The shortage of computers and interest in promotional campaigns are expected to spur sales at computer fair Commart, which kicked off yesterday.
The pandemic and economic woes have led several small and medium-sized IT dealers to avoid the show.
"The pandemic threatens purchasing power in the third quarter as the economic slump continues," said Pornchai Jantarasupasang, assistant general manager of ARIP, the organiser of Commart, which runs until Sunday at Bitec.
Most of the vendors with booths at the event are leading IT retail chains and computer makers, such as MSI and Asus. This is the first time Huawei has joined the fair to present its Matebook computer notebooks.
"The pandemic reduced the number of small and medium-sized IT exhibitors from 80 last year to around 60 at the March event and 40 this time," he said.
In the future only dealers and retail chains with strong financial backing and cash flow will participate in computer exhibitions, said Mr Pornchai.
Over the past two months, he said, computer inventory has declined as production has yet to fully resume because of the outbreak.
There is an insufficient supply of notebooks, computer processors, graphic cards and mainboards in the market, as demand surged in the second quarter thanks to people working from home and online learning.
Accordingly, products at the fair will not have large discounts this time, Mr Pornchai said, about 20% discount compared with price cuts of 25-30% at previous events.
Visitors will receive stickers before entering the venue and can spend only two hours at the show.
This show marks the first time there will be a team to assist customers in choosing products that suit their requirement and budgets.
With social distancing measures to ward off infection risks, the number of visitors is likely to drop from 800,000 at the event in March to 400,000 this time.
Sales transactions could fall from 3 billion baht in March to 2.5 billion this time, he said.
Mr Pornchai said Commart will hold an online platform for computer exhibitions along with the physical event in November.
There is still demand for users waiting for promotions, he said, and they can make orders online and pick up products at the event.
Chukkrit Watcharasaksilp, chief sales and marketing officer of Advice, a major IT retailer, said demand for IT devices, mainly notebooks, surged in the first half of this year because of the lockdown.
Advice is offering special promotions and online sales at Commart through http://itexpo.advice.co.th.
Online sales make up 18% of the company's total revenue, compared with 12% last year, he said. The online segment could shoot up to 40% within two years, said Mr Chukkrit.
Suthida Mongkolsuthree, chief executive of Synnex Thailand, a leading IT distributor, agreed that working from home and online learning pushed up sales of IT products in the second quarter. At present inventory is about half typical levels, with a recovery expected in the fourth quarter, which is the high season for IT products.
