“Thailand B2C E-Commerce Market 2017” is the title of the new report published by yStats.com, a leading secondary market research company specialized in E-Commerce intelligence and based in Hamburg, Germany. According to the findings of this report, Thailand is the second largest B2C E-Commerce market in Southeast Asia in terms of sales and is projected to maintain this rank through 2025 due to a strong double-digit growth rate.
Thailand is the second largest economy in Southeast Asia, behind Indonesia, and also ranks second in B2C E-Commerce sales, as the new report from yStats.com reveals. The development of online retailing in this country is spurred by growing Internet penetration, reaching close to half of total population in 2016, and state projects aimed at improving payment and delivery infrastructure. Although online shopper penetration is still in single-digits, a strong B2C E-Commerce sales growth rate is expected in the coming years, allowing Thailand to maintain its position as the runner up in regional online retail sales.
Mobile and social commerce are the two most important E-Commerce market trends in Thailand. Smartphones have become the gateway to Internet connectivity, reaching nearly the same penetration rate as Internet and leading among devices utilized to go online. Thailand is the regional leader in share of online shoppers making purchases via mobile. M-Commerce sales are projected to approach a 50% share of total online spending within the next several years, yStats.com’s report reveals. Furthermore, social media has emerged as the most important platform for online sellers in Thailand. With more than one-half of online shoppers making orders through social networks, thousands of E-Commerce sellers maintain accounts on popular social media such as Facebook, Instagram and LINE to transact with their customers.
Lazada, an E-Commerce retailer and marketplace controlled by Alibaba Group, is the leading online shopping platform in Thailand, attracting three times more visits to its Thai website than the nearest two competitors combined. Other players attempt to challenge Lazada’s leadership by increasing investments into their E-Commerce operations. Among them, the Central Group acquired online clothing retailer Zalora and planned expansion of omnichannel and logistics capabilities for 2017. Furthermore, South Korea-based 11street is a fast growing market player: since its launch in Thailand December 2016, the company has already registered thousands of sellers and more than a hundred thousand buyers on its platform by early 2017, according to information cited by yStats.com.
