- Singapore’s social commerce market is set to reach USD3.17bn in 2025, with live commerce expected to make up to USD1.3bn.
- Live commerce is driving retail sales in Singapore, boosting conversion rates roughly 10x over traditional e-commerce, Shopee Live and Lazada Live dominate live commerce in Singapore.
- Live streaming to get a big boost from AI which will reduce its operational costs and attract international customers via real time translation.
Live vs Social commerce: New choice of commerce for Singaporean consumers. Live commerce, a much more immersive subset of social commerce, is causing a huge shift in consumer. While social commerce generally refers to selling products directly through social media posts or stories, live-commerce is a much more interactive format. In live commerce hosts engage with viewers by hosting a livestream, demonstrating their products to a live audience and answering their questions immediately. Social commerce in Singapore, which includes live commerce, reached USD2.5bn in 2024 and is forecasted to reach USD3.17bn by 2025, comprising 32-34% of the overall e-commerce market. It is expected to continue to rise at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.6% from 2025 to 2030, according to ResearchandMarkets, Singapore’s broader e-commerce market size of USD8.54bn in 2024 is expected to grow by 10-15% in 2025 to reach USD9.39bn-USD9.82bn, according to data-analytics firm ECDB. If we conservatively estimate that live commerce makes up 30-40% of the SGD3.17bn social commerce market in Singapore, that suggests a live commerce market size of USD1.0 to 1.3bn in 2025.
The social commerce market in Singapore is projected to grow at ~16% CAGR over 2025-2030
Live commerce: 10x higher conversion rates than traditional e-commerce. In Singapore, live commerce converts much more effectively than standard online retail. A study by DHL notes that conversion rates via live streams are 10x higher than traditional e-commerce. Platforms like Shopee Live and Lazada Live, and social media channels such as TikTok Live and Instagram Live, use interactive and engaging tools like live Q&A, flash sales, and gamification to sustain viewer interest and drive immediate impulse purchases. Shopee Live dominates Live commerce in Singapore. Shopee also dominates Southeast Asia’s e-commerce space, generating a gross merchandise value (GMV) of USD100bn in 2024. Shopee Live and Lazada Live are at the forefront of the city-state’s live commerce ecosystem. Technology infrastructure also plays a key role with mobile-first design and robust logistics capabilities enable seamless live shopping experiences.
Live commerce powered by reviews, emotion, and real-time engagement. According to the BCG, consumers are increasingly influenced by entertaining and authentic content, with half discovering and researching products through video-first platforms. A majority rely on peer reviews and are more likely to share, recommend, or create content around their purchases. These behaviours align strongly with live commerce, where real-time engagement, authenticity, and community interaction drive impulse buying. The high trust in user-generated content and preference for emotionally engaging experiences highlight live commerce’s potential to convert viewers into buyers instantly. For brands, leveraging interactive formats is key to capturing attention and accelerating the path to purchase.
The data highlights consumer preferences for authentic, entertaining, and social-first shopping experiences, according to BCG:
- 1 in 2 consumers have purchased something they discovered while shopping
- 77% of consumers' purchase decisions were influenced by entertaining content
- 83% of consumers rely on reviews to consider a product for purchase
- 71% of consumers are more likely to enjoy branded content that are authentic
- 71% of consumers watched video content that motivated the purchase
- 1 in 2 consumers did their product research on live commerce platforms
- 7 in 10 consumers trust the content on live commerce platforms to make purchase decision
- users are 1.5x more likely to purchase something because of online review/recommendations
- users are 1.8x more likely to share entertaining content with their friends
- users are 1.4x more open to experimenting new things
- users are 1.2x more motivated to purchase after watching branded video content
- users are 1.5x more likely to write a product review after receiving it
- users are 2.4x more likely to share their purchase with their friends
- users are 3.7x more likely to create content around their purchase
- users are 1.8x more likely to convince their family and friends to buy it
Live streaming to get a big boost from AI. In China, who leads live-commerce globally, AI anchors are being deployed to provide 24/7 live streaming services to reduce operational costs, increase sales conversion through personalised recommendation and attract international consumers through real-time translation. However, there are still challenges associated with AI anchors, including a lack of emotional resonance with viewers, which can be resolved with improving technology. We expect live-commerce to get a big boost with AI solving one of the biggest challenges of high-operational cost of live-commerce.
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