Thanawat Malabuppha: Redefining Thailand’s Digital Economy through Speed, Influence and Connection

By: Zenia Pearl V. Nicolas

For Thanawat Malabuppha, Thailand’s e-commerce story has always been about more than platforms and prices, it’s about people.

As CEO and Co-Founder of Priceza and Honorary President of the Thailand E-Commerce Association, Thanawat has spent over a decade helping Thai businesses understand what truly moves the modern consumer. From the early days of comparison shopping to today’s immersive, influencer-driven digital landscape, he has seen the country’s retail ecosystem evolve from transactional to emotional and from local to global.

“Right now, influencers in Thailand are very creative,” he says. “They can build content that inspires people to buy, sometimes from a short video or even a live commerce session. That’s a very big trend. We call this affiliate commerce.”

The New Engine of E-Commerce: Influence + Experience

Thanawat believes the rise of content-driven buying has redefined how brands engage Thai audiences. The lines between entertainment and shopping are fading fast and this fusion, he says, is driving one of the country’s most dynamic retail waves yet.

But even as creativity fuels consumer attention, Thanawat stresses that trust and experience remain at the center of every transaction.

“Price is important, but it’s not the only thing that motivates Thai people to buy,” he explains. “Convenience and how fast the product can reach the customer, matters just as much.”

Speed, he adds, is no longer a luxury; it’s an expectation. Thai consumers associate quick delivery with reliability and care.”When a product arrives fast,” he says, “it makes customers happy and loyal. It shows that the shop truly supports them.”

Community and Collaboration in a Digital Era

Speaking at the Retail & E-Commerce Summit Asia (RESA) Thailand 2025, where he delivered the Opening Keynote Presentation, Thanawat highlighted the country’s next big leap: transforming speed and creativity into sustainable growth.

His keynote, “Thailand’s Next Leap in the Digital Economy: Are We Already Digitalized?”, explored how e-commerce leaders can strengthen competitiveness while contributing to a digital economy projected to surpass $30 billion by 2025.

Reflecting on his experience, Thanawat praised rockbird media’s organization of the summit, noting how the event fostered genuine collaboration among Thailand’s retail leaders.

“The event is very well-organized,” he said. “It has a good atmosphere and a strong community of Thai retail leaders connecting with each other.”

For Thanawat, the value of such gatherings lies in their ability to unite visionaries across industries, creating a shared space for learning, networking and charting the future of Thailand’s digital commerce ecosystem.

A Leader Shaping Thailand’s Digital DNA

Thanawat’s vision goes beyond market data and KPIs. His message to brands and policymakers alike is to see e-commerce not as a single industry but as an ecosystem of trust, creativity, and collaboration.

In his keynote, Thanawat revealed that 83 % of Thai consumers now make purchases based on influencer recommendations, while the country’s quick-commerce market is projected to grow by 20–30 % year-on-year. For him, these figures represent more than performance metrics, they mirror the country’s evolving digital behavior, where authenticity and speed define success.

He described 2025 as “the year of affiliate marketing,” where content and commerce converge to create seamless purchase journeys. From YouTube short-form videos to Meta’s live selling ecosystem, Thai creators are no longer just storytellers, they are catalysts of conversion. As data shows, free delivery and fast fulfillment have become top purchase drivers, cementing the nation’s expectation for same-day or even instant gratification.

“As technology connects faster and smarter,” Thanawat emphasized, “the real advantage lies in how people use it to build trust.”

As Thailand’s digital economy, already valued beyond USD 35 billion—continues to expand, Thanawat believes its true measure isn’t in scale alone but in shared progress. Each influencer partnership, each delivery innovation, each data-driven insight becomes part of a wider movement: one where Thai creativity powers Southeast Asia’s digital growth story.

In this vision, e-commerce is not just the future of retail, it’s a reflection of how Thailand’s people think, create, and care. And at the center of that transformation stands Thanawat Malabuppha, proving that when speed meets sincerity and influence meets integrity, the result is not just growth but greatness.