Several business sectors have felt the pinch from the slow economy of the past few years, but some see the sluggishness as an opportunity.
Conditions have forced shoppers to curtail spending on consumer products and visit one-price stores, a retail segment that has grown sharply in recent years.
These stores offer all products at the same price, typically 60 baht, and are influenced by Japanese chains such as 100-yen shop Daiso, which operates more than 2,800 stores in Japan and nearly 2,000 overseas.
Many Thai operators have adopted the marketing model and prefer to call their business model one-price lifestyle stores, as the products they sell vary in price from the 60 baht seen in Daiso.
The growing popularity is reflected in over 200 one-price lifestyle stores across the country, operated by both international companies and local retailers.
Two retail giants, Central Department Store and Robinson Department Store, have jumped on the bandwagon in recent years.
Wanida: Double-digit sales growth at Just Buy
Daiso Sangyo Thailand Co executive vice-president Rassarin Surapattanapaisan says Daiso opened its first store in Thailand 13 years ago and she recalls Daiso was not the first to offer one-price products at the time.
Vendors sold products for 20 baht a piece, but they were not big retailers.
Today, Daiso is not the sole retail chain that offers one-price products but the business is filled with players such as Just Buy, Miniso, Komonoya, Minimono, Arcova, Midio, Moshi Moshi Japan and Bear and many more newcomers are set to enter the business in the year to come.
Ms Rassarin says Daiso sells everything for 60 baht, which has kept it popular among Thais in the 13 years since opening here.
"Affordability is not the only ingredient in our success, but also sustained product quality," Ms Rassarin says.
Daiso Sangyo Thailand was set up under a joint venture between Daiso of Japan, Itochu and Thailand's consumer product conglomerate, Saha Group, which also has the right to operate Daiso stores in Myanmar and Laos.
Though there are a number of such stores in the market, Ms Rassarin is confident there is still business potential to add more stores in the future.
"We are satisfied that our business can grow 2-3% this year amid the current weak economic environment," Ms Rassarin says.
Since the opening in 2004, Daiso Sangyo in Thailand has opened 131 Daiso stores in Thailand and four in Myanmar. The number of Daiso stores is expected to reach 145-147 in total by the end of this year.
The company plans to add 20-22 new stores in Thailand per year over the next few years.
Each stores requires an investment of 8-10 million baht for a store size of 200-500 square metres. Another 100 million was spent this year to build a new warehouse.
At Seacon Development Plc, vice-president for business development Prote Sosothikul says one-price and lifestyle stores have been the market trend in Thailand for a couple of years.
People love these shops because of value prices that meet their current purchasing power.
Wanida: Double-digit sales growth at Just Buy
There are several one-price stores available at Seacon's Srinakarin and Bang Khae branches, namely Arcova, Midio and Miniso and these outlets have become an important magnet to attract customers.
Robinson Plc, the operator of Robinson Department Store also foresaw the business opportunity and introduced Just Buy to sell one-price products at a corner in the department store for several years before upgrading the unit under the shop-in-shop concept last year, according to Wanida Rinnasak, vice-president for value brand management at Robinson Plc.
She says that regardless of economic conditions, sales of Just Buy have shown strong double-digit growth every year. On average, about 20% of customers who visited Robinson head for Just Buy.
There are 43 Just Buy stores located in Robinson Department Store branches nationwide. The growing popularity prompted the firm to increase retail space of Just Buy to 500-1000 sq m an outlet from 200-300 sq m to increase the range of products for new customer groups, from kitchen utensils, stationary and cosmetics.
It also opened Just Buy outside Robinson Department Store for the first time last month at Tesco Lotus's Bang Bua Thong branch, Ms Wanida says. The company plans to open 8-10 new Just Buy stores every year over the next five years.
Cai Xiao Xing, president of Xing Tai Trading Co, the operator of Miniso, says the company attained the rights to open Miniso stores in Thailand eight years ago.
The first Miniso store opened at Seacon Square shopping complex on Srinakarin Road late last year, and a second one was opened in the Srinakarin area this year after receiving good response.
There are more than 20 Miniso stores in Thailand -- two branches in Pattaya and the rest in Bangkok. Miniso is available at leading shopping malls such as Central, The Mall, Seacon Square, Megabangna and Terminal 21.
The company is planning to open a new branch at a location in Siam soon and hopes to have total 50 Miniso stores in Thailand this year.
The company expects to have a total of 200 Miniso outlets in Thailand over the next two years, spreading across Bangkok and upcountry.
Miniso is not a totally one-price store because product prices ranging from 39 baht to 500 baht, but most are Japanese-style product, with a focus on beauty items, fashion, household and IT devices.
"Although we are young in this market, Miniso received a better-than-expected welcome from Thai customers," Mr Cai says. "They are not concern much about prices, but prioritise product quality when picking goods."
Miniso shops are available in more than 30 countries worldwide. It has around 2,000 stores in China alone, 60 stores in Hong Kong, 50 stores in Singapore and 30 stores in the Philippines.
Central Department Store Co also joined the race with the Minimono brand. There are eight Minimo stores so far and five more will be opened throughout the rest of the year, according to Rungnipha Sriwiriyalertkul, executive vice-president for merchandise at Central Department Store Co.
"Minimono business has gone well and it is a shopping trend amid the declining purchasing power," she says.
Though there are more than 20 one-price store brands in the market, new players are planning to debut their stores in Thailand soon to cash in on trend to buy low-priced products among Thais, according to a market source.
The total spending on groceries in Thailand has hit its lowest growth point in a decade at only 1.7% in growth, says Aitsanart Wuthithanakul, new business development director at Karntar Worldwide Thailand who made his comment on the issue personally.
"This reflects how Thai consumers are being more careful in their spending habits whenever and wherever they can," he says. "As a consequence, the image of low prices that one-price store possess fits perfectly when the ideas of saving and cost cutting prevail in our nation."
In reality, not every product at one-price shops is sold at a fixed price. Consumers can still find similar products at other retailers that may offer lower prices. But Mr Aitsanart says that the perception of one-price draws in consumers with the belief that they are getting the best value out of every baht spent.
He says the range of products at the one-price store is "mind blowing". Consumers can find many varieties of products: kitchenware, basic clothing, office supplies, snacks, dinnerware, toys, even products like pet apparel or face-slimming rollers.
Moreover, when customers walk into a one-price store, layout, assortment, service and many other details remind them of Japanese and Korean shops. Cute products with adorable mascot characters induce auto-purchases among customers, along with excited screams. The use of kawaii (cute) is heavy handed in these stores, allowing customers feel as if they're shopping in Japan or Korea.
"The future of one-price stores in Thailand looks promising as more consumers from different demographics are drawn in," Mr Aitsanart says.
Pichaporn Yooliengphan, a customer, says she likes to shop at one-price stores because products are cheaper than those available in department stores.
"I feel like I am getting value for money from these stores, while I'm also confident of product quality," she says. "The are a variety of products to from choose and this is suitable in these tough economic conditions."
Robinson's Just Buy is another new player in the one-price retail stakes.