Facebook hails local SMEs for social commerce savvy

Have you ever doubted that which country where people spends longest hours online? From the Global Digital Report released recently, Thailand comes in the first place with an average 9 hours and 38 minutes per day against the world average at 6 hours per day. We also ranked at the world top 8th for the number of Facebook users and from data analysis of Facebook, they found a proof that Thais are shopcaholics.

Thai small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are a source of global innovation and inspiration as they use Facebook to introduce products to the local market, says Facebook Thailand managing director John Wagner with Chawadee Wongphyat, country lead for small and medium business.

Thai SMEs are among the first to develop social commerce businesses, more than 50% of Thai people purchase goods online through social channels. The number of social commerce users in Thailand is the highest in the world, followed by India, Malaysia, China and the Middle East.

“Facebook is learning from Thai SMEs and building products to help businesses around the world move fast and thrive online,” Mr Wagner said.

In 2017, Thailand was the top-ranked country in Asia-Pacific and in the top five globally in terms of where people messaged businesses the most.

“Thai SMEs are thriving and growing online with Facebook,” Mr Wagner said, pointing to two local examples.

Mom2babyshop, a Facebook page selling goods for mothers and infants, has reached 7 million mothers, hosts 1,000 conversations a day and has created 100 jobs.

IMAX Powertool, an online page selling tools, started from zero and has now reached 6 million people and reports 100% yearly growth as an online business.

Besides SMEs, large businesses are contributing to the country’s growing digital economy.

Mr Wagner said 89% of Thai business leaders believe that future growth is dependent on transforming their organisations into digital businesses, but only 29% have a full digital strategy in place.

“In Thailand, there is a US$10-billion growth opportunity if businesses evolve digital strategies to move faster and build a more efficient experience for customers,” he said.

Part of Facebook’s investment in Thailand this year is in local partnerships and skills training to help social enterprises in Thailand gain critical skills to expand their operations.

Hack for Good, a community challenge, is an online hackathon whereby Facebook is inviting Thai developers to create solutions that positively impact communities.

Think Before You Share is a programme to enable greater digital literacy among Thais and foster a safe and respectful experience online.

All the new programmes, partnerships and initiatives support the growing social media community in Thailand, which includes more than 51 million users accessing Facebook each month.

“The number of Facebook users here is big enough, only younger kids and older people are not Facebook users yet,” Mr Wagner said.

Reference: Bangkok Post

Photo: Forbes Thailand