Thailand's online retail business is expected to grow from US$2.9 billion (95 billion baht) in 2016 to $11.1 billion in 2025, while brands and e-commerce providers will make the omnichannel shift to reach customers both on- and offline.
In 2018, the industry will move toward unified commerce, enabling brands to sell every model to consumers, businesses and government, said aCommerce, a Southeast Asia e-commerce provider.
The company aims to make a profit by 2019 after six years of operations and receive Series B funding of $65 million.
"Intense online retail competition in Thailand will drive online's market share to grow from 3-4% of the total retail market in 2017 to 5.5% [of the $200 billion market]," said Paul Srivorakul, co-founder and group chief executive of aCommerce.
In 2016, local online retail only accounted for 2.5% of the total, worth $116 billion. Thailand remains one of the top e-commerce markets in Asean because of strong middle-class income.
A rise of new gigantic players like JD.com, 11Street, Shopee and Lazada will further stimulate market competition.
"E-commerce in Thailand and Southeast Asia will move toward omnichannels, where brands can sell both on- and offline, while global players like Alibaba and Amazon are also tapping into offline channels to gain revenue, as the online market isn't growing fast enough," said Mr Paul.
The retail sector is moving toward "digital-first" to provide online multichannel to reach their customers.
To capitalise on this trend, aCommere is positioning itself as an e-commerce enabler that helps brands realise unified commerce, connecting with any distribution channel (B2C, B2B or B2G) and selling on any e-marketplace, website, social commerce or offline shop. The company will provide full consulting and technology services to brands via a revenue sharing model, he said.
"As a unified commerce enabler, we will be able to make a profit by the first quarter 2019, and Thailand will be the first profitable country in 2018 as it already broke even in 2017," said Mr Paul.
Tom Srivorakul, co-chief executive of aCommerce in Thailand, said its number of customers in 2017 has grown by 75% year-on-year, with revenue expected to increase over 250%.
The company has already invested in a 20,000 square metre warehouse and warehouse management system for faster delivery to support business expansion.
Mr Paul said by end of this year, the group's revenue from B2B and B2C will be 30% and 70%, respectively, a ratio he estimates at 50:50 by 2018.
