The growth of Thailand's eCommerce industry continues as consumers show growing preference for mobile payments, according to the Visa Consumer Payment Attitudes Study 2015[1]. The study revealed that two-thirds of Thai consumers shop online at least once a month, and more than half (53 percent) have used their mobile devices to shop online.
The study identified trends in payments behavior among consumers in six Southeast Asian markets including Thailand. It showed categories where consumers are more likely to shop via mobile as well as determining emerging categories.
"Though Thailand's eCommerce industry is still in its nascent stage, it is growing rapidly. Categories such as fashion and accessories, movie tickets, and bill payments will become key growth drivers as they have low online share but high frequency of purchase. The high proportion of transactions made via smartphones also presents a strong opportunity for growth," said Suripong Tantiyanon, Visa Country Manager, Thailand.
Thailand has an internet penetration rate of 29 percent[2], but relatively low eCommerce engagement compared to countries with similar internet penetration. Though the proportion of active cardholders who shop online remains low, a surge in transactions made through smartphones indicates consumers are going mobile first. [3]
The proportion of Thai respondents who said they shop online at least once a month has increased to 66 percent from 64 percent in last year's study.[4] Their average online shopping session now lasts for 46 minutes. Their top reasons for doing their shopping online are the advantage of having the goods delivered directly to them (40 percent), overall convenience (37 percent), better price (15 percent), and greater choice of products (8 percent).
Products and services that were the most popular among those purchased online include software, apps and app-related content (53 percent), events and concerts (53 percent), travel services (47 percent), and digital content like games, music, and videos (40 percent).
The study also revealed that merchants are missing sales opportunities due to transactions being abandoned (57 percent). The top reasons for abandoning purchases included slow loading pages (35 percent), difficulty in navigating websites (24 percent), unclear or lengthy buying processes (19 percent) and concerns about security (16 percent).
Strong momentum in mCommerce
There has been a significant shift towards using smartphones and tablets for eCommerce. Over half of the respondents have used a mobile device for online purchase, and 32 percent noted this was their preferred method. The momentum is strong as 42 percent of respondents suggested mobile devices would become their preferred shopping mode next year, with strongest appetite coming from men.
It might not come as a surprise that 52 percent of respondents said they made their bill payments via their mobile devices, given the recent proliferation of electronic wallet and utility apps. But categories that traditionally were dominated by brick-and-mortar retailers in Thailand are giving way to mCommerce. For those who have just started using mobile payments a year ago, as many as 78 percent of them purchased baby care products, while 75 percent bought personal electronics.
The trend is good news for retailers. The study found that over three-quarters (76 percent) of consumers would shop using their favorite store's mobile app, if it was available. And almost seven in ten have expressed clear interest in shopping through a mobile optimized site (68 percent).
The growing preference for mobile devices in online shopping is not only prevalent in Thailand. A separate Visa study[5] in 2015 revealed that consumers in 13[6] Asia Pacific markets reported an average 22 percent increase from 2014 in shopping using mobile devices (mobile phones and tablets) over desktop computers.
"The future of eCommerce remains positive as more Thais rely on technology for purchasing products and services. As consumers grow increasingly comfortable using their mobile devices when shopping online, Visa will support them by offering payment technology services to make their online shopping experience more secure and convenient," Mr. Suripong concluded.