Thai online shopping binge is sign of South-East Asia market size

Pedestrians use smartphones outside the Siam Paragon shopping mall in Bangkok, Thailand, on Wednesday, June 21, 2017. Stocks of consumer discretionary companies -- those that sell products people buy with disposable cash after meeting basic necessities -- have jumped 23 percent in 2017 and are valued 33 percent above their average price-earnings ratio in the past 10 years. Photographer: Taylor Weidman/Bloomberg

Thailand has seen an explosion of Internet shopping in recent years as consumers become more tech savvy. And if that’s anything to go by, e-commerce in Southeast Asia is taking off as well. 

Online retail sales in Thailand of everything from washing machines and televisions to fish sauce are growing more than 100%, far outpacing purchases made at traditional stores, where sales are rising about 10%.