Rocket Internet has launched its price comparison site PricePanda in Thailand. The site, which is also backed by Tengelmann Group and AB Kinnevik, already operates in eight countries throughout Latin America and Southeast Asia.
In a statement, PricePanda co-founder Christian Schiller said “with 66 million inhabitants and a growing and increasingly affluent middle class, Thailand is one of the most attractive and flourishing markets.”
The country, which has an Internet penetration of about 30%, is an especially promising market for e-commerce. According to a 2012 survey by Mastercard, 80% of Internet users in Thailand have shopped online.
PricePanda announced in January that it had raised $3 million from German retailing giant Tengelmann Group. At that time, it said that the funding will be used to expand in South Asian markets. The site lets shoppers compare prices and reviews for products listed on different e-commerce stores. PricePanda’s version for Thailand currently has listings for smartphones and tablets, but will add new categories, including computers, software, health and beauty, home appliances, music, and games, soon.
In Thailand and Indonesia, PricePanda will compete against Priceza, which is backed by CyberAgent Ventures and currently has over 2.5 million active unique visitors each month, according to Tech In Asia.
Since launching in 2012, PricePanda has expanded quickly and says that it has redirected 1 million users to buy from partner sites. Already operates in Argentina, Colombia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines.