Online spending soars 45% as Covid transforms Thai shopping trends

Thais spent an estimated 75 billion baht per month online from January to March, up from 52 billion baht in November, according to the Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP)’s latest e-commerce survey.

The nationwide survey of 7,499 people also showed online purchases are up by 68.97 per cent from November, as consumers continue to switch to online outlets during the Covid-19 “new normal” era.

Of the 13 product groups covered by the survey, clothes and accessories were the most popular online buys. This was followed by food and beverages, health products, cosmetics, personal items, office supplies, electrical and electronic appliances, mobile phones and mobile devices, sporting goods, stationery, music, movies and other entertainment products, software, games, computers, toys, books, and magazines.

Mobile phones and devices accounted for the highest percentage of online spending.

Online shopping was most popular among people aged 20-29 (87%), followed by those under 20 (85.71%)​ and those 30-39 (80.13%)​. By comparison, in November the under-20s were the keenest online shoppers (50.62%)​, followed by 30-39-year-olds (50.20%)​ and 20-29-year-olds (49.04%)​. DITP said the figures reflected characteristics of Generation Y and Z members who grew up in the internet era and are able to learn and adapt quickly to changes.

The biggest spenders were the 20-29 age group, which averaged 2,379.30 baht per month, followed by the 50-59 age group with 2,349 baht.

In terms of occupation, students were the highest online spenders, with mobile phones, devices, and computers accounting for most money spent. Next came government officials, state enterprise employees, and state and company employees.

Classified by region, metropolitan Bangkok had the most online big-spenders, followed by the South, the Central region, the Northeast and the North.