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AI Presents Growth Opportunities for Malaysian eCommerce Sellers, Despite Adoption Challenges, Lazada Report Reveals
- On average, Malaysian online sellers have adopted AI in only 26% of their business operations, significantly lower than the SEA average of 37%.
- Indonesia and Vietnam lead average AI adoption in eCommerce in Southeast Asia, followed by Singapore and Thailand.
- Lazada’s new playbook provides sellers with best practices, actionable insights and resources to help integrate AI into their operations.
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – Media OutReach Newswire – 8 April 2025 – Lazada, a leading eCommerce platform in Southeast Asia, today published its research report, Bridging the AI Gap: Online Seller Perceptions and Adoption Trends in Southeast Asia (SEA). Developed in collaboration with Kantar, the report surveyed 1,214 eCommerce sellers across Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam to examine AI adoption trends, challenges, and opportunities—shedding light on sellers’ readiness to integrate AI into their operations.
Knowledge, perception and implementation gap evident among online sellers
The research reveals that 69% of Malaysian online sellers show strong familiarity of AI, in line with the average for the region at 68%, indicating that they are aware of AI. While SEA sellers believe they have integrated AI into 47% of their business operations, actual adoption stands only at 37%. In Malaysia, this gap is even wider with sellers estimating adoption at 30%, while real implementation is lower at just 26%, underscoring a disparity between perceived and actual AI use in the country.
Online sellers face a dilemma in terms of assessing AI efficacy and its cost implications. While 89% of SEA sellers acknowledge AI’s role in boosting productivity, this sentiment is slightly lower amongst Malaysian sellers at 77%. This contrasts with the perceived overall usefulness of AI, where only 1 in 2 Malaysian sellers are sceptical about its utility, compared with almost two-thirds (61%) of SEA sellers who feel the same. Furthermore, although 87% sellers in Malaysia agree that AI can drive long-term cost savings, nearly two-thirds (64%) cite costliness and time-consuming implementation as barriers to adoption.
The research also suggests an implementation gap, where sellers understand the importance of AI but struggle with effective deployment. Highlighting the challenge of transitioning from familiar, manual processes to AI-driven solutions, nearly all sellers in SEA (93%) agree that it is important to upskill the workforce to use AI so that they can be more productive, yet 3 out of 4 sellers (75%) also concede that their employees still prefer to use tools they are familiar with, rather than new AI solutions. In Malaysia, the importance of upskilling for AI is slightly lower at 89%, although a high majority of sellers (67%) still indicate that their employees prefer to use tried-and-tested ways of working.
Comparing AI-readiness levels in Malaysia vs. SEA
Across the region, Indonesia and Vietnam lead with 42% AI adoption across business functions, while Singapore and Thailand follow closely at 39% and finally the Philippines at 32% and Malaysia at 26%. Based on the level of AI adoption across five core aspects of operations of a seller’s business, namely operations and logistics, product management, marketing and advertising, customer service, and workforce management, the report identifies three distinct seller archetypes – AI Adepts, AI Aspirants, and AI Agnostics[1], based on the average score they attained in each aspect of operations to represent their readiness level to embrace AI:
- AI Adepts: Sellers who have integrated AI across at least 80% of their operations, placing them at the forefront of adoption. Only 15% of Malaysian sellers belong to this category, significantly lower than the SEA average of 24%.
- AI Aspirants: Sellers who have partially integrated AI into their operations, but still face adoption gaps across key functions. This group comprises 43% of Malaysian sellers, aligning with half of the sellers in Southeast Asia (50%).
- AI Agnostics: This group lags in AI adoption, with most business functions still handled manually. Malaysians have a notably higher number of sellers in this category (42%), nearly double the Southeast Asia average of 26%.
Findings indicate that Thailand has the highest share of AI Adepts, with 30% of sellers in this category. Singapore (29%), Indonesia (29%), and Vietnam (22%) also demonstrate strong AI implementation despite knowledge gaps, while Malaysia (15%) and the Philippines (19%) face challenges related to internal buy-in and infrastructure limitations. 85% of Malaysian sellers fall into the AI Aspirants and AI Agnostics categories, signalling a pressing need for enhanced seller support (48%) and AI-powered tools (47%) to drive implementation.
“The findings from our research reveal a fascinating gap in Southeast Asia’s eCommerce ecosystem. While most sellers understand AI’s transformative potential, many are still navigating the path from recognition to implementation,” said James Dong, Chief Executive Officer, Lazada Group. “As a leading eCommerce platform in Southeast Asia, we aim to bridge the knowledge and adoption gap by developing accessible AI solutions that address the unique challenges faced by sellers across different markets, ultimately making technology more accessible and driving sustainable business growth regardless of a seller’s size or technical expertise.”
Leveraging Lazada’s AI-driven solutions to transform business operations
To support sellers in their AI adoption journey, Lazada is launching the Online Sellers Artificial Intelligence Readiness Playbook, designed to provide strategic guidance based on sellers’ AI maturity levels. The research reveals that sellers are already leveraging key AI-driven solutions on Lazada’s platform to enhance their efficiency, validating Lazada’s continuous investments into cutting-edge AI innovations and advanced tools that streamline eCommerce operations and drive competitiveness.
With 67% of sellers expressing strong satisfaction in existing Lazada AI features[2], Lazada is also releasing new Generative AI (GenAI) features that are designed to empower sellers and enhance their product listings, streamline operations, and boost customer conversions such as:
- AI Smart Product Optimisation: Powered by GenAI, this tool helps sellers identify improvements they can make to their product titles, descriptions, or even photos. It enables automated virtual try-ons, background modifications, and model adjustments, allowing sellers to produce professional product imagery quickly within minutes.
- AI-Powered Translations: This feature automatically translates product content into multiple local languages, enabling sellers to expand their reach across diverse markets efficiently and accurately.
- Lazzie Seller: A dedicated AI assistant within the Alibaba Seller Centre (ASC), providing instant responses to frequently asked questions, quick navigation to key features, store risk assessments, and business advice to boost seller efficiency and growth.
To find out more, download the Online Sellers Artificial Intelligence Readiness Playbook to understand how these solutions can offer a structured framework for sellers to integrate AI into their workflows to drive growth, efficiency, and innovation in an ever-evolving eCommerce landscape.
About the Research
Developed in partnership with Kantar, Bridging the AI Gap: Online Seller Perceptions and Adoption Trends in Southeast Asia provides a comprehensive analysis of AI adoption trends, challenges, and opportunities, offering insights into how sellers can leverage AI to drive growth and efficiency in Southeast Asia’s evolving eCommerce landscape. The report surveyed 1,214 eCommerce sellers across Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam in February 2025.
This follows the Artificial Intelligence Adoption in eCommerce in Southeast Asia Whitepaper, another research conducted in partnership with Kantar, which surveyed more than 6,000 eCommerce users in the region in September 2024 to better understand AI awareness, trust and preferences, shopping behaviour, and consumer pain points in the region.
Annex
Lazada’s AI features for sellers:
- Lazada Business Advisor: AI-powered analytics tool that provides real-time insights to optimise sales and business performance. Almost seven in 10 Lazada sellers report strong satisfaction and almost half (48%) actively use this tool to track trends and make data-driven decisions
- Lazada Sponsored Solutions: A targeted advertising platform that boosts product visibility and maximises sales through AI-driven recommendations. Two in three (67%) sellers report strong satisfaction, and 46% actively use this tool, citing its positive impact on sales growth.
- AI Smart Listing: Generative AI tool that automates product listing by generating and pre-filling compelling attributes based on images or keywords. 64% of sellers report strong satisfaction in leveraging this feature to reduce listing time and improve content quality.
- Virtual Try-Ons: An AI-powered AR feature that allows shoppers to visualise products in real time, increasing purchase confidence and reducing returns. 62% of sellers express strong satisfaction with its effectiveness, with 42% of sellers using it actively.
- AI Selling Points: A tool that analyses product data and customer behaviour to automatically highlight key product features to drive conversions. 68% of sellers express strong satisfaction with this feature and 42% actively use it to attract more customers to their storefront online.
- Lazada IM Shop Assistant (LISA): An AI-powered tool that helps sellers enhance customer engagement by providing automated, AI-driven responses to inquiries, improving service efficiency and conversion rates. 65% of sellers express strong satisfaction with this feature and 38% actively use it.
Hashtag: #LazadaMY #Lazada
https://www.lazada.com.my
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The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
About Lazada Group
Lazada Group is Southeast Asia’s pioneer eCommerce platform. For the last 13 years, Lazada has been accelerating progress in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam through commerce and technology. Today, a thriving local ecosystem links about 160 million active users to more than one million actively-selling sellers every month, who are transacting safely and securely via trusted payment channels and Lazada Wallet, receiving parcels through a homegrown logistics network that has become the largest in the region.
Media OutReach
Asia Coach Group Partners with Veteran Business Consultant Rick Tam to Launch “Business Breakthrough” Programme for Hong Kong SMEs
Challenging Business Environment Demands New Solutions
Hong Kong’s SMEs are facing unprecedented operational pressures. According to a survey by CPA Australia, 37% of small businesses in Hong Kong struggle to obtain external financing. Data from Airwallex further reveals that 96% of SMEs have experienced cash flow difficulties in the past year. With property asset values declining, banks’ insistence on property collateral for loans has left many enterprises in financial distress.
Responding to Market Needs with Systematic Business Upgrade Solutions
“Hong Kong has never lacked capital—what’s missing is the mechanism to connect businesses with it,” Rick Tam noted. The programme addresses common pain points faced by local SMEs, including declining profits, low business valuations, tight cash flow, and recruitment challenges. Built upon the four-pillar framework of “Commerce, Strategy, Breakthrough, and Structure,” the curriculum covers stabilising cash flow and enhancing financial flexibility, repositioning businesses and improving client quality, reshaping product value and expanding profit margins, as well as systematising operations and attracting investors. The programme commits to helping participants improve cash flow, increase business value, and strengthen their business models within 90 days.
Four Practical Tools for Immediate Application
Participants will acquire four core tools: the “Cash Flow Vortex System” for rapid assessment of financial status and establishing safety buffers; the “A.T.C. Client Leverage Ladder” for repositioning and enhancing client value; the “High-Value Breakthrough Method” for creating products with greater value and trust; and the “Marketing Triangle Matrix” for integrating human resources, client bases, and operational systems to plan business expansion. The programme adopts a six-step progressive model—from restructuring business models, improving profit margins, attracting capital injection, building high-performance teams, and systematising operations, to ultimately helping business owners reclaim their time and freedom.
Instructor Credentials
Programme instructor Rick Tam is a graduate of the University of Hong Kong’s Business School and currently serves as CEO of two family offices and chief consultant to several others. He holds the CFPCM Certified Financial Planner designation. Tam has founded more than nine brands spanning wealth management, securities, and food and beverage sectors, and has guided over 1,000 participants through business expansion.
As Hong Kong’s economy seeks transformation, channelling capital precisely into the real economy through the “Business Breakthrough” approach offers more than a lifeline for SMEs—it injects vital momentum into Hong Kong’s long-term economic development.
Hashtag: #RickTam #AsiaCoach
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
Media OutReach
Zuellig Pharma Strengthens Consumer Healthcare Portfolio with the Acquisition of Zam-Buk® and Vapex® Brands from Bayer
Zam-Buk® is an ointment used for the temporary relief of pain and itch, including discomfort from insect bites. First launched in 1902, Zam-Buk® has retained strong brand equity over the decades and is widely perceived as a trusted household brand. Vapex® is a nasal inhaler used to help relieve nasal congestion. Launched in 1917, Vapex® has built meaningful brand recognition, particularly in Thailand.
The acquisition of the brands supports Zuellig Pharma’s strategic priority to strengthen and scale its consumer healthcare portfolio across Asia. It also marks the company’s second consumer healthcare acquisition, following Propan in the Philippines, reinforcing its focus on building a strong commercial platform for trusted, everyday healthcare products in the region.
Hashtag: #ZuelligPharma #ConsumerHealthcare #ConsumerHealth #Healthcare #Pharmaceuticals #Zambuk #Vapex #Bayer
https://www.zuelligpharma.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/zuellig-pharma
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
About Zuellig Pharma
Zuellig Pharma is a leading healthcare solutions company in Asia, and our purpose is to make healthcare more accessible to the communities we serve. We provide world-class distribution, commercialization, and clinical trial support services, underpinned by a strong culture of innovation to support the growing healthcare needs in this region. The company was founded a hundred years ago and has grown to become a multibillion-dollar business covering 18 markets with over 12,000 employees. Our people serve more than 200,000 medical facilities and work with over 450 clients, including the top 20 pharmaceutical companies in the world.
Media OutReach
International Entertainment Corporation to Hold EGM on 26 February 2026 for Proposed Convertible Notes Issuance
DigiPlus Interactive Corp., named as one of the Fortune Southeast Asia 500, together with its subsidiaries, is an innovative digital entertainment group in the Philippines and is a leader in the casinos and gaming industry. On 17 November 2025, the Company entered into the Subscription Agreement with the Subscriber, pursuant to which the Company conditionally agreed to issue and the Subscriber conditionally agreed to subscribe for the Notes in two tranches with a maturity of five years and an interest rate of 3% per annum.
Upon full conversion of the Notes at the initial Conversion Price, a total of 1,600,000,000 Shares will be issued by the Company, representing approximately 53.89% of the issued share capital of the Company as enlarged by the issue and allotment of the Conversion Shares. As such, the Subscriber will be obliged to make a mandatory general offer pursuant to Rule 26.1 of the Takeovers Code, unless the Whitewash Waiver is granted and approved.
The initial Conversion Price of HK$1.00 per Conversion Share represents a discount of approximately 3.85% to the closing price of HK$1.04 per Share as quoted on the Stock Exchange on the Latest Practicable Date (6 February 2026).
The board of Directors (the “Board“) believes that the Subscription would be beneficial to improving and strengthening the Group’s liquidity and financial position on a longer-term basis. In the event that the Subscriber converts part or the full amount of the Notes into the Conversion Shares, it will also broaden the shareholder and capital base of the Company. The Group intends to apply part of the net proceeds raised from the issuance of the Notes of approximately HK$489.22 million for the early repayment of the Promissory Notes and interest accrued thereon (the “PN Repayment“), and approximately HK$392.39 million to early repay the Secured Bank Borrowing to achieve immediate interest savings.
The remaining net proceeds will primarily be used for funding the Investment Commitment and attractive investment/business opportunity(ies); and as general working capital of the Group. The Investment Commitment is currently expected to include capital investments for acquisition of land for the expansion of the Group’s integrated resort in Manila City in the Philippines (the ”Hotel”) and the construction of additional hotel rooms, for provision of other amenities of the integrated resort, and for ongoing upgrades, refurbishments and renovations to the facilities and infrastructures of both the Hotel and the Group’s existing casino (the “Casino“).
The Independent Board Committee, which comprises all the independent non-executive Directors, is of the opinion that (i) the terms of the Subscription Agreement are on normal commercial terms, and the terms of the Subscription, the Whitewash Waiver and the Special Deal (the PN Repayment to the PN Holder) are fair and reasonable so far as the Independent Shareholders are concerned; and (ii) the Subscription, the Whitewash Waiver and the Special Deal are in the interests of the Company and the Shareholders as a whole and as far as the Independent Shareholders are concerned. It, therefore, recommends the Independent Shareholders to vote in favour of the relevant resolution(s) to be proposed at the EGM.
Hashtag: #InternationalEntertainmentCorporation
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
About International Entertainment Corporation (HKEX: 1009)
International Entertainment Corporation is an investment holding company. The Company and its subsidiaries are principally involved in hotel operations, operating the gaming business under provisional licence and leasing of gaming venues at the hotel complex of the Group in Metro Manila in the Republic of the Philippines to a tenant for authorized gaming operation and live poker events in Macau.
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