Thailand Retail Report Q2 2016

Thailand Retail Report Q2 2016

BMI View: Thailand's retail industry will benefit in the medium term from increasing urbanisation andrising incomes, which will support a growing demand for luxury and non-essential retail products, mostly inthe capital, Bangkok. However, the country will remain deeply divided in terms of incomes, with a largeproportion of rural dwellers still on low incomes, limiting scope for retailers to expand. Thailand,particularly Bangkok, has a thriving retail environment, with a large number of retailers, both domestic andinternational active in the market. The mass grocery retail, department store and shopping mall segmentsare particularly well developed.

Key Developments And BMI Forecasts

Global furniture and accessories retailer IKEA began constructing its second Thai store, like the first, inBangkok, in February 2016.

We forecast that the Thai population will increase from 68.1mn in 2016 to 68.6mn by 2020. However, thepopulation is ageing, with the younger demographics set to decline steadily, which is bad news forretailers who are seeking to target aspirational consumers with higher incomes.