What Worries Thailand? Half Thais rate current economic situation in the country as “bad"

December 15th 2023, Ms. Usana Chantarklum, Managing Director, Ipsos Thailand, revealed findings and insights from Ipsos’ special report “What Worries Thailand” with ‘Shrinkflation’ trend that dominates headlines across the world.

Usana said: “Ipsos has continuously been conducting the monthly What Worries the World survey with inflation now continues to be the number one global concern for 20 consecutive months, the longest an issue has been top in the survey’s history. Globally, worry about Inflation is followed by Crime and Violence, Poverty and Social Inequality, Unemployment, and Financial and Political Corruption. In our latest wave of Ipsos Global Inflation Monitor, we also looked at a topic that has generated a lot of headlines; shrinkflation. One in two globally (48%) say they find that businesses/retailers reducing the size of their products while keeping prices the same as a way of responding to rising costs is unacceptable.

On the other hand, ‘Poverty and Social Inequality’ and ‘Financial and Political Corruption’ continued to be the top-most worries among Thais for over a year, followed by Inflation, Unemployment, and Crime and Violence, with the latest month’s rating of 43%, 40%, 35%, 24% and 23% respectively. These worries are also reflected in Ipsos’ other studies. Social themes gain the most association with ‘sustainability’ in our ESG Across Borders report. And in the latest Ipsos’ Trustworthiness Index, Ipsos finds ‘Politicians’ to remain the least trusted profession while ‘Doctors’ retain their position as the most trustworthy.

On the economic side, the latest wave of the Ipsos Global Inflation Monitor highlights continuing struggles amid the cost-of-living crisis with small glimmers of economic optimism.

When asked about the current situation of the country’s economy, although concern has dipped, but a significant proportion (61%) of Thais are still saying they think the country is in recession (down from 72% in April 2023). Another 50% rates the current economic situation in the country as “bad,” down from 57% in April).

Although over 6 in 10 (61%) of Thais said they/someone in their family/someone else they know personally have lost their job as a result of economic conditions in the last 6 months, about half expect the economy in their local area as well as their personal financial situation to be stronger in the next 6 months.

In terms of cost of living, 50% of Thais believe the cost of goods and services will cost more than they do now next year.

Shrinking products fueling irritation

Shrinkflation has dominated headlines this year and its controversy has led to many brands being named and shamed. The practice involves a product’s size reducing while its price stays the same. It has caused controversy among consumers, highlighting when it comes to the cost-of-living crisis we may not all be in it together. The European Commission went as far to call it a “deceptive marketing technique”, while in France the government has said it will introduce a law ensuring that consumers will be notified if there is any reduction in size.

The Inflation Monitor found that:

39% of Thai consumers have noticed product sizes becoming smaller, but the price remaining the same,

57% say they recongnise the cost of products rising as the product size remains the same, and

29% observed changes in the ingredients used in foods and other products, with the price remaining the same

Interestingly, 50% of Thais think it is acceptable for businesses and retailers to reduce the size of their products while keeping prices the same, as a way of responding to rising costs, 28% more than the global average (22%).

Expectations for the Future

Over half of the Thai population anticipate rising inflation and interest rates in the coming year. And in terms of cost of living, food/household shopping, utilities and motoring fuel costs are the top predicted price increases in the next 6 months.