Singapore – Majority (93%) of e-sellers revealed that upskilling their teams to use AI would enhance productivity yet also recognised the challenge of shifting from familiar manual systems to AI-driven technologies.
This figure, according to the latest Lazada report developed in collaboration with Kantar, suggested a gap between understanding AI’s value and its practical application.
Findings of the report showed online sellers in Southeast Asia demonstrate strong familiarity with AI, with 68% of them indicating that they were aware of AI. Sellers believed that AI was part of 47% of their business processes, while the actual adoption rate was only 37%, revealing a noticeable discrepancy between perceived and real integration.
The research also found that online sellers faced challenges in terms of assessing AI efficacy and its cost implications.
While 89% saw AI as a tool for enhancing productivity, 61% remained doubtful about its broader value, 93% also thought AI could result in long-term cost savings, and 64% pointed to its expense and time-consuming setup as barriers to full adoption.
However, 75% of the respondents admitted that their employees still prefer to use tools they were familiar with instead of transitioning to new AI solutions.
Furthermore, the report found that Indonesia and Vietnam took the lead in the region with 42% AI adoption across business functions. Singapore and Thailand also followed closely behind at 39%.
Interestingly, sellers were categorised into three distinct archetypes based on their average scores in five key operational areas: operations and logistics, product management, marketing and advertising, customer service, and workforce management. These categories that reflect the sellers’ readiness to adopt AI are AI adepts, AI aspirants, and AI agnostics.
AI adepts referred to sellers who had integrated AI across at least 80% of their operations, positioning them at the forefront of adoption. On the other hand, AI aspirants are referred to as sellers who had partially integrated AI into their operations but still faced adoption gaps across key functions.
AI agnostics made up 26% of the surveyed sellers in Southeast Asia, with this group falling behind in AI adoption, as most of their business functions were still managed manually.
Talking about the report, James Dong, CEO at Lazada Group, said, “The findings from our research reveal a fascinating gap in Southeast Asia’s e-commerce ecosystem. While most sellers understand AI’s transformative potential, many are still navigating the path from recognition to implementation.”
According to findings, Thailand garnered the highest share of AI adepts, noting 30% of sellers in this category. Singapore (29%), Indonesia (29%) and Vietnam (22%) showed strong AI adoption, despite some knowledge gaps. Meanwhile, Malaysia (15%) and the Philippines (19%) faced challenges related to internal buy-in and infrastructure constraints. .
A significant 76% of Southeast Asian sellers were also identified as AI aspirants or AI agnostics, actively searching for more effective AI-powered solutions, with 42% highlighting the need for AI tools and 41% looking for improved seller support.
