Rich and super-rich Thais spend a lot more time on social media than their peers in Asia-Pacific, according to a recent survey by Ipsos, the French market research and consulting firm.
“High-income people in Thailand have an outstanding social media spending time, more than that of those in Asia-Pacific, and they rely heavily on their smartphones for that,” said Aitsanart Wuthithanakul, senior client officer at Ipsos Ltd, the local operating unit of the parent firm.
He cited Ipsos’s recent survey of affluent Asia, sampling 24,182 people in 11 Asia-Pacific markets in the second quarter.
Those surveyed are representative of 20.6 million people with a total of US$679 billion in yearly income.
In Thailand, the survey questioned 2,062 affluent respondents representing those with $42 billion in yearly income or 75,000 baht a month and up.
Additionally, Ipsos polled 216 ultra-affluent people representing 187,000 with $10 billion in yearly income or 275,000 baht a month and up.
According to Mr Aitsanart, affluent and ultra-affluent Thai people spend nearly twice time as much time as those in Asia-Pacific on social media.
In Asia-Pacific, affluent people spend 382 minutes on social media over the course of seven days, while Thai affluent and ultra-affluent people spend 539 and 612 minutes, respectively.
According to the survey, affluent people in Asia-Pacificspend more time on websites, followed by apps, TV, newspapers and magazines. In Thailand, these people spend more time on apps, followed by websites, TV, newspapers and magazines.
Advertising is still important to boost brand image. Some 49% of affluent Thais and 59% of ultra-affluent Thais pay strong attention to advertising, versus 45% of those in Asia-Pacific.
Affluent Thais tend to be tech-savvy with mobile technology, as 77% of the affluent and 82% of the ultra-affluent pay attention to that, compared with 61% in Asia-Pacific.
According to the survey, 51% of affluent Thais and 55% of ultra-affluent Thais engaged in digital payment in 2019’s second quarter, up from 47% and 42%, respectively, a year earlier.
Meanwhile, 47% of affluent people in Asia-Pacific engaged in digital payment in 2019’s second quarter, up from 39% a year earlier.
Some 53% of affluent Thais and 58% of ultra-affluent Thais are willing to buy locally made products, versus 47% of those in Asia-Pacific.
