Rich Thais top AsPac smartphone users

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, a global market research and a consulting firm with worldwide headquarters in Paris.

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 $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.

Aitsanart said 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.

The survey also stated that affluent people in Asia-Pacific spend 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 percent of affluent Thais and 59 percent of ultra-affluent Thais pay strong attention to advertising, versus 45 percent of those in Asia-Pacific.

Affluent Thais tend to be tech-savvy with mobile technology, as 77 percent of the affluent and 82 percent of the ultra-affluent pay attention to that, compared with 61 percent in Asia-Pacific.

According to the survey, 51 percent of affluent Thais and 55 percent of ultra-affluent Thais engaged in digital payment in 2019’s second quarter, up from 47 percent and 42 percent, respectively, a year earlier.

Meanwhile, 47 percent of affluent people in Asia-Pacific engaged in digital payment in 2019’s second quarter, up from 39 percent a year earlier.

Some 53 percent of affluent Thais and 58 percent of ultra-affluent Thais are willing to buy locally made products, versus 47 percent of those in Asia-Pacific.