Thailand
Thailand: Local economies set for ‘hybrid retailers’
The Commerce Ministry is launching a “hybrid retailer” project to modernise small shops by adding new technology to help them reach a wider base, expecting to create market value of up to 40 billion baht a year.
The move is part of a policy to support the local economy and link modernised hybrid retailers to other channels to access the government’s state welfare projects, said Deputy Commerce Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong.
He said the ministry is developing the first 120 prototype hybrid retailers from 200 total shops that applied to join the project.
The concept of hybrid retailers lets consumers access shops both online and offline, enabling the shops to distribute more items, particularly local goods that support villagers indirectly, Mr Sontirat said.
“The ministry adopted the omnichannel strategy to modernise hybrid retailers, allowing them to reach millions of consumers online,” he said. “The offline channel allows them to display more goods and sell them through tourism-related activities.”
Omni-channel is a cross-channel business model that has applications in healthcare, government, financial services, retail and telecommunications, including physical locations, websites, social media, mobile applications and telephone.
To achieve its goal, the Commerce Ministry has joined with related agencies such as the Digital Economy Promotion Agency, Thailand Post, and the National Village and Urban Community Fund Office to build an online trading system and brush up on changing consumer behaviours.
Mr Sontirat said the 120 prototype hybrid retailers are expected to help further develop other small retailers, ultimately widening the hybrid retailers network.
“If each of the 120 prototype shops can help another 10 shops to modernise under the concept of hybrid retailers, we will have up to 1,200 hybrid retailers in the near future to help distribute local goods that help support local economies,” he said.
Mr Sontirat said the ministry has started a workshop in major cities such as Bangkok, Udon Thani, Chiang Mai and Songkhla to observe potential shops that want to join the project.
He said the Commerce Ministry aims to raise the number of hybrid retailers to 20,000 shops and spur spending in local economies of 1 million baht a month.
The hybrid retailers are to be used as another channel to lend support to low-income earners via the state’s welfare and subsidy scheme, which offers consumer goods at below-market prices to the poor.
The government has set up electronic data capture machines in 1,000 Thong Fah Pracha Rat shops for the distribution of goods via state welfare cards. The scheme began this past Sunday.
Source: https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/1336283/local-economies-set-for-hybrid-retailers