Consumer spending expected to hit 17-year high during New Year period
Bolstered by the government’s stimulus measures, Thailand's consumer spending is predicted to hit a 17-year high, reaching 103.04 billion baht, according to the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC).
The president of the UTCC and adviser to the Centre for Economic and Business Forecasting, Thanavath Phonvichai, revealed during the conference on “Consumer behaviour and spending during 2023 New Year festival” that the New Year period is expected to generate over 103.04 billion baht (US$2.9 billion) in consumer spending, leading to a 20.1% expansion of the economy.
“It would be the first time that consumer spending would be exceeding 100 billion baht since 2007,” Thanavath said, adding that it would benefit the economy in the post-Covid-19 era.
With the support of the government’s stimulus measures, such as “Shop Dee Mee Kuen” (Shop and Payback) and “Rao Tiew Duay Kan” (We Travel Together) schemes during the first quarter of next year, the country’s economy is expected to grow by 0.1–1%, said Thanavath.
The adviser to UTCC’s council, Saowanee Thairungroj, said that the survey regarding consumer spending behaviour during the New Year festival, conducted between December 9-16 with a sample size of 1,345 participants across the country, showed that 69.8% of respondents are likely to spend money on travelling and party through the New Year period.
The survey also illustrated that consumers tend to buy more luxurious goods, with a basket of healthy products the most popular New Year gift.
“The North of the country seems to be the most popular region for tourists, followed by the Northeast, especially from December 29 this year to January 2 next year,” she said.
She said 54.4% of participants said the current economic situation affects their spending during the New Year festival, while 80.4% said that Covid-19 has no effect on their spending. Plus, 55.6% said that they think about their debt when using money, she added.
“Some 48.3% of respondents thought that this New Year festival would be more bustling than the previous year,” she said.
Meanwhile, Kasikorn Research Centre (KResearch) expects spending by Bangkokians during the New Year festival to be around 30.9 billion baht (US$0.89 billion), up 10.5% year on year following recovery in economic activities and tourism in the post-Covid-19 era.
However, most people would set aside their budget only for the four-day-long New Year holidays (December 30, 2022, to January 2, 2023) due to uncertainty over rising product prices, KResearch said.
