 50% of its retail sales will take place online. This, in turn, will lead the worldwide ecommerce penetration rate to cross 20%. But the 12.5% figure is more representative of what’s happening in most countries.

In 2025, only one of the 66 countries we forecast will see retail ecommerce growth rates over 20%: the Philippines. To understand how ecommerce markets will evolve, it’s important to look at the broader global context rather than simply looking at a single region and the factors that could propel the market forward.

The retail outlook for 2025 is worse than previously anticipated. However, many smaller emerging markets are still in line for strong years, and ecommerce continues to claw share from traditional retail.