E-commerce in Southeast Asia is entering its fourth era called AI commerce, according to the report.
A new report dubs Thailand the epicentre of digital trust in Southeast Asia, leading the region in consumer confidence in both human creators and generative artificial intelligence (AI).The country scored a regional high of 2.24 out of 4 for influencer-driven purchasing power, easily outstripping the Southeast Asian average of 1.98, noted the "E-commerce Influencer & Affiliate Marketing in Southeast Asia 2026" report by e-commerce data provider Cube and Impact.com.
Thais are open to next-generation technology, scoring 2.02 out of 4 for generative AI influence, well ahead of the regional average of 1.82.
Thai consumers are moving away from purely transactional shopping, leaning heavily into relationship-based commerce, according to the survey.
This trust carries over to their choice of channels, where Thai consumers show a much higher reliance on trusted influencer links (16% compared with 11% regionally) and dedicated review or comparison sites (14% compared with 9% regionally) to finalise their purchases.
