Inflation and unemployment main worries of Thais, global survey shows
The majority of people globally, including Thailand, are worried about economic recession, rising product prices and unemployment, global market research company Ipsos said on Tuesday.
The company cited its research "Ipsos Global Trend 2023" conducted among more than 48,000 people in 50 countries. About 1,000 of the respondents were Thais.
“Recurring misfortune is the theme everyone faces this year because we have faced many crises, including the Covid-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war and inflation," Ipsos said.
Ipsos said economic recession had forced consumers to pay attention to their spending.
"Some 34% of people globally, including in Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, are worried about this issue," it said, adding that Thais were concerned about the rate of inflation and their disposable income.
Apart from a decline in purchasing power, it pointed out that rising product prices also impacted the consumers' minds.
Ipsos added that consumers were also paying attention to the impact of climate change on the environment, such as plastic waste reduction.
They also hope the government and private sectors would be serious on environmental preservation, it added.
"Some 93% of Thais are worried about climate change triggered by PM2.5 air pollution," Ipsos said.
It said consumers are seeking contributions from brand operators instead of the government. Some 80% of Thais are worried that the government could not take care of them, it added.
"Instead, 81% of Thais put their hopes on brand operators contributing to society, while 57% of them are ready to pay more to enable brand operators to do so," Ipsos said.
It added that this consumer behaviour was a result of only a few people being able to access government assistance.
Ipsos said there is conflict among consumers on digital disruption.
Some consumers claimed that technologies affected their quality of life, such as interaction with others, it said. On the other side, some consumers said internet is necessary for them.
It said some consumers believe that technology is a double-edged sword, especially brand operators' move to use personal information for marketing.
It added that research also indicated that consumers have a gloomy feeling about the global situation, as 65% believed this year would be worse than last year.
