Could Southeast Asia be the next stop on your A&A business' growth journey? To help you answer that question, we've put together an eBook with some great insights. In these 11 countries, there are a combined 650 million people who are becoming more open to eCommerce every day! Whether you're ready to give expansion a shot, or you're still thinking about it, download this eBook for a guide to setting up shop in this part of the world. What will you find in this eBook? We've identified 5 countries: Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, as the brightest stars for eCommerce success. So we've included information on market trends, selling, logistics, pricing, size charts, challenges, and best practices, catered to these five markets. It's all you need to start planning for the expansion of your apparel and accessories business to this intriguing region! Get the full version of your eBook here: https://www.tradegecko.com/ebooks/guide-to-expanding-your-aa-business-in-south-east-asia

2. Southeast Asia is made up of eleven countries that around 650 million
people call home. It includes Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam,
Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines, East Timor, Brunei, Burma and
Thailand.
We’ve decided to focus on five countries from this region that are
emerging as the favorites for international eCommerce, especially in
the apparel and accessories industry. These five countries have a large
percentage of people using the internet, an emerging middle class
with growing purchasing power, and increased credit card usage. Even
with narrowing it down to five countries, this is a seriously diverse
region that’s almost impossible to generalize.
1.2 Southeast Asia: the where and who
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VIE T NA M
P HIL IP P INES
MAL A YSIA
S INGAPORE
INDONESIA
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3. When exploring any region for business expansion, it is important to
know the trends in the market and to evaluate if you can take
advantage of them. We've noticed the following shopper trends in the
5 SEA countries we are discussing:
2.2 Trends, in general
BRAND-CENTRIC
Prefer well-known,
international brands
BOUTIQUE & LOCAL
Increasingly support
local A&A brands
ETHICAL STANDARDS
Increasingly supportive of
fairtrade & sustainable fashion
FASHION TRENDS
Significantly influenced
by major Asian hubs
ONLINE VS. OFFLINE
Prefer physical store and
somewhat distrust online payments
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4. In Singapore, 66% of the population has a social media account.
Indonesia has the second largest number of Facebook users in the
world and looking at the combined number of people in these 5 SEA
countries that use a social media account, you could be reaching
around 160 million potential customers. (1)
As a marketing tool, a social
media presence can help
develop trust and brand
awareness, allowing you
to enter the market with
more recognition.
Use social media to its fullest
Moko MokoMoko Moko
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Sources: 1
We Are Social

5. It’s hard to resist a good sale, and these are the sale periods
throughout the year in each of these countries that you should
definitely get in on.
3.2 Everyone loves a good sale
S A L
E
The Great Singapore Sale,
held during the month of
June, and Christmas in
December.
SINGAPORE
The Grand Prix Sale, held
during the Formula 1 race,
usually in March, Mega Sale
Carnival Sales in July and
August, or Year End sales,
November and December..
The end of Ramadan, Idul
Fitri - dates change every year
according to lunar calendar.
INDONESIA
Christmas is the main
shopping sale time.
PHILIPPINES
MALAYSIA
Tet and the Vietnamese New
Year, dates change every year
according to the lunar
calendar.
VIETNAM
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6. Now that you've become more familiar with the region, we leave you
with some eCommerce best practices to consider:
3.6 Best practices for SEA success
It’s common for the major A&A eCommerce
sites to offer Free 30-day returns. Low-hassle
returns or exchanges are the norm for
regular priced items.
Indonesia and Malaysia are predominantly
Muslim and more conservative cultures, at
least when it comes to on-the-surface
advertising. This may affect the overall style
of your advertisements and marketing.
Shipping costs for the customer of most major
online retailers generally range from low to
free, with many sites offering free shipping on
purchases above a certain amount.
As a general rule, societies in these five
countries tend to be family-oriented. Many
people are the first generation in their
families to have disposable income; and as a
result, consumer spending is mostly focused
on improving the household and buying
gifts for others.
30DAYS
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7. So, what does all this information boil down to? Get your eCommerce
store to Southeast Asia, and fast! It can be tricky, and there’s lots of
information to digest, but when you do, the rewards have the potential
to be amazing.
Get out there! 650 million potential customers are just waiting to
‘proceed to checkout’ with a cartful of apparel and accessories items
from your eCommerce store.
Visit tradegecko.com to
download the full eBook.
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