Thailand on track for $37b Internet market
Thailand, which has one of the highest mobile Internet usage rates in Southeast Asia, is set to to reach $37 billion in revenues within a decade, making it rich in digital opportunities, according to a new study released by Google and Singapore’s state investment fund Temasek entitled “e-conomy SEA: Unlocking the $200 billion opportunity in Southeast Asia”.
Thailand’s online market is growing at nine per cent annually and is projected to hit 59 million users by 2020, from 38 million users in 2015. This means that the online market here is set to reach the $37 billion mark by 2025, of which e-commerce and travel will make up over 88 per cent, the study found.
The driver is Thailand’s young, increasingly affluent and highly connected population. About 57 per cent of Thais has access to the Internet, and there over 85 million mobile subscribers, which is a 125-per cent penetration rate.
Other key findings from the research are the opportunities for commerce, which are set to grow 29 per cent annually from $900 million in 2015 to $11 billion in 2025, and for the online travel industry, which is expected to grow 5.2 times by 2025, reaching around $21.7 billion. Digital advertising spending is projected to increase by 6.2 times to $4.35 billion over the period.
While the opportunities are there, Thailand needs to overcome some key challenges including logistics and connectivity, complexity of payments, market readiness, fraud and cyber security, the study noted.
“I am confident we can overcome the challenges,” says Ben King, manager of Google Thailand, adding that “there are already great examples of Thai businesses and startups leading the way in Southeast Asia and beyond.”
Thailand, which has one of the highest mobile Internet usage rates in Southeast Asia, is set to to reach $37 billion in revenues within a decade, making it rich in digital opportunities, according to a new study released by Google and Singapore's state investment fund Temasek entitled "e-conomy SEA: Unlocking the $200 billion opportunity in Southeast Asia". Thailand's online market is growing at nine per cent annually and is projected to hit 59 million users by 2020, from 38 million users in 2015. This means that the online market here is set to reach the $37 billion mark by 2025,...
Thailand, which has one of the highest mobile Internet usage rates in Southeast Asia, is set to to reach $37 billion in revenues within a decade, making it rich in digital opportunities, according to a new study released by Google and Singapore’s state investment fund Temasek entitled “e-conomy SEA: Unlocking the $200 billion opportunity in Southeast Asia”.
Thailand’s online market is growing at nine per cent annually and is projected to hit 59 million users by 2020, from 38 million users in 2015. This means that the online market here is set to reach the $37 billion mark by 2025, of which e-commerce and travel will make up over 88 per cent, the study found.
The driver is Thailand’s young, increasingly affluent and highly connected population. About 57 per cent of Thais has access to the Internet, and there over 85 million mobile subscribers, which is a 125-per cent penetration rate.
Other key findings from the research are the opportunities for commerce, which are set to grow 29 per cent annually from $900 million in 2015 to $11 billion in 2025, and for the online travel industry, which is expected to grow 5.2 times by 2025, reaching around $21.7 billion. Digital advertising spending is projected to increase by 6.2 times to $4.35 billion over the period.
While the opportunities are there, Thailand needs to overcome some key challenges including logistics and connectivity, complexity of payments, market readiness, fraud and cyber security, the study noted.
“I am confident we can overcome the challenges,” says Ben King, manager of Google Thailand, adding that “there are already great examples of Thai businesses and startups leading the way in Southeast Asia and beyond.”
