Social Media, Chat Rooms Power a $48 Billion Market in Social Commerce in South-East Asia

In South-East Asian countries like Thailand, almost half of all e-commerce takes place through social media or chat rooms on Facebook, WhatsApp, or Softbank Group-backed Line Corp.'s social-media app. Of Southeast Asia's $109 billion e-commerce market last year, social commerce accounted for about 44%, according to Bain & Co. Samantha Proyrungtong, co-owner of a food shop in Bangkok, Vivin Grocery, keeps three phones and a laptop glued to Facebook and Line app throughout the workday. She needs them not for the basic social media things but to get orders from customers since her shop relies on chat applications for a…