Among the Southeast Asian countries, Thailand is a country with a relatively high economic level. In 2022, Thailand's per capita GDP reached US$7,645.162, nearly 60% higher than Indonesia's per capita GDP of US$4,691, second only to Singapore and Malaysia.
In addition to creating hot products and improving brand tone. We also need to keep getting closer to consumers, collect feedback, and make corresponding strategy adjustments based on the characteristics of local users in order to truly become a brand recognized by local consumers.
The following only lists some of the characteristics of Thai consumers. These tiny details and differences are the key factors of so-called localization.
Consumer Group
Generation Y is the main force: According to a survey conducted by the TikTok platform, 79% of Generation Y are the group with the highest purchasing power.
Shopping habits
Strong brand awareness: Before e-commerce became popular in Thailand, Thailand's offline retail industry was very developed. There are very complete shopping malls and hypermarkets (super-large supermarkets), so they are relatively complete in brand introduction and have more opportunities to contact international brands. Therefore, in the Thai market, Thai consumers are more inclined to brand consumption, and their awareness of brands is stronger than that of other Southeast Asian countries.
Chasing the trend: Thai people's consumption concept is different from that in China. Thai people have no habit of saving, and are keen on chasing the trend of lifestyle, paying attention to dressing, and traveling frequently. In Thailand, people's pursuit of brands and trends is stronger. Those creative TV commercials in Thailand are one aspect, which not only shows the optimistic entertainment culture spirit of Thai people, but also shows the popularity of retail branding in Thailand.
Social media has a great influence: In Thailand, social media has a great influence on online shopping decisions. The proportion of time Thai people spend on social media every day is far higher than that of most countries. However, new media advertising has only gradually emerged in recent years, and has begun to be sought after by more and more local big brands in the past two years.
The proportion of COD used in Thai e-commerce shopping is relatively high, especially outside Bangkok. It is worth mentioning that the after-sales rate of Thai e-commerce shopping is very low, averaging less than 1%.
Promotions and discounts: Promotions, discounts and special offers are very popular in the Thai e-commerce market, but Thais are not good at math and cannot calculate accounts, so more marketing methods are simple and crude, such as discounts and buy-one-get-one-free.
Willing to try new things: Thai consumers like to buy overseas products through cross-border e-commerce, especially products that are difficult to find in Thailand. Such products are more likely to be shared spontaneously by consumers on their social media, forming word-of-mouth.
Brand recognition: Thai consumers generally pay attention to the quality of products and the reputation of brands, and are slightly more tolerant of cross-border products that cannot be purchased locally. For brands that are not known to the general public, more users will be accustomed to searching for brands through Google, FB, and IG as soon as possible. This is the initial impression of most users on the brand, so off-site social media operations are also essential for brand building. Thais are extremely loyal to recognized brands, but becoming a brand recognized by consumers requires real continuous localization optimization.
Consumption capacity: Thailand is the country with the highest happiness index in Southeast Asia, with a per capita income of RMB 3,000-4,000. Although the income is not high, the Thai government provides medical care, schooling and other guarantees, so that most Thais have no basic pressure. They have developed the habit of spending all their money and overspending.
Price sensitivity: They are very sensitive to the prices of mainstream local products, especially home appliances. However, they are very receptive to the premium of new products, and users have a default price range and acceptance in their cognition.