Taobao, China’s largest online shopping app owned by Alibaba Group Holding, is seeing rapid user growth in Thailand, as the platform expands its international presence in search of new growth opportunities.

Just over a month after the launch of a localised version of Taobao, the number of new Thai users on the platform surged 60 per cent year on year, recent data from Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group (AIDC), the company’s overseas e-commerce division, showed.

The Thai version of Taobao adds to its existing Chinese and English versions, reflecting the company’s strategy to attract more users in the Southeast Asian country. The new iteration uses Alibaba’s AI translation capabilities, allowing users to browse the app in their local language and make payments in baht, according to AIDC.

Taobao’s intensified focus on Thailand marks its latest effort to grow its presence across Asia. Alibaba, owner of the Post, has accelerated its overseas expansion since last year, driven by slowing domestic demand and increased competition from newer rivals like PDD Holdings’ Pinduoduo and ByteDance’s Douyin.

Thai user numbers have surged on Taobao since it launched a local version. Photo: Shutterstock

Thailand’s e-commerce market generated revenues of 1.1 trillion baht (US$34.1 billion) in 2024 – a 14 per cent increase from the previous year, according to data from Priceza, a Southeast Asian shopping search engine.