DHL eCommerce, a division of the Deutsche Post DHL Group, has expanded its operations into Thailand, where it is offering end-to-end domestic delivery service for Thai e-commerce merchants in a burgeoning e-commerce market.

The new domestic delivery service offers next-day delivery to key urban centres and two to three day delivery to all other locations, an easy-to-use e-commerce-ready portal for shipment preparation, and full tracking visibility for consumers, a company statement said.

Major additions will be made to the company's delivery infrastructure in the country, including a 3,000-square metre central distribution centre in Bangkok and a network of 20 depots to provide coverage across the country.

To meet increasing business demands, the company said it plans to more than double the number of depots in Thailand by 2017 and expand its fleet primarily in two-wheel vehicles that can operate more efficiently in congested city streets.

"Thailand's e-commerce share of the retail market is still low compared to other high-growth economies. Only 1.7 percent of total sales in Thailand are obtained from e-commerce, compared to more than 10 percent in China," said DHL Asia Pacific c-commerce chief Malcolm Monteiro.

"Thailand is ranked as one of our top priority markets in Southeast Asia: its expected annual market growth of more than 20 percent (from 2014 to 2020) is likely to be largely driven by significant numbers of SMEs beginning to extend their business models into online marketplaces."