Bangkok--11 Jul--Inspire Communications
Research into Thai mobile phone shopping habits shows almost 9 out of 10 Thais have already chosen the brand by the time they reach the store.
Today, at the "Think Telco" event held in Bangkok, Google shared new research into how consumers find and buy mobile phone plans in today's fractured media landscape. Mobile phones are incredible popular in Thailand, with 14.8M sold in 2016, but how do Thai people actually choose and buy their phones and plans?
New "Path to Purchase" research from Google and TNS outlines the complex journeys that consumers make before making their final purchase. The survey comprised 500 interviews with purchasers of specific products and services, men and women aged 18-60 years old who signed up for a mobile plan in the past 6 months.
Key findings of the research show:
Thai consumers are better informed than ever before. With a whole host of ways of finding out about products and services, consumers come to the store with definite views on products. In fact, almost 9 out of 10 (89%) of Thai phone shoppers said they had chosen the brand before they got to a store.
Thai consumers are open to ideas while researching. 64% of Thai phone shoppers said they uncovered new brands during their research. This is good news for marketers looking to influence consumers.
Online is an important influencer. Over nine out of ten Thai phone shoppers (93%) said that they do most research online — and that it's the most influential to them.
Search is a major source for research. Thais prefer official websites and search engine as their top two sources of online information. And Search acts as a "gateway" to other touchpoints.
Video also plays a role in brand choice. During the further research, consumers used online video to research to reinforce their decisions.
What this means for marketers:
The world is increasingly complex, with many sources of information to choose from. But this research shows that marketers can cut through the "noise" with relevant, helpful messages they can win the sale. The research shows that in Thailand today it's not "who" people are it's what they want that matters. In the past, marketers could only rely on indirect proxies like demographics such as age and gender. While demographics have not gone away, intent, or what people want in a given moment is a much more powerful signal for marketers to respond to.