- Thailand’s cross-border trade continues to develop as more product categories on the eBay platform record high growth rates
eBay, a leader in global e-commerce, today launched the “eBay Global 24/7” program, an e-commerce accelerator program specifically designed to help SMEs in Thailand and other markets across Southeast Asia to leverage eBay’s platform for global exports as the economy gradually enters a recovery phase from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The “eBay Global 24/7” program is available to any business entities that are new to eBay and want to start a global online business by joining eBay’s marketplace of over 182 million active buyers. The program offers special benefits, online tools, and enhanced assistance, plus online training courses and eBay incentives worth up to USD 1,700 (about 53,000 baht).
Mr. Tam Yong Sheng, Head of Business Development, eBay Southeast Asia, said, “Global e-commerce is experiencing exponential growth due to a shift in consumer behavior resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Thai SME exporters on our platform have seen a corresponding increase in sales, especially in categories such as vitamins and dietary supplements, guitars and bass parts and accessories, fine jewelry, motorcycle parts, and garden & outdoor living, where volumes have shown strong growth compared to the same period last year.”
“This shows that e-commerce is a key driver for SMEs, helping them to recover from the economic downturn. Our aspiration with the eBay Global 24/7 program is to empower businesses by helping them move online more quickly and giving them the opportunity to participate in an international marketplace with approximately 1.5 billion live listings at any given time across 190 markets.”
“eBay Global 24/7” Program
The program, which runs from now until 31 December 2020, offers new sellers benefits including:
- New Business Seller Incentives: eBay will waive 100% of eBay Store fees at the basic subscription tier and 50% of fees for businesses to use Promoted Listings to advertise their products. Total rebates for each seller can be as high as US$1,000 (about 30,000 baht). These benefits will significantly reduce the cost for SMEs, allowing them to grow their businesses online.
- Educational webinars: eBay offers webinars for business owners to gain insights on cross-market selling opportunities on eBay, best practices to optimize listing rankings and visibility, and tips on developing a traffic generation plan for their virtual storefront.
- Free Access to Product Listing Tools worth up to US$700 (about 22,000 baht): Sellers will have full access to Viewider, enabling easy store set-up on eBay and building on the strengths of their existing online selling channels. Those in the Automotive category will be entitled to additional listing assistance to map their items to eBay’s Master Vehicle List, enhancing visibility through eBay’s fitment finder. These tools will reduce the amount of manual work SMEs need to complete and accelerate their go global journey.
- Special Offers from DHL Express: eBay sellers who register a new account with DHL Express will get a 500-baht discount voucher, an additional 300 baht when using the service at least once per month for three consecutive months, special shipping rates, 30-day credit (juristic persons), and the chance to collect more discounts every quarter with accumulated shipping with DHL First Promotion.
- Special Offers from Fastship: eBay sellers can enjoy a 5% discount when registering a new Fastship account at https://app.fastship.co/joinus/ebay2020 and completing a transaction via Fastship’s API called “eBay Feed.” Sellers can also enjoy a 300-baht discount by using the 'EBAY300’ discount code at checkout.
- Dedicated Business Development Manager: Each business owner with more than 100 products listed on eBay will also be assigned a dedicated advisor who offers personalized guidance and consultation to ensure the owners make the most of their online stores.
- Market Intelligence: To help business owners make better-informed decisions and strategies, eBay offers local market intelligence reports for their specific product categories and industries.
In addition, recorded webinars and self-help tutorials are available at eBaySEAforbusiness.com/th. The overall benefits under the ”Global 24/7” initiative have been carefully curated to help upskill small business owners to digitalize and globalize their businesses while significantly reducing the cost to set up a digital storefront on eBay.
Who is eligible?
SMEs operating an existing business that does not have an eBay account are eligible to apply for this program. Small, medium, and large businesses across the value chain are welcome – from manufacturers to dealers to retailers.
To get started, they need to apply at eBaySEAforbusiness.com/th and follow the instructions that are provided in subsequent emails. The application period for the eBay Global 24/7 program is from now until 30 September 2020.
Thai Products Sold on eBay
The United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, and Canada were the top five export destination markets for Thai sellers on eBay in the first quarter of 2020. Guitar and bass parts and accessories, vitamins and mineral supplements, fine earrings and rings, motorcycle parts, and plants, seeds & bulbs were among the leading categories of sales globally.
Retail exports by Thai sellers recorded on eBay for the first quarter show a strong growth trajectory year-on-year for the following hot-selling categories:
- Parts and accessories for guitars and basses saw growth of roughly 38% in the US market.
- Thai sellers recorded growth of 53% in vitamin and mineral supplements to the UK.
- Thai sellers recorded massive growth of 98% in vitamin and mineral supplements to Australia.
- Thailand’s cross-border trade to Germany for fine rings and fine earrings recorded over 50% and 110% growth respectively.
- Thailand’s cross-border trade to France, Italy, and Spain in the categories motorcycle parts and plants, seeds & bulbs grew 44% and 32% respectively.
