Most Thais still buy luxury items offline

A SURVEY by International Service Check has found that the Internet is playing a crucial role for Thai consumers of luxury products. 
More than 68 per cent of customers are doing research online before making the decision to buy luxury items, but 72 per cent of luxury purchases are still taking place offline.
Among those who do research online, 67 per cent use non-brand-related channels, such as social media and online reviews, to help in their decision-making process.
Meanwhile, 53 per cent of consumers decide what to purchase through official brand communication online, 37 per cent make a decision in-store, while 35 per cent are likely to be influenced through recommendations from friends and family.
After doing their research, consumers decide whether to purchase online or in-store. 
Consumers who purchase online cite such reasons as better prices (85 per cent), convenience (62 per cent) and the ability to compare products and prices before buying (54 per cent). 
It was found that the higher the price of a luxury product, the less likely it would be purchased online. The average maximum spend online for a luxury product is Bt25,500. The top reasons for not buying online are the inability to touch and feel a product (50 per cent), being afraid of counterfeit products (48 per cent) and mistrust of websites (24 per cent).
Therefore, the importance of good service offline is still just as crucial as before, if not more important, in giving consumers the final push to making a decision to purchase. Good service may lead to a quick sale, as many consumers already have knowledge of what they want before visiting a store, while bad service might result in a no-sale.
International Service Check conducted mystery shopping visits to the most popular local and international luxury brands in Thailand from September 19 to October 24. Evaluators assessed 57 major luxury brands for overall service quality and impressions and found an “unimpressive” average score of 72.2 per cent, which is quite low considering high-service expectations in luxury stores, where customers expect to be pampered and made to feel special.
“While almost all of our evaluators felt impressed by the stores’ atmosphere [97.9 per cent], their impression went downhill from the moment of interaction with the sales assistants,” International Service Check said. 
Across all five service categories, the results obtained an overall average score of just 67.2 per cent. The top sections were closing and farewell (78.3 per cent), delivering of solutions (70.2 per cent) and engaging with the customer (69.5 per cent). The bottom sections were fitting experience (69 per cent) and emotional connection (49.2 per cent).
“Our evaluators found that while most sales assistants actively tried to show products (83.8 per cent), the product characteristics and/or benefits were not as readily discussed,” the firm said in its report. 
“Material and quality were discussed only in one out of two visits, followed by style and design (one in three visits), functionality and use of item (one in four visits) and details of manufacture (one in 25 visits). 
“Based on these results, it can be deduced that the information provided in store is not enough for a customer to make a decision to purchase immediately. Only 13 per cent of customers felt confident to purchase based solely on the visit to the store.
“After making the purchase, consumers typically return to the Internet and social media to evaluate their purchase. If they were happy with their experience and the product, 55 per cent would share their feedback with friends and family.”