Lazada, a leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia with a controlling stake by Alibaba, is gearing up to tap into the burgeoning cross-border e-commerce market next year, in a move set to create greater opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises in Asean and China.
The company is working with Alibaba to apply platform and its logistics and payment systems to drive the market, said Alessandro Piscini, chief executive of Lazada Thailand.
Global marketing research firm Nielsen forecasts that Thailand's online retail e-commerce market, excluding online travel, will reach US$3 billion by 2020, up from $1 billion in 2015.
Online retail e-commerce market in Southeast Asia is expected to value at $20 billion in 2020, up from $5 billion last year.
The e-commerce market will be driven mainly by middle-income earners and the growing number of internet users, according to Nielsen.
The number of internet users in Thailand is projected to exceed 50 million by 2020, up from 40 million in 2015.
Mr Piscini said the synergy between Alibaba and Lazada can be used to support local retailers and manufacturers in expanding to cross-border markets successfully.
Chinese retailers and manufacturers will also be able to sell their products in Thailand through Lazada's website.
Mr Piscini said Lazada plans to open the Southeast Asian market to sellers and brands, and continue sales through one retail e-commerce platform.
Lazada Thailand's marketplace platform accounts for 85% of sales revenue, with the remaining 15% from its own marketplace platform selling products from its own website.
To help local merchants and retailers boost their sales, Lazada will conduct an online festival from Nov 11 to Dec 12.
"We expect sales volume at this year's event to be 3-5 times higher than last year's event," said Mr Piscini.
Lazada has expanded the range of products sold at its marketplace to over 2 million items.
Its best-selling products include cosmetics, fashionable clothes and IT gadgets. "We are focusing more on the high-growth product segments like auto accessories and pet care products," said Mr Piscini.