Mobile App Insights · Digital Advertising Insights · Eve Chen · July 2026
State of APAC Omnichannel Retail 2026: How Retail Leaders Are Building Digital Growth
As digital retail matures, the next phase of competition is being shaped by engagement, ecosystems, and connected consumer experiences.
As digital retail reaches a new stage of maturity, competitive advantage is no longer defined by downloads alone. The next generation of retail leaders is being shaped by omnichannel experiences, differentiated ecosystems, and the ability to seamlessly connect digital and physical retail.
Retail apps surpassed 8.7 billion global downloads in 2025, while retail websites generated more than 400 billion visits. Although acquisition growth has become more moderate, digital remains the primary gateway for consumers to discover brands, compare products, and engage with retailers before, during, and after purchase. Mobile has become retail’s primary consumer touchpoint across both apps and the web, reinforcing its central role in today’s shopping journey.
At the same time, retail competition is becoming increasingly multidimensional. Marketplace platforms continue to dominate at scale, but retailers are also building competitive advantage through quick commerce, loyalty ecosystems, content-led discovery, and digitally connected in-store experiences. Rather than competing through a single formula, successful retailers are creating differentiated paths to long-term consumer relationships.
This evolution raises a new set of strategic questions for retail leaders:
How are different markets redefining digital retail growth?
Which retail ecosystems are creating the strongest consumer relationships?
Why are engagement and ecosystem expansion becoming as important as acquisition?
How can digital experiences strengthen physical retail?
What distinguishes the next generation of omnichannel retail leaders?
These are the questions explored in State of APAC Omnichannel Retail 2026: Digital Growth Strategies for Retail Leaders, Sensor Tower’s latest report examining how retailers are evolving through App Performance, Audience Insights, Web Insights, and Pathmatics Digital Advertising data.
Note: The download data in this report are based on estimated downloads from the App Store and Google Play, excluding pre-installs, re-downloads, and downloads from third-party Android marketplaces. iOS only for China. For more insights, please click the button below to view the full report for free.
Mobile Has Become Retail’s Primary Consumer Touchpoint
Digital retail continues to operate at enormous scale. Retail apps exceeded 8.7 billion downloads globally in 2025, while retail websites attracted more than 400 billion visits. Although download growth has moderated compared with previous years, both app usage and web traffic demonstrate that digital has become deeply embedded in everyday retail behavior.
Perhaps more importantly, mobile is increasingly becoming the dominant channel across both apps and the web. In Q1 2026, mobile accounted for 59% of retail website visits, up from 46% in Q1 2024, highlighting how consumers now rely on smartphones throughout the entire shopping journey—from discovery to purchase and post-purchase engagement.
Different Growth Engines Are Defining Retail’s New Leaders
The world’s leading retail apps are no longer competing within a single category.
Marketplace platforms continue to dominate through breadth and scale, while quick commerce and QSR platforms have established themselves as high-frequency retail ecosystems centered on everyday convenience. Meanwhile, interest-led and discovery-driven commerce demonstrates that shopping increasingly begins with communities, content, and lifestyle rather than product search alone.
Together, these ecosystems illustrate that retail leadership is increasingly built around different consumer missions—not simply larger catalogues or more downloads.
Building Competitive Advantage Through Everyday Consumer Engagement
As digital retail matures, sustained growth increasingly depends on creating more frequent consumer touchpoints—not simply attracting new users.
Leading retailers are strengthening competitive advantage by embedding themselves into everyday routines. Mission-driven categories such as coffee, grocery, food delivery, and quick commerce encourage habitual app usage, while digital advertising plays an increasingly important role in maintaining visibility in a more competitive retail landscape. Together, these strategies help retailers build lasting consumer relationships beyond individual shopping occasions.
Asia’s Leading Retailers Reveal Different Paths to Digital Growth
The report’s case studies illustrate that there is no single blueprint for digital retail success.
Singapore’s FairPrice demonstrates how everyday utility can strengthen engagement beyond shopping. India’s Nykaa has transformed category leadership into a broader retail ecosystem spanning Beauty, Fashion, and Man. In South Korea, Shinsegae demonstrates how specialized digital experiences can strengthen physical retail. Rather than relying on a single retail platform, Shinsegae serves different consumer journeys through dedicated digital experiences—from Department Store for everyday shopping to Duty Free for travel retail. During the pandemic, strong domestic digital engagement helped offset declines in travel retail, creating a more resilient foundation as international tourism recovered.
Together, these examples show how leading retailers are using digital experiences to build stronger consumer relationships while reinforcing their broader retail strategies.
To explore more insights, click the button below to download the full report.
Retail competition is entering a new era.
Downloads and active users remain important, but long-term success increasingly depends on how effectively retailers connect digital and physical experiences, build differentiated ecosystems, and create more frequent reasons for consumers to return.
Download State of APAC Omnichannel Retail 2026: Digital Growth Strategies for Retail Leaders to explore how the world’s leading retailers are redefining growth through Sensor Tower’s App Performance, Audience Insights, Web Insights, and Pathmatics Digital Advertising intelligence.
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