AI Adoption in Asia’s E-Commerce and Payments Spurs Growth and Risk Mitigation, but Highlights Regional Gaps and Cost Barriers , According to yStats.com
E-Commerce AI in Asia: Progress Divides the Region
AI adoption in Asia’s E-Commerce scene is far from uniform. While India and China push ahead with mature deployments, much of Southeast Asia is still at the starting line. Lazada Group reports that as of February 2025, just 1 in 4 sellers had fully integrated AI, while half were still experimenting, highlighting the need for investment in infrastructure and onboarding.
Most Sellers Use Entry-Level AI Tools
Southeast Asian merchants are mostly using basic AI, like chatbots, while more powerful solutions such as automation and predictive analytics remain out of reach. Lazada Group identifies high costs and uncertainty cited by 64% and 61% of sellers respectively as the main obstacles keeping AI adoption shallow.
AI Growth Triggers New Threats
As companies embrace AI for efficiency, fraud risks are rising in parallel. In 2024, Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia saw AI-enabled fraud soar by over 200%, according to TechNode. This has led financial firms to adopt advanced detection systems, biometrics, and AI fraud-prevention protocols to stay ahead of scams.
- 1. Key Takeaways
- 2. Management Summary
- 3. AI Adoption Landscape & Regional Patterns
- 3.1. Regional Adoption Benchmarks
- Asia: Adoption of AI Systems by Country, in % of Resp. Reporting Regular Use*, Nov 2024 - Jan 2025
- SEA: Share of E-Commerce Sellers by Level of AI Adoption, in % of Resp., February 2025
- SEA: Claimed vs Actual AI Adoption Rates by E-Commerce Sellers, in % of Respond., 2025
- 3.2 Seller Segmentation & Barriers
- Asia: Perception of AI Benefits Over Risks, in % of Respondents by Country, Nov 2024 - Jan 2025
- SEA: Seller Perceptions of AI Benefits, in % of Respondents, February 2025
- SEA: Barriers to AI Adoption Among Online Sellers, in % of Respondents, February 2025
- SEA: Share of AI Adepts by Country, in % of E-Commerce Sellers, February 2025
- SEA: Share of AI Agnostics by Country, in % of E-Commerce Sellers, February 2025
- SEA: Share of AI Aspirants by Country, in % of E-Commerce Sellers, February 2025
- SEA: Key Areas to Improve Seller Experience Among AI Agnostics, in % of E-Com. Sellers, Feb. 2025
- SEA: Key Areas to Improve Seller Experience Among AI Aspirants, in % of E-Com. Sellers, Feb. 2025
- SEA: Key Areas to Improve Seller Experience Among AI Adepts, in % of E-Com. Sellers, Feb. 2025
- 3.3 Regional Country Deep Dive
- Singapore: AI Adoption by Tool Type Among E-Commerce Sellers, in % of Resp. Using Each Tool, Feb. 2025
- Malaysia: AI Adoption by Tool Type Among E-Commerce Sellers, in % of Resp. Using Each Tool, Feb. 2025
- Indonesia: AI Adoption by Tool Type Among E-Commerce Sellers, in % of Resp. Using Each Tool, Feb. 2025
- Thailand: AI Adoption by Tool Type Among E-Commerce Sellers, in % of Resp. Using Each Tool, Feb. 2025
- Philippines: AI Adoption by Tool Type Among E-Commerce Sellers, in % of Resp. Using Each Tool, Feb. 2025
- Vietnam: AI Adoption by Tool Type Among E-Commerce Sellers, in % of Resp. Using Each Tool, Feb. 2025
- 4. Functional Use Cases & Economic Impact
- 4.1. E-Commerce Seller Operations
- SEA: AI Adoption by Business Function and Readiness Group, in % of Functions, Feb. 2025
- SEA: AI Tool Usage, Functional Adoption Levels, and Seller Readiness by Market, 2025
- SEA: Share of E-Commerce Sellers Using Selected AI Tools, in % of Resp., February 2025
- APAC: Consumer Usage of Offline, Digital, & AI Channels for Product Discovery, in % of Resp., 2024
- APAC: Consumer Usage of Offline, Digital, & AI Channels for Product Research, in % of Resp., 2024
- SEA: Enablers of AI Adoption in E-Commerce and Digital Payments, April 2025
- SEA: Average Cost Reduction from AI/GenAI, in % of Total Costs, 2023 & 2027
- SEA: Average Revenue Growth from AI/GenAI, in % Revenue Growth, 2023 & 2027
- 4.2. Payments & FinTech Use Cases
- Asia: AI Applications in Credit Inclusion, Finance Automation, and Procurement Innovation, April 2025
- Asia: AI-Driven Cloud Banking, Investment Analytics, and Vertical B2B Financial Solutions, April 2025
- APAC: AI Integration, Stablecoin Cards, Tokenised Transfers, and Micro-Merchant Access, June 2025
- 5. Risk Management, Trust & Security
- 5.1 Fraud & Threat Trends
- SEA: Year-over-Year Increase in AI-linked Fraud Rate, in %, 2024
- APAC: Synthetic Identity Fraud, Deepfakes, Verification Gaps and Country Trends in FinTech, 202
- 5.2 Detection Tools & Risk Models
- SEA: AI Detection with 80%+ False Positives, Generative AI for Alerts and Support, 2024
- SEA: Risk-Scoring Models, Network Analytics, and Data-Sharing Efforts, 2024
- APAC: AI in Fraud Detection, Real-Time Payment Security, and Biometric Authentication, July 2025
- APAC: AI-Driven Enterprise Fraud Management, Identity Verification, and Integration Challenges, July 2025
- 5.3 Trust & Readiness
- Asia: Intentional Use and Trust of AI at Work by Country, in % of Respondents, Nov 2024 - Jan 2025
- Asia: Trust and Acceptance of AI Systems by Country, in % of Respondents, Nov 2024 - Jan 2025
- APAC: Consumers’ AI Trust by Activity Type, in % of Respondents, 2024
- 5.4 Regulation & Compliance
- Asia: Cyber Defence, Identity Risk Management and Compliance Automation via AI, April 2025
- APAC: Financial Crime Regulation, Synthetic Identity Laundering, and AI Compliance Strategy, July 2025
- 6. Competitive Landscape & Strategic AI Movement
- 6.1 Market Scale & Activity
- Asia: Funding for AI-Driven FinTech Companies, in USD billions, 2023-2025f
- Asia: Number of AI-Driven FinTech Companies, in thous., in % of Total FinTech Comp., 2023, 2025e
- Asia: Top Countries of AI FinTech Companies, in % of Total AI FinTech Companies, 2025
- Asia: Cross-Border Integration, Market Entry, Strategic Exit and Global Partnerships via Alipay+, 2024
- APAC: Visa AI Commerce, Mastercard Agent Pay, Shopper Trends, and Market Positioning, May 2025
- 7. AI Governance, Regulation & Innovation Enablers
- 7.1 Public & Private Sector AI Initiatives
- Asia: Public & Private Drivers of AI Governance, Infrastructure and Experimentation in Finance, 2025
- Asia: AI Sandboxes and Capacity-Building Programs in Four Economies, 2025
- Asia: AI-Focused Regulatory Sandboxes and Innovation Hubs in Four Financial Markets, 2025 (1 of 2)
- Asia: AI-Focused Regulatory Sandboxes and Innovation Hubs in Four Financial Markets, 2025 (2 of 2)
- 7.2 Regional AI Innovation Frameworks
- Asia: AI Innovation Facilitators, Financial Inclusion, Regulatory Insight and Risk Management, 2025
- Asia: Regulatory Frameworks for AI Innovation, Market Fit, Coordination, and Expertise, 2025
- Asia: Design, Resource, and Oversight Barriers of AI Innovation Facilitators in Financial Markets, 2025
- Asia: Development of AI Experimentation Platforms and Governance Across Multiple Sect., 2025 (1 of 2)
- Asia: Development of AI Experimentation Platforms and Governance Across Multiple Sect., 2025 (2 of 2)
- APAC: AI Strategy in Anti-Financial Crime, Predictive Capabilities, and Governance Priorities, July 2025
- SEA: Infrastructure, Talent, and Regulatory Barriers Impacting AI Adoption, April 2025
- SEA: Sectoral and Country-Level AI Contributions to Economic Growth, April 2025
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