Southeast Asia is no stranger when it comes to strategically playing the e-commerce card, Thailand as a case in point. Although yet to see its first unicorn, Thailand’s e-commerce sector has blossomed and produced a total of US$3 billion in market value in 2018, as stated in an article by Bangkok Post.
In the industry, these are the seven local players that flourish in the Thai e-commerce market
PantipMarket
Founded by Wanchat Padungrat in 1997, Pantip started off as a Thai-language online magazine, Pantip.com. The website didn’t take off, and Padungrat got inspired to turn it into an online forum for discussion.
According to an exclusive interview with Tech In Asia, Pantip started to make money from internet ads when Intel Australia took a chance to place an ad on its platform. Since then, more ad agencies came knocking for ad placement, and more people offer to invest in Pantip.
However, Padungrat said he didn’t believe an internet company needs so much money to run, so to this day, Pantip is still owned 100 per cent by the CEO.
Pantipmarket grew later, a classified listings marketplace, and now has 180,000 unique visitors per day.
Tarad
One of the oldest e-commerce in Thailand is Tarad.com, with a total of 200,000 merchants, with 20 per cent comprises of big brands and the remaining 80 per cent SMEs.
Recently in March 2019, the company announced that it has pivoted its business to include a full-service e-commerce services provider. Tarad launched U-Commerce, an integrated e-commerce management system for SMEs/merchants/vendors to help them manage a variety of online stores from a single platform.
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The new management system allows clients to have a single view of product management and sales on every channel. It mainly aims to serve large and mid-sized brands that are offline but eager to expand online.
Tarad was founded by Pawoot Pongvitayapanu. Tarad is 51 per cent owned by TSpace Digital Co, the digital arm of TCC Group, and was also backed by the Japanese giant Rakuten.
ShopSpot
ShopSpot was founded in 2012, launched as a Craigslist-style mobile app before shifting the business model from C2C to B2C marketplace platform for SMEs. The changes happened in 2013 after graduating from JFDI and raising its first seed round led by angel investor Kris Nalamlieng.
Shortly after, it raised an additional US$565,000 from Singapore-based Jungle Ventures as well as SingTel Innov8.
Founded by its CEO & Co-founder of ShopSpot Pte Ltd, Natsakon Kiatsuraron, ShopSpot is a mobile phone app that lets users snap a picture, tag the item they want to sell, and post it on the ShopSpot marketplace.
In 2016, it stroke a deal with King Power Group that saw it run only as ShopSpot Co., Ltd, made a change in its internal structure.
Blisby
Blisby is an online marketing website that sells handmade crafts and design products from Thai artists. It self-identifies as marketing websites to gather handmade artists into one community.
Blisby is also an online flea market for new arts and crafts. It was founded in 2013 by Phuvadol Thongthavorn, operates similar to the global handicraft marketplace Etsy, where users can sign up to create, sell, and purchase handicrafts.
In 2015, the company nabbed US$300,000 in a seed round led by East Ventures and Japanese mobile Internet giant DeNA.
Kaidee
Kaidee is a platform that facilitates a range of wares including smartphones, amulets, vehicles, and even properties.
In 2014, Kaidee joined forces with OLX.co.th to become a joint venture with 56 per cent holdings by kaidee and 44 per cent ownership by current OLX shareholders Naspers.
In 2017, Kaidee launched a dedicated car marketplace called RodKaidee, which enables users to search for cars via their make, car type, model, year, and engine type, and price range.
WeLoveShopping
WeLoveShopping is a C2C platform that caters to resellers and small merchants in Thailand. It claimed to house more than 320,000 stores in Thailand.
At first, WeLoveShopping began as a flagship e-commerce platform of Ascend Group, a privately owned e-commerce company headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand as a spin-off of True Corporation. Ascend Group also owns another notable e-commerce in Thailand, iTrueMart.
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Recently, it’s reported that WeLoveShopping has shifted to support True Corporation’s business. It worked as an arm of Charoen Pokphand Group, the largest agro-conglomerate.
iTrueMart
Another Ascend Group’s extension, iTrueMart is an e-commerce platform for home appliances and electronic products in Thailand.
In 2015, it announced its expansion into all 10 countries in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore. However, iTrueMart PH ceased trading in September 2016 and has since closed the business in the Philippines.
iTrueMart claimed to service an average of over 14,000 orders per day. iTrueMart is ongoing a rebrand as WeMall to also cater to marketplace sellers.
Thailand is full of international e-commerces that has localised its operation, presenting competition for the homegrown e-commerces.
In an article by Bangkok Post published last year, some of the local e-commerces’ players shared their insight on what’s needed for the local companies to survive amidst fierce contests. Pawoot Pongvitayapanu, founder of Tarad.com, said that companies need unique positioning and additional services instead of burning money by trying to compete with international players.
According to Google/Temasek e-Conomy 2018 report, the top five exports sold through cross-border trade in Thailand’s e-commerce are jewelry and watches, health and beauty products, auto parts, home and garden, and collectibles. Even with the fully-packed industry, both local and international players are expected to surge to US$13 billion by 2025, contributing to Southeast Asia’s forecasted account for US$103 billion in market size by 2025.
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