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Tag: iTrueMart

  • Orders soar for iTrueMart parent

    Orders soar for iTrueMart parent

    “Exceptional” growth has been reported by eCommerce provider Ascend Commerce in its latest fourth-quarter, as it seeks to draw on its winning strategy in Thailand to expand into new markets.

    Part of the Ascend Group, it comprises online stores iTrueMart and WeLoveShopping, which reported 65 per cent more orders for the final quarter of last year.

    While seeking to attract new customers through brand partnerships, Ascend Commerce reported an average of 14,000 orders a day, with a peak of 30,000 orders in a single day. There were also repeat sales among as much as 50 per cent of its customer base.

    “With our category-by-category approach proven in Thailand, we are now expanding throughout Southeast Asia,” says Ascend Group CEO Punnamas Vichitkulwongsa. “Based on the strength of the customer response so far, we are confident we will be able to provide access to the same shopping experience that people in urban areas enjoy to improve the standard of living for the millions who live in rural areas.”

    While iTrueMart is a business-to-consumer retailer, WeLoveShopping is an online marketplace for small business, entrepreneurs and consumers. Both businesses originally launched in Thailand.

    Ascend Commerce invested in its own fulfillment centres last year as a way to retain control over the whole process, from purchase to delivery. Punnamas cites this investment as key to giving customers an excellent experience, resulting in repeat purchases.

    At the same time, iTrueMart has been successful in terms of speedy delivery, with 98 per cent of orders being delivered the next day in Bangkok, or within two days for rural addresses.

    During the year, iTrueMart also launched in The Philippines.

    WeLoveShopping’s orders grew nearly 300 per cent in Q4, with the number of new sellers rising by 1300. The outlet also signed agreements with new brands, helping drive new business.

    “In the first days of 2015, we launched with just a few hundred orders per day and we have grown 700 per cent to achieve great results by the end of the year,” says Ascend Commerce GM Seubsakol Sakolsatayadorn.

    “We will continue with our strategy of winning on a category-by-category basis. We will introduce a new category only when we are sure of the strength of the product offering.”

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  • iTrueMart Grows 1000% with the Help of AWS e-commerce Platform

    iTrueMart Grows 1000% with the Help of AWS e-commerce Platform

    iTrueMart, a leading e-commerce destination for quality brands for home appliances, electronic products, and best value merchandises, announced its expansion throughout all 10 ASEAN countries. The online retailer is one of the fastest growing e-commerce websites with 1000% growth in 2014. iTrueMart has been able to double its online users every 3 months this year and has grown from 100,000 users per month during its inception to its current 1.6 million users per month.

    iTrueMart runs its e-commerce platform using Amazon Web Services (AWS), which provides a low cost set-up with flexibility and full capacity to serve customers. With AWS as its partner, iTrueMart is able to focus on delivering better services to happier customers. AWS allows the online retailer to grow exponentially by cutting the development process by 2-3 months and running daytime campaigns at 400% of its normal capacity in just a few hours. iTrueMart can additionally handle a 10-fold increase or more in customer visits during promotional periods while easily adding new features and functions to the website whenever they are needed. The AWS framework allows iTrueMart to maximize its use of cloud technology while maintaining the use of older technologies and platforms. Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Chaiwat Ratanaprateepporn, said, “Our developers have been able to evolve more in the deployment process and DevUp culture, and they can now deploy features faster and take better care of their services.”

    With the ease of AWS and its e-commerce platform, iTrueMart is committed to growing and expanding in Southeast Asia. iTrueMart is currently planning other services, such as offering an e-payment business as well.

    For more information about iTrueMart’s use of Amazon Web Services (AWS) e-commerce platforms, please visit

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  • Thai e-commerce firm expands to Metro Manila

    Thai e-commerce firm expands to Metro Manila

    Ascend Group, Thailand’s leading e-commerce retailer, has launched iTrueMart.ph e-commerce website to serve the Philippine market as it sees a huge potential in the country, with the onset of the Asean Economic Community.

    iTrueMart.ph aims to become the dominant e-commerce player in the Philippines by 2017, says Punnamas Vichitkulwongsa, chief executive of Ascend Group, the company behind iTrueMart.

    Following its success in Thailand, iTrueMart is now looking to expand into the Asean Economic Community with the Philippines as its next destination, he says. iTrueMart.ph hopes to bring an unrivaled shopping experience with access to a variety of products, various payment channels, and competitive pricing that are currently only available for metropolitan shoppers to customers in all provinces in the Philippines.

    “E-commerce will have huge potential when the AEC fully materializes,” says Vichitkulwongsa.

    According to a study by Ystats SE Asia eCommerce, the volume of Asean’s mobile Internet users rose 56 percent in 2015. Up to 56 percent of the Thai and Vietnamese populations are now accessing the Internet via their smartphones, a figure close to the Philippines’ 50 percent rate. “Recognizing the growing number of mobile-Internet users, we are confident that online shopping in the region will also grow. The AEC is an emerging and interesting market for e-commerce through which entrepreneurs can expand their businesses,” says Vichitkulwongsa.

    “At present, iTrueMart has already been tapping into the AEC market with over $150 million Uinvestment planned for 2016. The investment will be used for e-commerce optimized fulfillment centers, logistic hubs, expansion of our own fleet, marketing, and ramping up assortment and inventory. We are debuting our operations in the Philippines and that will be followed by Vietnam, Indonesia, Myanmar, Cambodia, Malaysia and Singapore later in 2016. We are committed for long-term success in the Philippines and everywhere else that we go to,” he says.

    Seubsakol Sakolsatayadorn, general manager of the iTrueMart division at Ascend Commerce, says iTrueMart.ph is not a newcomer to the market as the team is backed by the strong success of iTrueMart in Thailand. “During the past year, the number of visits to iTrueMart.com has increased by as much as 424 percent. Since October 2014, the average number of visits recorded was 4.6 million per month. iTrueMart.com receives 7,000 orders per day on average, with the highest volume of daily orders at 10,000. This marks the highest record in Thailand’s online retail industry,which puts iTrueMart.com at the forefront of Thailand’s e-commerce sector. Moreover, iTrueMart.com’s delivery averages at two days throughout Thailand and it enjoys the lowest e-commerce return rate in the country which confirms the trust and shows the high quality of the products offered on the website,” says Sakolsatayadorn.

    Dean Krstevski, chief operating Officer E-Commerce of Ascend Group, says the decision to launch in the Philippines stemmed from the fact that competition in the e-commerce sector in the Philippines is still considered low. “With the market still in its infancy, there are still plenty of opportunities for new players. Now that the e-commerce market is being developed, brands are increasingly looking for partners to sell their products online, which we see as a great advantage that will help us speed up our market entry. We are confident of our success in the Philippines because we have a strong team with extensive experience in both online and offline retail,” says Krstevski.

    Under the slogan “Great Value, Everyday,” iTrueMart.ph works only with authorized distributors of international brands and act as authorized dealer of local brands so customers can be guaranteed that all products on the website are genuine. The current focus of the site is on smartphones and gadgets and it will expand into consumer electronics, computers and laptops, health and beauty and moms and kids in the future.

    iTrueMart.ph offers free delivery and free returns with cash on delivery payment as an option for customers. To deliver the best possible end-to-end customer experience, iTrueMart.ph is starting off delivery in the Luzon area and will further expand from the beginning of next year. iTrueMart.ph is targeting to have 100 vehicles in its delivery fleet by the year-end, operating out of its own fulfillment center in Pasig.

    With 45 percent of the traffic coming from mobile devices, iTrueMart.ph has a mobile version while a mobile application will be rolled out by the first quarter of 2016.

    “iTrueMart.ph is determined to become the dominant e-commerce player by 2017 and the second largest e-commerce player by the end of this year through partnerships with key local brands and authorized distributors, as well as attractive Christmas campaigns, where customers are offered great value and guaranteed delivery before Christmas Eve. Our goals are to be the top-of-mind e-commerce brand, to have great assortment at best prices, to provide the best end-to-end customer experience and to become the most trusted online shopping platform,” says Krstevski.

  • iTrueMart enters Philippines, plans to invest $55 million

    iTrueMart enters Philippines, plans to invest $55 million

    iTrueMart, Thailand’s leading e-commerce retailer, has launched its first e-commerce site in the country, iTrueMart.ph, and targets to be the dominant local e-commerce player in two years.

    In 2016, the online retailer, one of the companies under Bangkok-based Ascend Group, plans to invest over USD$150 million (more than P7 billion) in the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) as part of its regional expansion.

    “The investment will be used for e-commerce optimized fulfillment centers, logistic hubs, expansion of our own fleet, marketing, and ramping up assortment and inventory,” announced Ascend Group CEO Punnamas Vichitkulwongsa.

    “We are debuting our operations in the Philippines. Vietnam, Indonesia, Myanmar, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Singapore will follow later in 2016. We are committed for long-term success in the Philippines and everywhere else that we go to,” he underscored.

    “Competition in the e-commerce sector in the Philippines is still considered low. With the market still in its infancy, there are still plenty of opportunities for new players,” Dean Krstevski, Chief Operating Officer E-Commerce of Ascend Group, reasoned.

    “Now that the e-commerce market is being developed, brands are increasingly looking for partners to sell their products online, which we see as a great advantage that will help us speed up our market entry. We are confident of our success in the Philippines because we have a strong team with extensive experience in both online and offline retail.”

    They are investing about US$4-5 million in the Philippines this year and easily $50 million in 2016.

    The Philippines is iTrueMart’s second destination in AEC, bringing access to a variety of products, various payment channels and competitive pricing currently limited to metropolitan shoppers.

    “E-commerce will have huge potential when the AEC fully materializes,” confirmed Ascend Group CEO Punnamas Vichitkulwongsa.

    According to a study by Ystats SE Asia eCommerce, the volume of ASEAN’s mobile Internet users rose 56% in 2015. Up to 56% of the Thai and Vietnamese populations are now accessing the Internet via their smartphones, a figure close to the Philippines’ 50% rate.

    Recognizing the growing number of mobile-Internet users, the Ascend Group is confident that online shopping in the region will also grow.

    Furthermore, “iTrueMart.ph is not a newcomer to the market as the team is backed by the strong success of iTrueMart in Thailand,” according to iTrueMart General Manager Seubsakul Sakolsattiyathorn.

    During the past year, the number of visits to iTrueMart.com increased 424%.

    Since October, 2014, the retailer averaged 4.6 million  visits per month. iTrueMart.com receives 7,000 orders per day on average, with the highest volume of daily orders at 10,000, the highest record in Thailand’s online retail industry.

    Add to that, iTrueMart.com’s delivery averages at two days throughout Thailand and it enjoys the lowest e-commerce return rate in the country.

    Under the slogan “Great Value, Everyday,” iTrueMart.ph works only with authorized distributors of international brands and act as authorized dealer of local brands so customers can be guaranteed that all products on the website are genuine.

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