Amazon Alternatives in Thailand
Of course there can be no replacement for Amazon, particularly if you live in the United States and you use it on a daily basis. Unfortunately, Amazon is not available in Thailand as it is in some other Asian countries. Luckily there are plenty of alternatives, especially the past few years as online shopping gained mass popularity in Thailand. Currently we have the largest B2C e-commerce market in Southeast Asia. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there are even more offerings available to customers as more vendors shift their business online. Below we will list the most popular and reliable platforms where you can shop with ease.
Shopping in a new country can be confusing and stressful. You might worry about finding the best local spots or getting overcharged. It's hard to know if you should bargain, how to pay, or where to avoid fake products. Plus, without speaking Thai, it can feel impossible to get what you want.
Download the FREE Guide to Online Shopping in Thailand!
1 - Lazada
Lazada is a e-commerce giant in Southeast Asia, offering retail from their warehouses as well as a third party marketplace, just like Amazon. Lazada is usually the go-to as it has everything under the sun, all the way from packets of Haribo to household appliances and everything in between.
One of the reasons why Lazada is reliable is the fact that major brands such as L’oreal and Samsung to name a few, have flagship stores in the e-commerce platform providing authentic goods with a guarantee. When buying higher value items, do look for the Laz Mall sign or the flagship stores of brands since Lazada also offers a local marketplace where individual sellers are able to list any items they want in their shop page.
This is one of the most popular online marketplaces for small local shops and independent brands in Thailand so you can really find almost anything you would desire without ever going to the markets or malls. Lazada is the easiest platform to use, and also offers several payment options such as cash-on-delivery or even the option to pay at a 7-Eleven.
2 - Shopee
Shopee has exploded in popularity over the last few years, and is now the biggest e-commerce platform in Thailand and South East Asia in terms of monthly users. One of the main benefits of Shopee are the many discounts and coupons they give out to members on their platform as well as commonly offering free shipping within Thailand.
Shopee also have sale festivals relatively often offering big discounts on most items, however, due to the complexity and thecoupon elements of the platform, it might be a little bit harder to use than Lazada if you just want a no frills approach to order.
However, if you don’t mind spending a little bit more time browsing and collecting e-coupons and checking out sales, you might be able to get the best deals available online, even better than Lazada. Shipping is also fast and very efficient with many payment methods available just like lazada.
3 - JIB
JIB is one of the leading specialty e-commerce platforms offering different kinds of IT products all the way to desktop PCs and laptops to a wide variety of peripherals and accessories.
Unlike Lazada and Shopee, JIB doesn’t sell cross-border, which means that there are no foreign sellers, however the prices are competitive and it is a trustable seller with a physical store in multiple locations.
4 - Central Online
Central Group is the biggest retail company in Thailand with the highest number of department stores and malls in Thailand. It also owns convenience store brand familymart in Thailand. With the introduction of its online store, you can shop at the convenience of your house, it also offers a personal shopper service on request.
There are also more than one way to pick up your goods as you could look it up in one of the many central department stores if you want it on the same day. The biggest advantage of Central online is that you can use their “The One” loyalty program card just as you would at the department store to collect and redeem points.
Furthermore, Central online only sells products itself, with no third party marketplaces and sellers making it one of the most trustable websites, offering only authentic branded products. It also offers an express three hour delivery which is its unique selling point as compared to its much bigger rivals.
One disadvantage is the lack of variety products as they only sell products they would usually sell in their department stores, so if you are looking for a random specialized product, then you might not find it at Central Online.
Other than these options, most retail stores such as Supersports and Powerbuy all have their own online shopping websites and they are usually all very reliable with comparable shipping to the online shopping giants, and are good to use if you have use their own respective reward programs, however the biggest e-commerce with the most product offerings and the best promotions are Lazada and Shopee, and they are they are most likely to be the best alternative to Amazon when living in Thailand. We hope you found the information useful.
Shopping in a new country can be confusing and stressful. You might worry about finding the best local spots or getting overcharged. It's hard to know if you should bargain, how to pay, or where to avoid fake products. Plus, without speaking Thai, it can feel impossible to get what you want.