What are Thai consumers planning to shop for this Christmas & New Year?

In our earlier article, we examined the proportion of Thai consumers who are planning to spend more over this Christmas and New Year season (compared to non-festive months), as well as how much consumers are planning to spend by recipient – as the kingdom grapples with a 14-year high inflation rate, that has seen consumers cut back spending on staples.

In Part 2 of this two-part series, we explore the categories of goods and services consumers are most likely to spend on during this period, and how consumers are funding their holiday purchases.

What are Thais planning to spend on during the upcoming Christmas and New Year seasons?

Latest RealTime Omnibus research by YouGov shows that over two in five consumers plan to spend on social events involving food and drinks (44%) over the coming Christmas and New Year seasons – the most popular festive spending category among Thais.

More than one in three are likely to spend on gift baskets (36%), while over a quarter intend to make charitable donations (27%) during this celebratory period – the next two most popular categories.

About one-quarter of consumers are likely to spend on travel (25%) and clothes / fashion apparel (24%), while around one-fifth plan to make purchases on IT devices and accessories (21%) and vitamins and supplements (20%) during this period.

Across genders, social events involving food and drinks (female: 47%, male: 40%) and gift baskets (female: 39%, male: 32%) are the top two categories most would spend on, although women are more likely than men to spend for both. Additionally, a larger proportion of women intend to spend on clothes and fashion accessories (female: 29%, male: 19%) as well as cosmetics and beauty products (female: 20%, male: 7%) than men.

On the other hand, men are more likely than women to spend on IT devices and accessories (male: 26%, female: 17%) as well as entertainment products/services (male: 14%, female: 9%), over this festive period.

Analysing by age also reveals that Gen Z consumers are much more likely than Millennial, Gen X and Baby Boomer consumers to spend on clothes and fashion apparel (33% vs 24-16%), IT devices and accessories (26% vs 22-13%), entertainment products/services (18% vs 11-1%), as well as education (19% vs 9-0%).

How are consumers planning to fund their festive spending?

When asked about how they would primarily fund their Christmas and New Year spending, around six in seven consumers said they would rely on their own financial sources (85%).

• Half of consumers say they would fund their festive purchases through their regular income (51%), be it their regular salary (39%) or part-time pay (12%)
• A seventh of consumers plan to use monetary streams like their work bonuses (10%) and returns on investments (4%)
• A fifth of consumers say they will dip into their savings to fund their festive spending (20%)

One in seven, however, would require financial support for their festive spending (15%).

• 7% plan to turn their parents or family to fund their festive purchases
• 6% say they would need to take out loans from their bank (3%), credit card (2%) or an informal entity (1%)

How many Thais are planning to spend this Christmas and New Year, and how much for various people they know? Find out in our earlier Part 1 article here.

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Methodology: YouGov RealTime Omnibus provides quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. This study was conducted online on 17 November 2022, with a nationally representative sample of 2,057 adults in Thailand (aged 18+ years), using a questionnaire designed by YouGov. Data figures have been weighted by gender, age, region and monthly household income to be representative of the adult Thai online population (18 years or older), and reflect the latest National Statistical Office of Thailand (NSO) population estimates. Learn more about YouGov RealTime Omnibus.