Thailand's e-marketplace landscape remains highly competitive, despite the planned closure tomorrow of JD Central -- the sector's third-largest player.
Instead of engaging in price wars, Alibaba's Lazada is offering new services and features that mimic physical stores, while bolstering security in terms of online shopping, with the aim of cashing in on the online retail market this year, which is estimated to be worth 600 billion baht.
"Thailand's online retail sector is expected to grow 13% to achieve 600 billion baht this year, accounting for 16% of the retail market. The number of local users of e-commerce is expected to reach 43.5 million by 2025," said Thanida Suiwatana, chief of business for Lazada Thailand.
Lazada Thailand was the first e-marketplace in Thailand to make a profit after operating for over a decade. It posted a profit last year.
Ms Thanida said the company continues to invest carefully and is mainly investing in a sustainable e-commerce ecosystem.
She said the e-commerce sector in the country remains competitive as more new players emerge and consumer behaviour changes.
Ms Thanida said this year the company would continue to grow sustainably in three areas: building a differentiated service for users; ensuring a smooth shopping experience and enhancing security; and using innovation to drive its platform.
"Different user experiences are key to attracting customers. Earlier, the company provided a delivery time of 1.1 days to customers after receiving their orders, but now it will add a greater variety of services similar to physical stores," she said. "This will further drive the country's e-commerce market to the next level."
Lazada has launched LazPayLater that allows users to pay for products a month after making a purchase, with the aim of tapping consumers who don't have a credit card. The firm also offers a gift wrapping service, along with an installation service for consumers who purchase an electronic appliance from Lazada.
Lazada's latest features include LazLive, a curated interactive live content series to stimulate the buying impulse of consumers, and Virtual Try-On which lets consumers try products on virtually. Try and Buy allows shoppers to try sample-sized products before making a purchase.
She said online shopping activities earlier decelerated once people returned to everyday life but growth had resumed since August 2022 as users were now familiar with online shopping.
Lazada's "Transforming Southeast Asia -- From Discovery to Delivery" report says Thais are now shopping online frequently, with 74% shopping online at least once a month, and 25% doing so several times a week.
The number of e-commerce users in the country is expected to grow 61.8% to 43.5 million by 2025, according to the report. In line with this, Lazada saw a 30% increase in the number of sellers on its local platform last year.
Lazada will hold the Lazada 11-Day Mega Sale event from tomorrow through March 13.
Suchaya Paleewong, senior marketing manager Shopee (Thailand), said Shopee also aims to deliver a seamless and enjoyable shopping experience to users, includes giving them the best value on their purchases and deepening the engagement between sellers and shoppers. Shopee Live has been crucial for this, allowing businesses to engage consumers effectively.
Shopee Live's data found more visitors were interested in and enjoyed content on Shopee Live, with fashion, fast moving consumer goods and electronic products being the most popular Live categories.
Shopee recently launched its "3.3 Mega Shopping Sale" event, which runs until tomorrow.
