How to start selling online so people actually buy (a 30-day plan)
How to start selling online so people actually buy: pick one product group where you know who buys and why, open a shop on the platform those people already buy from, register as an online business, then use short clips and lives to bring people to your new shop and make them trust it. A new shop has no reviews, so live selling helps most: in a survey of Thais who watch lives and shop online, 51% discover new brands through lives and 42% trust a new brand more after watching its live. This is a seven-step start and a plan for the first 30 days.
The Thai online market today
Thais buy more online every year. The e-Conomy SEA 2025 report by Google, Temasek and Bain, as summarised by The Story Thailand, says Thai e-commerce is growing 22% a year, the fastest in the region, on track for about US$33 billion in 2025. The news a new shop needs, though, is that the number of video sellers in Thailand rose 175% in a year to 850,000.
Buyers are growing, sellers faster. Shops that list products and wait are rarely seen. Shops that sell know who they sell to and bring those people to the shop on purpose.
Seven steps to start
Pick products where you know who buys and why
Say it in one sentence: "Crease-free workwear for women with no time to iron." If you cannot, you do not yet know who you are talking to. Products you know, use or source well beat whatever is trending.
Count every cost before you set a price
Cost of goods, the platform's fees, your share of shipping, boxes and packing, discounts and coupons, and ads if any. Many shops sell well and keep nothing because they forget this. Fees differ by platform and change often; check the seller pages before pricing.
Choose one or two channels
Choose where your buyers shop, not where the crowd is. The table below compares the main channels in Thailand. Do one well, then add more once packing and chat keep up.
Register as an online business
A Ministry of Commerce notice makes selling goods or services over the internet a business that must be registered, for individuals and companies alike, within 30 days of starting. Registered shops can apply for the DBD Registered mark to show customers. For tax, ask the Revenue Department or an accountant.
Make the shop page trustworthy
Your own product photos, not only the factory's; descriptions that answer questions before they are asked; real measurements, materials and use; clear shipping and return terms. A shop with no reviews has to make up for it with fuller information.
Bring people in with short clips and lives
One to three clips a day answering customer questions, and lives at a fixed time several times a week. Clips bring strangers; lives make them trust you and buy, because they see the real product and can ask on the spot.
Ship fast, reply fast, ask for reviews
The first orders matter more than revenue: good packing, quick delivery, quick replies, then a request for a review with a photo. Real reviews are what make the next buyer dare to try a new shop.
Online sales channels in Thailand
| Channel | How buyers find you | Strengths | Limits | Live selling? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shopee and Lazada | In-app search, platform campaigns | People come to buy; payment and delivery are built in | Heavy price competition; new shops rank low | Yes, Shopee Live and Lazada Live with a basket |
| TikTok Shop | Short clips and lives pushed to new viewers | One clip can reach many people, even for a new shop | Needs steady clips and lives | Yes, with a basket in the live |
| Facebook Pages and groups | Followers, groups and shares | Close conversations; good for regulars | No basket; sales close in chat and need someone on it | Yes, Facebook Live with CF comments and chat |
| The shop's LINE account | Past buyers who add you | Promos and live times straight to past customers | Hard to find new customers; traffic must come from elsewhere | For announcing lives, not hosting them |
| Your own website | Google search, ads, social links | Fully yours; no platform rule changes | You must bring every visitor; takes time and budget | Can embed a YouTube live, with fewer viewers than platforms |
Most shops start with one marketplace plus TikTok Shop or Facebook, and keep buyers on LINE. To choose where to go live, read live selling apps: which one a shop should use. The registration rule is in the Department of Business Development's explanation of the 2024 Ministry of Commerce notice (in Thai).
Why lives get a new shop its first buyers sooner
A new shop's problem is not a bad product; nobody knows it and nobody trusts it yet. Decision Lab asked Thais who watch lives and shop online how they discover new brands. Reviews came first and lives second, and a shop can go live from day one without waiting for anyone to review it.
| Channel | Respondents (%) | What a new shop can do |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews and recommendations | 69 | Ask early buyers for photo reviews; send product to reviewers to try |
| Lives | 51 | Go live at a fixed time several times a week from week one |
| Online word of mouth | 41 | Refer-a-friend offers, or ask buyers to share the live |
| News | 35 | Tell local media about a product with a real difference |
In the same report, 42% trust a new brand more after watching its live, and what builds that trust most is genuine products, transparent information and real-time interaction. Use lives to show the real thing, give the terms in full and answer every question, not just to repeat prices. Platform guides: TikTok LIVE, Shopee Live and Facebook Live.
The first 30 days
| Week | Main work | Lives and clips | Numbers to watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Open the shop, list 10–20 products, register the business, set shipping and returns | One short clip a day introducing products | Shop visits |
| 2 | Ask people you know to buy and review; answer every message | Two first lives, an hour each, same time | Live viewers, questions asked |
| 3 | Rewrite descriptions around the questions; add real photos | Three lives; clips cut from the moments that sold | Orders per live, most-asked products |
| 4 | Drop products nobody asks about; add ones like the best sellers | Three or four lives; add bundles or gifts | Order value, repeat buyers |
After 30 days, watch four numbers: average viewers per live, orders per live hour, average order value, and the share of repeat buyers. Once orders per live hour settle, live hours become the lever: more hours, more sales.
Mistakes that keep a new shop from selling
- Everything for everyone — unrelated categories, so nobody knows what the shop is good at
- Every channel at once — slow replies, slow shipping, poor first reviews
- List and wait — nobody sees a new shop unless you bring them, with clips, lives or people you know
- Prices without fees and shipping — every order sells at a loss
- Irregular lives — two lives, few viewers, then stopping, when viewers grow from consistency
- Not registering — a legal risk, and a missed trust mark for customers
Started, but no time to go live?
Most new shops are one or two people sourcing, packing, answering chat and going live at once, so the live is what stops first, though it brings new customers best. Then the options are hiring a host or letting an AI host take the live; compare them in hiring a live host vs an AI host.
AI live selling uses an AI made from the face and voice of a consenting real person, speaking your approved script in your shop's live, with a human team controlling the script and comments backstage; UpperLive labels every live as AI. Read what AI live commerce is, see hire an AI live host, or the hour packages at AI live selling price.
Questions this article raises
How do I start selling online with no experience?
Pick one product group where you know the buyer and why they buy, open on the one or two platforms where they shop, count every cost before pricing, register the business, then use short clips and lives to bring people in. In month one the goal is learning what sells, not big revenue.
Do I have to register to sell online in Thailand?
Yes. A Ministry of Commerce notice makes selling goods or services over the internet a business that must be on the commercial register, for individuals and companies, within 30 days of starting. Registered shops can apply for the DBD Registered mark. For tax, ask the Revenue Department or an accountant.
Where should a beginner sell online?
Where your buyers shop. Shopee and Lazada suit people who come to buy, TikTok Shop suits reaching new people through clips and lives, and Facebook suits regulars who like to message. Most shops start with one marketplace plus TikTok Shop or Facebook.
Why should a new shop sell live?
A new shop has no reviews; a live lets people see the real product and ask straight away. In Decision Lab's survey, 51% of Thai live shoppers discover new brands through lives and 42% trust a new brand more after watching its live.
What if I have no time to go live?
Hire a host, or use an AI host made from a consenting real person in your shop's live, with a human team controlling the script and comments backstage and a label as AI on every live, so you keep your time for sourcing, packing and customers.