Thai consumers rank 7th out of 8 emerging economies on weak sentiment: Report

THAILAND is nearly bottom among peer markets for consumer sentiment, a poll of emerging economies found in the wake of the Covid-19 downturn.

Gloomy Thai consumers came in seventh out of the eight markets polled, as Thailand slipped one spot from a similar ranking in 2019.

Otherwise, India, China and Brazil led the index, while Indonesia climbed to fourth place, from fifth before. Russia stayed in eighth position in the study from the Credit Suisse Research Institute.

"While Thailand has done well containing the spread of Covid-19, it has been hard hit by restrictions on global travel due to the fact that international tourism constitutes a significant percentage of GDP," analyst Warayut Luangmettakul wrote in a report on Thursday.

The ranking took into account respondents' outlook on their personal finances and household income; their willingness to make large purchases; their income history; and inflation expectations.

In Thailand, a net balance of survey participants reported that their incomes had decreased in the past 12 months, and they did not expect improvements in the next 12 months.

Thai incomes fell by more than 45 per cent, according to the survey - the deepest plunge among the eight economies in the poll, and about 20 percentage points worse than the average.

Although a positive net balance of respondents expected personal finances to pick up in the next six months, this was still lower than in 2019 and 2020.

Still, Credit Suisse observed an increase in Thai consumer purchase intentions for various categories of discretionary items, which it attributed to pent-up demand.

Items with the highest level of purchasing interest included home and personal care products (73 per cent), branded goods (53 per cent), cars (50 per cent) and food and drinks (25 per cent).

On the other hand, there was a decline in plans to spend on alcoholic and carbonated drinks, which the report suggested stemmed from health concerns and social-distancing measures.

The Credit Suisse Emerging Consumer Survey, which was carried out by consumer research firm Nielsen, polled roughly 14,100 people across eight markets in October 2020 and January 2021. It covered more than 1,500 respondents in Thailand, with about two-thirds from urban areas.

Separately, 52 per cent of Indonesian consumers believe that their personal finances will improve in the next six months, and plan to splash out on fashion, sportswear and holidays.

But respondents also remained wary of big-ticket items, with 68 per cent indicating that now is still not a "good time to make a major purchase by income level", the survey found.

Said Richard Kersley, who heads Credit Suisse's global equity research product and thematic research group: "Key structural factors such as young and dynamic demographics, higher urbanisation and the rise of a growing consumer middle class will support higher growth in emerging economies.

"However, it will probably take a few years before emerging countries revert to their pre-pandemic growth trends."