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Business trends

For Thais, online shopping is a social activity

Purchases via social networks make up 20% of country's e-commerce

Smartphone-wielding Thais are some of the world's most avid internet and social media users.   © Reuters

BANGKOK -- Thais looking to buy clothes, fruits and vegetables, cars or real estate are increasingly likely to go browsing in the same place: social media.

Social commerce is redefining retail in the Southeast Asian country, where smartphones became widespread before PCs are the go-to means of communication. Merchants large and small now know they need a strong social presence, and the trend is creating new opportunities for a variety of e-commerce players, like online payment services and parcel delivery companies.

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