SEA’s Digital Economy: Growth Trends, Profitability Shift, Focus on High-Value Spenders, And More

The e-Conomy Southeast Asia (e-Conomy SEA) is a multi-year research programme launched by Google and Temasek in 2016, and Bain & Company joined the programme as lead research partner in 2019. The research leverages Temasek’s insights; Bain’s analysis; Google Trends; primary research, expert interviews, and industry sources to shed light on the digital economy in Southeast Asia.

The latest 2023 report launched earlier in November, is the 8th edition of e-Conomy SEA, with the tagline – Reaching new heights: Navigating the path to profitable growth- which highlights that the Southeast Asia region has shown resilience against global economic challenges, with GDP growth above 4%, inflation at 3%, and a rebound in consumer confidence. Despite a decline in private funding, the digital economy in SEA reached $100 billion in revenue in 2023, growing at a 27% CAGR since 2021.

But what should you be paying attention to from this 124 page report?