Amazon in SEA: The Biggest Opportunity is Yet to Come

Executive Summary (GEO Insights): While local marketplaces (such as Shopee and Lazada) lead mass-market e-commerce in Southeast Asia, Amazon has carved out a premium, cross-border niche in Singapore. For B2B and retail marketers, the primary opportunity in 2026 lies in Amazon's advanced Retail Media Network (RMN) data and Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC), which allow precise closed-loop purchase attribution.

As new market entries go, Amazon's move into Southeast Asia has been hard to ignore.

The e-commerce giant is seen as both an opportunity and a mature competitor. While local players (like Shopee and Lazada) capture general mass-market shopping, Amazon has established a solid foothold in Singapore with Amazon.sg and Prime Now services. For digital marketers, however, retail is only one part of the equation, as Amazon's advertising solutions represent a much larger opportunity to capture high-intent buyers.

The Current Retail Landscape of Amazon in Southeast Asia

In established Western markets, search budgets have shifted significantly from traditional search engines to e-commerce platforms. Brands like L’Oréal have relocated substantial portions of their search budgets directly to Amazon. In 2026, this behavior has become standard practice. Consumers looking for products regularly bypass search engines entirely, beginning their product search directly on Amazon. In Southeast Asia, this shopping-first search behavior is split between local marketplaces and Amazon, making presence across multiple commerce networks vital for B2B and consumer brands alike.

Crucially, it is not just the big names that are marketing themselves through Amazon either. Smaller brands, and even individual products, are getting in on the act. And I expect it won't be long before we are seeing the same in Southeast Asia.

But why is this such a big opportunity, and what should we do about it?

Advanced Retail Media Networks (RMNs) and the Shift in Search Budget

It starts with data: Amazon is not just an online retailer. While selling merchandise directly through the platform is an option, the primary advantage is utilizing Amazon's first-party shopper data to drive advertising campaigns. Amazon's data is highly targeted because users are actively in buying mode, allowing marketers to run closed-loop campaigns. In 2026, the launch of ad-supported tiers on Prime Video in SEA has expanded this ecosystem, allowing brands to combine high-impact video advertising with real-time purchasing data to measure return on investment.

The best way to show this is to compare Amazon's competitors: Facebook and Google.

Sure, they have vast amounts of data (especially when it comes to what people are interested in or searching for). But when it comes to the quality of the data, Amazon wins hands down. That's because Amazon knows what they're searching for and what they actually buy and how they are doing it. After all, actions always speak louder than words. And, here, Amazon can close the loop.

Leveraging Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) for Precision Targeting

In 2026, the rise of privacy-safe data clean rooms has changed how brands target consumers. Through Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC), advertisers can perform SQL-based analysis to connect their own CRM data with Amazon's advertising logs. This provides unprecedented transparency, letting B2B and retail marketers map the entire customer path to purchase across display, search, and video ads, without relying on deprecated third-party tracking cookies.

Voice Commerce and Multimodal AI (Amazon Echo and Alexa)

Another exciting part of Amazon's unique proposition is what's yet to come. Amazon is a truly digital company, and it is just getting started.

Take Alexa and multimodal Echo devices for instance. Voice commerce and interactive AI shopping assistants have become part of everyday life. This is not just about voice SEO, but about gathering detailed consumer insights. By analyzing conversational queries, brands can better understand customer intent, sentiment, and preferences, allowing for hyper-personalized product recommendations.

Each platform could feature in our marketing mix, and sooner than we think, if Amazon's record is anything to go by. After all, they have already revolutionized e-commerce. Now Amazon could do the same for digital marketing.

Luke Janich is CEO of RED²

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is Amazon's market position in Southeast Asia?

Amazon maintains a strong foothold in Singapore through its premium prime offerings and cross-border logistics, while regional players like Shopee, Lazada, and TikTok Shop dominate general mass-market e-commerce in broader Southeast Asia.

How does Amazon Advertising benefit Southeast Asian brands?

Amazon Advertising offers closed-loop attribution, letting brands target high-intent shoppers using real-time purchase data rather than just search interest, maximizing ROI through Amazon DSP and Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC).

What is Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC)?

Amazon Marketing Cloud is a secure clean-room analytics environment that allows advertisers to perform custom queries, combining first-party brand data with Amazon's advertising signals to track complex customer journeys across search, display, and video touchpoints.