Thai retail confidence falls as panic buying drains April spending

Thailand’s retail sentiment weakened sharply in April 2026 as consumers cut back on spending after panic buying in March, while high fuel prices, rising utility bills and concerns over product costs continued to weigh on household purchasing power.

The April 2026 Retail Sentiment Index, or RSI, conducted by the Thai Retailers Association in cooperation with the Bank of Thailand from April 16 to 27, found that retail operators’ economic confidence fell by 7.2 points from March.

The April reading was also lower than April levels recorded over the previous four years from 2022 to 2025. The decline was attributed to slower consumer spending after concerns over energy prices and possible product shortages prompted many shoppers to stockpile goods in March.

Sales across almost all retail and wholesale categories declined, except for department stores, which saw a slight improvement due to Songkran festival promotions and activities, particularly in Bangkok.

Why April sales weakened despite Songkran

Retailers said April sales would normally be expected to outperform March, as the month includes the Songkran holiday, when many people return to their home provinces and businesses run promotional activities over the four- to five-day break.

However, sales this April fell from March because consumers had already brought forward purchases during the previous month. The March spike was driven by panic buying rather than normal consumption.

Fewer people also travelled home this year compared with previous years, mainly because of higher fuel and utility costs. This reduced travel-related spending during the holiday period.

April is also typically the hottest month of the year, pushing household electricity bills significantly higher. After paying higher utility bills, consumers had less disposable income left for non-essential purchases.

The prolonged conflict in the Middle East since the beginning of 2026 has further affected energy and transport costs. Retailers said accumulated cost pressures began feeding more visibly into product prices in April, causing consumers to become more cautious and delay purchases.

For construction materials, April is usually a quieter month because many workers return home for the holidays and project activity slows during the extended break. As a result, sales of project-related and structural materials fell compared with March, when businesses had rushed to complete work before the holiday.

Outlook remains below confidence threshold

Retailers’ confidence for the next three months rose by 6.3 points, but remained below the 50-point threshold, indicating that operators are still concerned about weak purchasing power.

Nearly 62% of operators said their inventory would last no more than three months, meaning some businesses may need to raise product prices over the next quarter.

Retailers are also facing rising product costs but have limited ability to increase retail prices, with price adjustments possible only in the range of about 3% to 5% because consumer purchasing power remains weak. This has left operators facing margin squeeze pressure.

Same-store sales sentiment falls sharply

The same-store sales growth sentiment index fell from 52.8 points in March to 40.6 points in April, a drop of 12.2 points.

The decline showed that overall April sales weakened from March, reflecting a slowdown after March purchases were driven by panic buying rather than normal spending patterns.

Retailers’ confidence in sales performance also weakened across key consumer behaviour indicators.

Spending per bill, or basket size, fell from 49.3 points to 43.8 points, down 5.5 points.

Shopping frequency also dropped from 49.3 points to 45.6 points, down 3.7 points.

The figures suggest that although consumers still went out during the Songkran festival, they spent less because of higher living costs.