More Thais to shop online: Survey

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More Thais to shop online: Survey 
The Nation: 13 Dec 2010
More Thais to shop online, consumer survey reveals
By Kwanchai Rungfapaisarn
The Nation
Published on December 13, 2010

Virtual shopping will become quite the norm soon as a study revealed that up to 26 per cent of Thai consumers were prepared to shop online.

The study on Consumer Liberalisation was conducted by media agency Initiative.

According to the survey, 31 per cent of Internet users in the Asia Pacific region bought products from online only stores, about 30 per cent bought from shopping portal sites and 19 per cent bought from retailers that had both off and online shops.

Khanokkhan Prajongsangsri, associate director of Initiative, said online shopping had become part of modern life.

In Thailand, about 48 per cent of the consumers spent at least 6 per cent of their monthly shopping budget on an Internet purchase, while in Vietnam the number is 65 per cent. In South Korea and China, the ratio of consumers spending at least 6 per cent of their monthly shopping budget on a Web purchase stands at 81 and 75 per cent respectively.

According to the study, the main online shoppers are young people, while grocery items rank the highest in online purchases followed by music/DVDs, clothing, travel related products and services, computer hardware, books, entertainment services and collectibles. "Friend sourcing has a significant influence over online shoppers' decisions because they likely to share negative experiences online," Khanokkhan said. She added that in the next decade, more people would do their grocery shopping online and by 2015, most of this shopping would be done via smart phones.

"The number of Internet users in Thailand is expected to reach 22 million this year, accounting for 33 per cent of the total population, and 36 million by 2015, accounting for 52 per cent of the total population," she said, adding that technology had made life much easier and faster.

Between 2005 and 2010, the number of cellphone users above the age of 50 has risen from 36 per cent to 58 per cent; from 59 per cent to 87 per cent for 20-39; and from 32 per cent to 70 per cent for 12-19.

In the past five years, computer ownership has risen from 21 per cent to 39 per cent for the 50 plus; from 10 per cent to 27 per cent for 20-30, and from 13 per cent to 27 per cent for 12-19.

Internet usage has also increased significantly in all age segments from 2005. The number of people hooked up at home has risen from 13 per cent to 25 per cent for people aged 50 plus; from 6 per cent to 14 per cent for 20-39; and from 9 per cent to 15 per cent for 12-19.

Technology is essential in the modern lifestyle giving consumers more options, which in turn means that in order to survive, brands need to folฌlow consumers' rules.

Besides, consumers are also changing and the ageing group is expected to become bigger.

In the next 10 years, the Thai population is expected to rise from 67.3 million to 70.1 million, with the proportion of those aged between 40 and 50 plus increasing from 40 per cent this year to 47 per cent by 2020. The proportion of people aged between 20 and 39 is expected to drop from 32 per cent to 29 per cent, and the 10 to 19 from 15 per cent to 13 per cent. The proportion of children up to the age of nine is also expected to drop from 13 per cent this year to 11 per cent by 2020.

Shopping habits are bound to change because the "new old" will be liberated from the stereotype, giving them more choices on how they want to age. Also, with families becoming much smaller, parents will focus more on their children, and with a larger single population, more people will have time to socialise and spend more on their lifestyle and appearance.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2010/12/13/business/More-Thais-to-shop-online-consumer-survey-reveals-30144249.html