Bangkok--3 Aug--Nielsen
- Thais are more loyal to both brands and stores
- 42 percent of shoppers always buy additional items
- Hypermarkets continue to be the favorite shopping channel
As Thai shoppers remain in belt-tightening mode, their focus on value is a priority when it comes to grocery shopping. To reach budget-conscious shoppers, retailers are increasingly rolling out promotional offers. According to Nielsen’s latest ShopperTrends report, consumers are taking notice: 63 percent of Thais said they are attracted by retail promotional offers, with more than half of them (52%) saying they react to promotions and one in ten saying that they would change the store they shop in based on best promotion offered.
Thais loyal to brands, stores
While Thai shoppers remain focused on value, the Nielsen ShopperTrends report also found that
consumers were more loyal to both brands and stores compared to 2008. When asked how promotions affected their supermarket/hypermarket shopping, 24 percent of Thai shoppers said they only buy on promotion when they like the brand (up from 16 percent in 2008). This increase in loyalty also extends to stores: nearly three-quarters (73%) of Thai shoppers claimed that they always go to the same stores, up from 63 percent in 2008 and 69 percent in 2009.
Despite being promotionally-driven, only 11 percent of shoppers said they would change stores due to promotional offers compared to 17 percent in 2008.
Across the region, the most promotion-focused shoppers are in Vietnam, with 87 percent actively looking out for promotional items, followed closely by Malaysia (86%) and Taiwan (70%).
Despite making lists, half always buy additional items
When going grocery shopping, nearly 8 out of ten (79%) consumers usually plan what they need to buy in their shopping trips. Despite making those lists, nearly half (42%) of shoppers said they did not strictly adhere to them and bought additional impulse items. Women were more likely to buy
additional items than men. Malaysians and Filipinos were the second highest impulsive shoppers in the South East Asia region.
When asked if they liked shopping, Filipino consumers led the Asia Pacific Region with 80 percent saying they enjoyed the task, while 63 percent of Thais said so. In Thailand, females (77%) continue to be the main household shoppers while 23 percent are male shoppers.
Hypermarkets remain the key channel for Thai shoppers
Hypermarkets continued to be Thai shoppers favorite primary shopping channel, with 92 percent saying they visited in the past 4 weeks, followed by traditional grocery and convenience stores (both 87%) and wet markets (86%). However, consumers are shopping for fresh products in wet markets and they are spending 50 percent of their average spending on fresh food.
Aaron Cross, Managing Director, Nielsen Thailand, said “We found Thai shoppers spend more money in Hypermarkets. This is because Hypermarkets have successfully met shoppers’ desires for convenience and ease in finding what they are look for. They have everything in one shop and offer value for money. Even though Convenience is not the primary channel, it still attracts higher shopping frequency per month, with consumers looking for high quality food and beverages including Ready-to-Eat foods in that channel.”
Ads and coupons can help drive traffic
The latest ShopperTrends study shows that 32 percent of Thai shoppers visited stores where they can save money by using coupons promoted through newspapers and flyers, up from 29 percent from previous survey. Advertisements are being used by more shoppers, with 17 percent saying they chose a store based on an ad they had seen, up from 11 percent last year.