11street has eye on e-commerce top spot

11street, the South Korean online marketplace, aims to be No.1 in e-commerce in Thailand by 2022.

Since the start of its operations here in February, 11street today has more than 580,000 members shopping and over 18,000 sellers on its platform.

“We have become number two in the market in just a few months, and we are sure we can become number one in less than five years,” said Yun Chang-sung, 11street Thailand’s vice-president of sales.

He said Thailand’s e-commerce size is comparatively small at present, relative to mature markets like South Korea and the US.

E-commerce accounts for only around 1% of total retail size. More players would help expand the sector in Thailand and unlock more business opportunities.

“Competition in Thailand is not that aggressive compared with other countries such as South Korea,” Mr Yun said. “There are great opportunities to grow. The more dynamic logistics and payment industries in Thailand also contribute to the growth of e-commerce.”

11street now has as many as 5.1 million product listings in Thailand.

In the past few months, the company has secured partnerships with leading Thai and international brands, such as Nestle, Samsung, Mahajak, Cotton USA, Watsons, FBT, Grand Sport and more.

“One of our proudest achievements is our Mobile First strategy, as we see high mobile penetration rate in Thailand,” Mr Yun said.

Initially PC was the main channel people used to visit the platform, with mobile phones accounting for 35%. Now, mobiles make up 82% against 18% for PCs, thanks to its efforts to offer seamless experience for desktops, tablet and mobile device, coupled with its mobile-focused promotions.

11street yesterday launched its “Shocking Deals Shocking Days” campaign to boost the existing Shocking Deals promotion, which accounts for 60% of its total sales.

“If shoppers found the product they purchased cheaper elsewhere, we are willing to refund 110% in points back to shoppers,” Mr Yun said.

At the end of its first year, 11street aims to have in excess of 3 billion baht in gross merchandise volume, 20,000 sellers and 1 million app download.