Sluggish consumer goods sales forecast until Q2 2017

Brands and marketers should focus on the right groups of customers and use the right advertising measures to reach targeted customers effectively, the market research company said.
“From my personal view, I believe that fast-moving consumer goods will be back on track in the second quarter next year, while in the first quarter of 2017, the situation will be similar to what happens in the current quarter,” Somwalee Limrachtamorn, managing director of Nielsen Thailand, said yesterday.
Her prediction is based on a sharp drop in sales of fast-moving consumer goods last month compared with November last year. Nielsen found that by volume, FMCG sales via modern trading channels dropped 6.4 per cent. 
Somwalee explained that the market was shocked by the |death of the King in mid-October. Meanwhile, FMCG producers raised prices by an average of 3 per cent from last year to offset inflation. 
 The market research giant also conducted a survey with 500 people from November 2 to 10 on their purchasing plans for the New Year holiday. Spending during the period is expected to be lower than last year. 
Despite 81 per cent of participants saying they had set aside money to spend during the festive period, only one-third planned to spend more than they did last New Year.

Less spending upcountry 
People living upcountry plan to spend significantly less than residents in Greater Bangkok. 
Asked about the recovery of business sentiment from the mourning period for the late King, only 30 per cent thought that their situation would return to normal within two months, but Thais believe that society will take more time to recover than individuals. 
Somwalee said it was expected that the elderly would take more time than young people in this regard.
 Therefore, she said companies that target young customers were likely to resume their marketing campaigns or product launches earlier than firms with older customers. 
When it comes to advertising strategies, the Nielsen executive said overall sales of consumer goods via modern traders were worth about Bt900 billion a year. She said only 30 per cent of that figure was from in-home consumption while the remainder was from out-of-home consumption. 
“Out-of-home consumption still means business opportunities for brands,” she said. 
In addition to that, ad spending via out-of-home media also increased in the first 11 months although other main media streams like TV, radio, newspapers and magazines remained in negative territory, she said. 
“On-ground events targeting specific customers are another key strategy to build brand awareness and boost sales for next year,” Somwalee said.