Updated and upgraded: the key players in Indonesia’s beauty commerce space

In The Checkout this week, we feature an updated landscape map of Indonesia’s beauty commerce sector and TikTok Shop’s voracious growth in Vietnam. [Read from your browser]( The Checkout 🛒  --------------------------------------------------------------- Welcome to The Checkout! Delivered every fortnight, this free newsletter breaks down the biggest stories and trends in ecommerce. You can find past issues [here]( or [sign up here]( to receive future newsletters. Also, If you’re not a subscriber, get access by [registering here](. IN FOCUS In today's newsletter, we spotlight: - [Our updated map of the key players in Indonesia’s beauty commerce sector]( - What TikTok Shop’s success in Vietnam means for SEA --------------------------------------------------------------- Hello {NAME} Traveling to Jakarta for the Tech in Asia Conference last year, I was struck by the scale of the shopping malls there. The conference was held in the Pacific Place Mall, which was far larger - and grander - than anything I’ve seen in Singapore. Indonesia has an abundance of these large malls, which provides plenty of options for brands like Sociolla, the country’s leading online beauty marketplace, to set up its physical stores. Sociolla, which has over 60 branches across the archipelago, is one of the companies featured in this week’s Big Story - a landscape map of the key players in Indonesia’s beauty commerce space by my colleague Jofie. In March alone, the firm opened new stores in Jakarta, Surabaya, Bogor, and Cirebon. Esqa, a direct-to-consumer makeup brand, also recently [opened]( its first retail store in the country, located in Pondok Indah Mall 2 in South Jakarta. However, not all of Indonesia’s beauty commerce brands are doing as well. A number of players, from PamperPop to Newman’s, are no longer active. While the beauty commerce industry is riding on strong macro trends, this is a timely - if sobering - reminder that most startups don’t end up succeeding. -- Simon  --------------------------------------------------------------- THE BIG STORY [The key players in Indonesia’s beauty commerce space (update)]( While beauty commerce in Indonesia rode the ecommerce wave amid the pandemic, funding for the sector declined sharply in 2023.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  THE HOT TAKE What TikTok’s success in Vietnam means for SEA tech Here’s what happened: - TikTok Shop says that it [tripled]( its merchant base and average sales on its app in Vietnam in 2023, according to a Nikkei report. - As of early 2024, some 67 million people in Vietnam use TikTok Shop. - It is the country’s second-largest ecommerce platform by market share, ahead of Lazada but behind Shopee. Here’s our take: The incredible growth posted by TikTok Shop in Vietnam shows that its success in Indonesia - which prompted a [government crackdown]( - was not a fluke. From mobile phones to motorcycles, Vietnamese shoppers are making more of their purchases online. TikTok’s decision to set up a physical office in Vietnam five years ago was credited as one of the reasons behind its success in the country. This contrasts with other social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube, which still lack a physical presence in the Southeast Asian powerhouse. However, TikTok’s popularity in Vietnam - it was the most downloaded app there in the last 30 days, according to Data.ai - would likely have occurred even if it didn’t have an office in the country. Apart from the magic sauce of its algorithm, TikTok moved quickly to capitalize on its success as a social media platform by building ecommerce tools, something that previous dominant players like Facebook were slow to do. What it also has on its side is a population that is more well-versed with shopping online - compared to a decade ago - as well as more established ecommerce infrastructure, which includes everything from mobile internet connectivity to well-connected logistics networks for deliveries. The players most directly affected by TikTok Shop’s success are other ecommerce platforms such as Shopee - which was the fifth-most downloaded app in Vietnam in the last 30 days - and Lazada. For now, the Sea Group subsidiary seems to be keeping pace - its [announcement]( last month that it expects Shopee's 2024 gross merchandise value growth to be in the “high teens range” sent its share price soaring. In contrast, Lazada’s outlook is more murky. Following a large round of [layoffs]( at the start of the year, all parent company Alibaba would say in its most recently released [results]( was that the platform “continues to focus on optimizing its operating efficiency,” with its losses narrowing. However, other tech platforms should not rest easy, either. As TikTok becomes the new Google for some, many users are also turning to the app to search for everything from travel tips to dining recommendations. It isn’t a stretch to imagine TikTok’s users being offered the chance to buy airline tickets, book hotel rooms, or dining vouchers - or even to order food - through its app. There’s enough space for more than one player in most markets, of course. Yet, the speed at which TikTok has grown in ecommerce should be a warning to tech players in adjacent businesses as well.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW Also check out Tech in Asia’s coverage of the ecommerce scene [here](. 1️⃣ [Apple to ramp up investment in Vietnam]( The iPhone maker opened its online store in Vietnam last May, signaling the growing importance of the market. 2️⃣ [Mekong-focused logistics firm secures pre-series A funding for regional expansion]( Karzo offers a digital marketplace that connects truckers with suppliers in need of logistics and distribution services. 3️⃣ [Carro eyes $100m pre-IPO raise to push valuation to $1.5b]( While the used-car platform is ready to go public, the decision of when to list will depend on the broader macro environment, CEO Aaron Tan told Bloomberg. 4️⃣ [Jack Ma calls Alibaba staff to welcome change in morale-boosting letter]( Ma wrote in a memo to staff that Alibaba must continue to prioritize customer experience rather than blindly chase growth. --------------------------------------------------------------- That’s it for this edition - we hope you liked it! Do also check out previous issues of the newsletter [here](. Not your cup of tea? You can unsubscribe from this newsletter by going to your “edit profile” page and choosing that option in our preference center. See you soon! [ADVERTISE]( | [SUBSCRIBE]( | [HIRE]( | [FIND JOBS]( P.S. Don't miss out on the biggest tech news and analysis. Add newsletter@techinasia.com to your address book, contacts, or safe sender list. Or simply move us into your inbox. Too many emails? Switch to a different frequency or get new content through our [preference center]( or [unsubscribe](. You can also break our hearts and remove yourself from all Tech in Asia emails over [here](  Copyright © 2024 Tech in Asia, All rights reserved. 63 Robinson Road, Singapore 068894