Lazada: Alibaba as bridge to China & big data provider

Alibaba will pave the way for Chinese retailers to sell in Thailand through Lazada & open opportunities for Thai retailers in China & globally.

RETAIL & BIG DATA

Lazada: Alibaba as bridge to China & big data provider

5/07/2016
Suchit Leesa-nguansuk

Lazada is Southeast Asia's largest e-commerce website.

The Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba acquired the company earlier this year in April (see here).

Lazada plans to use Alibaba Group's strength to provide big data and analytics services and help online vendors boost sales.

WILL HELP CHINA SALES IN THAILAND & THAI SALES IN CHINA

Close collaboration with

BIG DATA TO HELP UNDERSTAND PURCHASING BEHAVIOUR

Lazada will use Alibaba's big data platform for online merchants.

This will help Lazada better understand consumer purchasing behaviour and create value for users, according to Alessandro Piscini, chief executive of Lazada Thailand.

Lazada will continue its business operations as usual and has no plans to rebrand, Mr. Piscini insisted.

ENSOGO CLOSURE & CONSUMER CONFIDENCE IN E-COMMERCE

Mr Piscini said the closure of Ensogo's business operations in Thailand and five other Asean countries would have no impact on consumer confidence in Lazada's activities.

Lazada has a different business model from Ensogo, he said, as it doesn't apply a discount coupon strategy.

Mr Piscini acknowledged that policymakers and consumer protection authorities must closely monitor e-commerce companies to make sure they deliver on what they promise to consumers.

MOBILE PHONE & ONLINE RETAIL CHANNELS

Mr. Piscini said Thailand's online retail market will continue to grow thanks to the rapid adoption of 4G smartphones and increasing numbers of mobile internet users.

The average Thai person spends 7.4 hours per day on different media platforms, with mobile phones accounting for 3.1 hours of that total.

This demonstrates that online sales channels are increasingly playing a more important role among Thai users, said Mr Piscini.

In addition, 69% of Thai smartphone users do research online before making a purchasing decision.

"This is why companies need to allocate more money for digital media [for ads, catalogues and promoting their product]," he added.

Lazada, in collaboration with 300 leading brands in Thailand, yesterday launched its Super Brands Deal campaign, offering discounts of up to 80% on products and services available on the website. The campaign runs from July 5-11.

GROWING MARKET SHARE FOR ONLINE RETAIL 

Mr Piscini cited a report conducted by the marketing research company Neilsen suggesting that by 2019, of every US$10 dollar (350.5 baht) retail purchase made globally, at least one dollar would go online.

Global online retail sales will more than double between 2015 and 2019, accounting for over 12% of global sales by 2019.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/1027785/lazada-to-lean-on-new-owner-alibaba

http://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/work/931073/ecommerce-alibaba-buys-controlling-stake-in-lazada

สามารถฝึกอ่านออกเสียงและดูคำแปลได้ที่ : http://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/learning-from-news/1028138/lazada-alibaba-as-bridge-to-china-big-data-provider