Online Shoppers in Thailand to Reach 14 million by 2021

As ecommerce in Thailand is aggressively propelling forward, even companies with a rich traditional heritage such as Somjai, one of Thailand’s oldest and most famous stationery store chains, are going online to grow their sales channels.

And there is good reason for that – the number of customers shopping online is steadily increasing.

According to Statista, 12.1 million consumers in Thailand are expected to make purchases online this year.

This number is projected to grow by 15% within the next five years reaching 13.9 million in 2021.

According to Statista, 12.1 million consumers in Thailand are expected to make purchases online this year. — According to Statista, 12.1 million consumers in Thailand are expected to make purchases online in 2017

In Thailand, 4.4 million online shoppers are 25-34 year olds and are followed closely by 3.9 million online users aged 16-24 years.

These two age brackets together make up two thirds of all online shoppers and the ratio is projected to remain consistent in the medium term.

Overall, it is forecasted that within five years, every fourth Thai will shop online, up from around every fifth now.

online shoppers in Thailand — Overall, it is forecasted that within five years, every fourth Thai will shop online

But ecommerce user growth in the Land of Smiles is not even the fastest in Southeast Asia. In Indonesia, ecommerce user penetration is expected to almost double from 2015 to 2021. However, the amount customers in Thailand are expected spend on average online is predicted to soar.

In 2021, an online Thai buyer will spend $382 per year, which is 57% more than the expected spending of $243 per user in 2017.

What to keep in mind?

More online shoppers means more potential customers for businesses with online channels. Understanding the trends of what, when and where these customers buy is essential to capturing more of them going online.

Thais have more money to spend on shopping as Thailand has the third highest GDP per capita in the region after Singapore and Malaysia.
More companies in Thailand are seeing the benefits of an omni-channel strategy such as Zara, Uniqlo, Adidas who have invested in their own brand.com in addition to offline stores.
The tech-savvy generation (16-34 year olds) is accustomed to online shopping both on social media, e-marketplaces/brand.com.
Spending power will continue to rise and two-thirds of consumption growth in the period to 2030 will come from increasing per capita spending.
Research reports, tools such as Google’s Consumer Barometer and eIQ articles provide useful insights on Thailand’s online shoppers’ behavior…