Study: Brands risk getting left behind if they ignore these three formats…
The consumer habits reshaping global retail were built in the East — and Western retailers and brands would do well to pay attention.
The formats now driving the fastest growth in global retail — live commerce, social commerce and delivery in minutes (quick commerce) — were pioneered and scaled in Asia, and most Western consumers have yet to adopt them, according to a new study from consumer intelligence company NielsenIQ. (In NIQ language, live commerce refers to shopping via real-time livestreams, typically hosted by brands or creators.)
China's live-commerce market alone was worth roughly $900 billion in 2025, approaching the size of the entire U.S. e-commerce market, according to market data cited in the report. But 68% of consumers in North America and 67% in Europe have never once purchased product through social media, and roughly two-thirds have never used quick commerce.
In contrast, 59% of APAC (Asia-Pacific region) consumers already buy through social platforms.
“What's happening in Asia isn't a threat to Western retail, it's a preview," said Emilie Darolles, president Western Europe, NIQ. "Live shopping, social commerce and instant delivery aren't 'emerging' channels; in Asia they're simply how people shop, and European consumers are already moving the same way. The brands that lead the next decade will read the East as a roadmap and act on it now, while the opportunity is still wide open."
Other findings from NIQ’s “The Commerce Revolution: Where East Meets West” are below.
•The East is the world's e-shopping capital. APAC (Asia-Pacific region) accounts for roughly 55% of global e-commerce revenue in 2025. China's social-commerce market alone is on track to reach $1.8 trillion by 2030, up from about $500 billion today.
•Quick commerce (ultra-fast fulfillment with typically delivery within 30–60 minutes) is a way of life in Asia. It now accounts for around 80% of fast-moving online sales in India, while China's approximately 10,000 dark stores enable 30-minutes-or-less delivery at national scale.
•The West's counter-move retail media is scaling but still hard to measure. Global retail-media spend hit $184 billion in 2025 across 270-plus networks (US projected at $107.6 billion in 2026), yet almost half of brands say their measurement is only somewhat effective, or not effective at all.
