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Thailand: Lazada accelerates AI and logistics for EEC services
Lazada, an Asean e-commerce arm of Alibaba, is gearing up efforts to invest in artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, logistics operations in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), and an array of new services to become a lifestyle app that goes beyond a shopping platform.
“Thailand’s e-commerce arena is an emerging market. We are committed to this market, which is among the leaders in Asean,” said Jack Zhang, chief executive of Lazada Thailand.
Lazada will continue to improve data analytics as well as logistics operations, particularly in the EEC, where its distribution centre has been built, he said.
With logistics infrastructure in place, domestic deliveries can be carried out quickly as Lazada can handle goods that will be imported from or exported to China through Alibaba’s Tmall e-commerce platform.
Lazada has 17 million customers on the platform, which opens the door for buyers to meet vendors, he said. It aims to become a “lifestyle” platform for users.
Lazada has the ultimate goal of pursuing same-day delivery, said Mr Zhang.
The platform is offering a wider assortment of products, including agricultural goods.
A new feature, Lazaroi, brings together food and beverage products from more than 2,000 vendors.
Lazada has operated for more than eight years in Thailand, and he said it is concentrating on long-term investment in the e-commerce market here and seeking ways to boost satisfaction among customers and sellers, rather than turning a profit.
Media reports noted personal information from online supermarket RedMart’s accounts in Singapore were stolen and sold online. Mr Zhang said the data leak happened in Singapore and has nothing to do with Lazada Thailand. Efforts have been made to scale up online security measures, he said.
Paradee Sinthawanarong, market chief of Lazada Thailand, said the pandemic has driven e-commerce trends in Thailand, with e-commerce market value expected to grow 35% to 22 billion baht this year, citing information from Priceza, a Bangkok-based price comparison website.
Lazada is preparing for its 11.11 shopping festival — the biggest one-day sale — on Nov 11 with discount vouchers for users, while new merchants on the platform will enjoy zero payment fees in November.
“During the festival, we hope sales will be 15 times normal levels,” Ms Paradee said.
The government’s Shop and Payback tax rebate programme should also give a boost to domestic consumption, she said.
The Asean e-commerce market is projected to grow four times over 2018-25, according to a Google and Temasek report. There are 80 million active customers on Lazada in Asean.
She said Lazada saw the number of active sellers jump 75% from January to October.
Source: https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2014867/lazada-accelerates-ai-and-logistics-for-eec-services