The B2C e-Commerce Index of Thailand – A Paradox of Online Penetration

The present study is an investigation into the penetration of business-to-consumer e-commerce in Thailand. The study has been conducted by a field survey among the consumers by questionnaire method and collected samples from regular online and regular offline shoppers in the country. The total sample size was 1535 units collected from the north, northeastern, central and southern regions of the country. The findings of the study revealed that penetration of online shopping is 15 percent with an estimated range of 13 to 17 percent for the entire population, and it is higher in central and northeastern regions but lower in northern and southern regions. The important observation in the study is that there is very low penetration of online shopping in Thailand due to the lack of trust in online traders and non-confidence in online payments