Thailand
Thailand: Retail sales dip in Q2 but rebound on the cards
Thailand’s retail industry grew 2.81% in the first half of 2017, lower than the 3-3.2% expected earlier, the Thai Retailers Association (TRA) said yesterday.
While retail sales grew 3.02% in the first quarter, growth was sluggish in the following three months, said TRA president Jariya Chirathivat.
Retail branches in Greater Bangkok and major tourist areas performed strongly, but they represented only a third of retail locations in the country.
Upcountry retail branches saw measured growth, which tainted the second quarter and resulted in a lower overall performance in the first half, Ms Jariya said.
The numbers reflect provincial shoppers’ weak purchasing power, which has been damaged by an ailing economy, analysts say.
To combat this, the government must issue stimulus measures with more clearly defined targets, Ms Jariya said.
She said revenue in the appliance, electronic and construction material sectors grew slowly in the first quarter. Computers, cell phones and cameras fared slightly better. Construction materials are still bearing the brunt of a stagnant real estate market. Meanwhile, semi-durable goods were flat. The country has seen an increase in tourist arrivals but foreign shoppers prefer to buy luxury-branded goods in neighbouring countries where import taxes are lower, say pundits.
“The ‘athleisure’ trend supported growth in the sports and health segment, but sales of other semi-durable items was flat,” Ms Jariya said.
“The TRA is concerned about the purchasing power of middle- and low-income households that are burdened with high levels of debt. Spending in the upper-middle group is still inhibited by high credit card debt,” she said. While the government is accelerating tenders for public infrastructure projects, the move is not expected to impact the retail industry within 6-8 months, which means sales should remain constant in the third quarter.
The TRA expects the industry will grow 3-3.2% to 1.55 trillion baht this year.
Source: http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/1297599/retail-sales-dip-in-q2-but-rebound-on-the-cards