Thai consumers adapt payment behaviour as ‘new normal’ takes shape - Visa survey

05/20/2020

 

Visa, the world’s leader in digital payments, today announced key findings on how the spending habits and behaviours of Thai consumers are changing as operating in the ‘new normal’ takes shape across the globe. These findings come from a Visa survey¹ of consumers from across 40 countries worldwide, including Thailand.

According to the Study, three in five Thais (61 per cent) are forming cashless habits, preferring to pay with cards or through mobile applications over cash. In addition, almost seven in ten Thais (69 per cent) said they intend to stick with digital payment methods instead of reverting back to cash even when the current emergency is over.

Suripong Tantiyanon, Country Manager for Visa Thailand, said: “We approached the study with the intention to gain a timely, deeper and clearer understanding of how Thai consumer behaviours are changing in the current environment. We believe collaboration is key to progress so we are sharing this data to support the ecosystem and businesses in Thailand to adapt and embrace the new reality, so together we can help to move the economy in the right direction.”

Although concerns over physical health remain present across the globe, it has been found that people in Thailand and around the world are more concerned about their financial health. Four in five (79 per cent) people in Thailand agree that the current situation requires them to be even more proactive about financial planning, comparing to around half (53 per cent) indicating that they are worried about falling ill.

Many Thai consumers are trying eCommerce for the first time and intend to increase buying online in the future. Based on the findings, 67 per cent of Thai consumers said they are most likely to increase their online shopping, almost double the number of global shoppers (35 per cent) and much higher than the average in Asia Pacific (47 per cent).

When it comes to the shopping experience, more than half (54 per cent) of Thai respondents said online shopping is a more positive experience than shopping at a physical store, compared to 46 per cent of Asia Pacific and 37 percent of global responses.

The study also shows cashless habits are forming across the globe with 61 per cent of Thai respondents saying they prefer paying with cashless methods. Similarly, 58 per cent of Asia Pacific and 64 per cent of global respondents say they prefer cashless methods.

The way people intend to pay in the future is consistent across the globe, with consumers in Thailand (69 per cent), Asia Pacific (75 per cent) and around the world (66 per cent) choosing to stick with electronic payments after the current situation is over.

On the other hand, around one in four (24 per cent) consumers in Thailand have expressed that they will revert back to paying with cash once the situation improves, compared to Asia Pacific (17 per cent) and around the world (20 per cent). The remaining consumers are undecided whether they will stick to their new payment behaviour or revert back to their old ways, with consumers around the world at 14 per cent, followed by Asia Pacific (8 per cent) and Thailand (7 per cent).

Consumers are also becoming more cost-conscious. Nearly four in five (78 per cent) Thais said they are paying more attention to prices nowadays, compared to consumers in Asia Pacific (59 per cent) and around the world (53 per cent). Thai consumers are also most likely to be on the lookout for a bargain, with 65 per cent paying more attention to products on sale, compared to their counterparts in Asia Pacific (45 per cent) and global (41 per cent).

Financial planning is also top of mind for many, with 79 per cent of Thais believing they now need to be more proactive about managing their money. This was higher than Asia Pacific (74 per cent) and global (70 per cent) responses.

“We hope these findings will spark conversation and drive collaboration amongst the payment ecosystem and beyond, as together we navigate these uncharted waters in Thailand. Visa will continue to utilize its data, drive innovative practical solutions, and leverage the power of our global network to help Thailand’s economy to recover and grow stronger,” Suripong concluded.

 

¹ Kantar COVID-19 Barometer, fieldwork 27-31 March 2020. The study collated consumer data across 40 markets globally and 11 markets in Asia-Pacific, including Thailand, combined with Ai-based web monitoring of what people are saying and searching on the internet.

 

About Visa Inc.

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions, and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure, and reliable electronic payments. We operate one of the world’s most advanced processing networks — VisaNet — that is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and assured payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa’s innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: pay now with debit, pay ahead with prepaid or pay later with credit products. For more information, visit https://usa.visa.com/, visacorporate.tumblr.com and @VisaNews.