[Hakuhodo] Daily Life Stabilizes, as Happiness Levels and Demand for Shopping Peak Nationwide

Consumers in Bangkok see a 15% surge in desire to shop compared to June. An atmosphere has fully returned, and consumers see a higher desire to live full lives for themselves and their families.
Hakuhodo recommends that brands emphasize showing transparency and sincerity to consumers and encourage them to be the “Best Version of Me” and live life to the fullest.

Bangkok Thailand, August 2022 - Hakuhodo Institute of Life and Living ASEAN (Thailand), in cooperation with its affiliate SPICY Hakuhodo (Thailand), has unveiled the results of the Thailand Consumption Forecast (August 2022). The results show that the daily life of Thai people has stabilized, and they feel more hopeful. Covid-19 is no longer their primary focus, and the desire to spend has reached a high point.

Brands can reinforce this momentum by encouraging consumers to “live life to the fullest” and pursue happiness for themselves and their families. They should also prioritize demonstrating transparency and honesty to consumers; for instance, brands should explain the reason behind any price increases or roll out a price freeze campaign.

Consumption intentions

The August 2022 survey shows the highest surge of consumption intentions, reaching 67%, and is especially high for people in Greater Bangkok.

Consumers’ spending trends have changed, as necessary goods are no longer the sole priority. Thai people now spend for happiness, whether traveling, socializing, or eating out. They live to the fullest to boost happiness for themselves and their families. This is most pronounced in the 20-29 age group, which had stagnated for a long time.

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Ms. Prompohn Supataravanich, Associate Director - Market Research & Strategy at Hakuhodo Institute of Life and Living ASEAN (Thailand), suggested the following actions for brands:

Brands should launch campaigns to encourage consumers to be the “Best Version of Me” for the happiness of themselves and families.

The desire to shop and level of happiness has never been higher. Brands can offer consumers opportunities to shop in a way that allows them to make the most of life, improving their physical image with clothing and cosmetics or upskilling through learning and buying work equipment.

They can also launch campaigns to celebrate the ‘return to the world’ during Mother’s Day, birthdays, or long holidays. These opportunities will allow consumers to go out and travel, work, and find ways to put happiness at the forefront.

Be honest and transparent with consumers, especially during hard times

Although prices are soaring, essentials remain necessary, and consumers inevitably face higher expenses. Brands should communicate clearly to customers if they need to increase prices and show that they have made all reasonable attempts to maintain the original prices.

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Work equals money
"Work equals money." There is currently nothing more important for Thai consumers than work and money. They are focusing on ensuring stability and sufficient income to allow them to spend on things that make them and their families happy.

Ms. Chulika Saisila, Strategic Solution Manager at SPICY Hakuhodo, added "People are happy at the moment and feel secure with their current state of happiness. They are ready to live a normal life and are content with the happiness they have at present. They aren’t worried about making up for any happiness they might have missed out on during the past two years.

“The increasing happiness levels of Thai consumers is a positive sign for the economy and daily life. Vendors will see higher income, and the long-stagnant tourism segment will return to its former glory".

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Ms. Chutima Viriyamahakul, Business Director at Hakuhodo Institute of Life and Living ASEAN (Thailand), gave a closing remark on the current trend, stating that “Thai people are now ready to hit ‘restart’ on seeking answers to social issues and are looking forward to a better tomorrow.”

Thai consumers are becoming less interested in Covid-19 news as collective interest has shifted to new topics and changes, such as the recently-elected Bangkok governor and information about inflation and economic conditions.

Regarding the present topics of interest, Thais will invest their attention and dig deeper into the surrounding issues to help inform them of the best route forwards. For instance, they will be more concerned about expensive petrol, price hike, daily-life issues, inflation, and economic conditions.

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About Hakuhodo Institute of Life and Living ASEAN (Thailand)

Hakuhodo Institute of Life and Living ASEAN (Thailand) conducts the Thailand Consumption Forecast survey every two months. The Thailand Consumption Forecast (August 2022) was conducted from June 20-28, 2022.

The survey studied the future trends and consumption behaviors of Thais through quantitative and qualitative questionnaires given to 1,200 male and female participants aged 20-59 years from six regions nationwide.

Founded in 2014, Hakuhodo Institute of Life and Living ASEAN, is the Hakuhodo Group’s new think tank in the ASEAN region. It is dedicated to helping companies with their marketing efforts in ASEAN countries, as well as observing the new lifestyles emerging.

Here at Hakuhodo, we describe people not simply as consumers but as fully rounded individuals with their own hearts, souls, lifestyles, aspirations, and dreams. Hakuhodo focuses its studies on Sei-katsu-sha – the term for the “life living person” – which is the centerpiece of Hakuhodo’s philosophy.

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