Thais follow global trend towards more online shopping

In particular, Thais are ordering and purchasing more everyday items such as groceries and food from their smartphones, tablets, laptops and computers.

The food category grew 148 per cent from 2012 to 2014. While only 5 per cent regularly shopped online for food in 2012, this has increased to 12 per cent in 2014.

Rising demand in Thailand is comparable to the global trend, which saw online food shopping increase 100 per cent, from 8 per cent regularly shopping for food and groceries in 2012 to 16 per cent this year.

In general, these “new shoppers”’ buy the same products, but only when needed, enjoying the convenience of browsing different sites for better offers. 

Overall, 19 per cent of the Thais surveyed said they made an online purchase every day, 23 per cent said they bought products online weekly, and 22 per cent were monthly consumers. This is also in line with global trends, where one in five now buys things online on a daily basis.

As well as food and groceries, Thais are buying more homeware products such as appliances and soft furnishings via the Internet. Demand in this category has grown 306 per cent from 2012 to 2104. In 2012, only 3 per cent of people surveyed said they would buy homeware products online – in 2014, this has increased to 13 per cent.

While electronics (41 per cent) and clothing (22 per cent) remain the most in-demand product categories for Thai online shoppers, entertainment has fallen from 37 per cent in 2012 to 23 per cent this year.

The rise in Internet shopping is supported by behavioural changes among mobile and online users in Thailand, said BuzzCity founder and chief executive officer Dr KF Lai.

 

Smart phone 

“The dramatic adoption, and use, of smartphones over the past three years has led to more Thais ‘window shopping’ online and sharing their favourite sites and bargains with friends. In fact, 27 per cent said they are likely to recommend their preferred sites to others, even if they only browsed the sites – this proves that retailers and brands that create a positive online environment will succeed as it’s clear this encourages recommendations, loyalty and referral.”

In Thailand and around the world, the trend towards daily shopping online is expected to grow as mobile commerce options become more sophisticated, convenient, and easy to use. 

“The click-and-collect, reserve-in-store and next-day delivery services that most brands now offer are a prime example of how retailers are fully maximising online as a complement to in-store shopping. This, combined with consumers’ increasing confidence in online and mobile purchasing, illustrates the blurring of boundaries between online and in- store shopping,” Lai said.

Upsurges in the purchase of children’s toys, clothing and homeware are predicted for the holiday season. Many of these are likely to be for planned purchases – bargain hunters looking for special offers during the year-end sales period in many countries.

The research for the “Online Shopping Routines” survey was conducted among 4,700 consumers from 25 countries including Thailand, across five continents.