Conceptualizing Online Shopping in Thailand –

Facilitating Easy Online Shopping

Abstract

The rapid growth of internet has converted the thinking animal to lazy

lass as most of the works are performed online minimizing the physical

activity. Online shopping is boosting the economic growth of most of the

countries around the world and it is estimated that business to consumer

ecommerce sales will increase by 23.3.% annually in Asia and the Pacific

region. But whereas Thailand is considered, online shopping is not accepted

by the public due to various factors like low penetration of computers with

only 5.25 per 100 people and low access to internet. Moreover Thai citizens

are more worried about disclosing their financial information online, the

inability to touch and feel the products, trustworthiness of the merchandise

and slow transaction process. Therefore it has become necessary to

conceptualize a online shopping mode that suits the Thai culture and

satisfies most of the needs of the consumers. The present study intends to

do so through quantitative methodology by undertaking survey through

questionnaires and perform parallel research so as to collect information

regarding their problems and requirements in the online shopping that may

encourage them to make online purchases. The collected data further will

be compiled and analyzed in tabulated format to arrive at a formidable

conclusion and recommendations for conceptualizing online shopping in

Thailand.

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Research Title

The present research is focused on ‘Conceptualizing Online Shopping

in Thailand – Facilitating easy online shopping’

Background

The use of internet has increased to such an extent that most of the

activities are performed online. Ho and Wu (1999) mentioned that the

World Wide Web (WWW) users have been multiplying rapidly and have

widely spread into all walks of life.1 Hsi –Jui Wu and Li (n.d.) also mentions

that the progress and popularization of information technology and internet

has led to enormous growth in the global ecommerce market. It is further

stated that volume of B2C e-commerce sales will increase 23.3% annually in

Asia Pacific Region and will reach $16.87 billion in 2011. Countries like

Japan and Korea, who are having experience in B2C ecommerce markets,

are facing stiff challenges from developing countries like India, China,

Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia.2 Orton and Windham (2000) pointed

out that Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, Korea,

Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore and Taiwan are the

broad regions in Asia and the Pacific where 94 percent of the online sales

are through Japan, Korea and Australia which suggests that the people in

the other parts are not so user friendly and do not trust in online shopping.3

1Ho, Chin – Fu and Wu, Wen – Hsiung (1999) Antecedents of Customer Satisfaction on the Internet: An Empirical Study of Online Shopping, Proceedings of the 32nd Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, IEEE.2 His – Jui Wu, Cedric and Li, Hung Jen (n.d.) A Study on the Online Shopping Value and Consumer Responses: Internet Travel Agency as Example, Department of Business Administration, National Dong Hwa University, Taiwan3 Windham, L and Orton, K (2000) The soul of the new consumer: the attitudes, behaviors, and preferences of E-customers, Allworth Communications, Inc New York.pp 281

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According to National Statistical Office, there were about 928,000

computers in use in Thai households during 2001 which is equivalent to

5.75 computers per 100 households and it was also found that there were

an about 3.54 million internet user which is 3.83 times the number of

computer owners which means that most users access internet through

homes, offices, café, etc.4 Laosethakul and Boulton (2005) stated that

Thailand with a population of 66 million had seen a steady growth in the

number of internet users from 4.8 million in 2002 to 7 million in 2004 which

propelled the volume of ecommerce sales in Thailand to US$ 500 million in

2003 and US $750 million in 2004. However, the Thailand Internet User

Profile 2004 Survey reported top four reasons stopping the consumers to

shop online which were the trust as they cannot see/feel the products,

distrust for online merchandisers, unwillingness to reveal the details of

credit card, and slow processes along with computer viruses and slow

internet speed.5 So in future any companies planning to develop an online

shopping portal for the Thai consumers, the above problems need to be

addressed. Laosethakul et al (2007) states that Thai consumers are still

practicing the traditional shopping due its convenience associated with it

and have not embraced online shopping due to inconvenience processes of

online shopping, and lack of trust with Thai online merchants6 which is also 4 Masuyama, S. Vandenbrink, D. Nomura, and Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (2003) Towards a knowledge-based economy: East Asia's changing industrial geography, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. Pp. 1355 Laosethakul, K and Boulton W (2007) Critical Success Factors for E-Commerce in Thailand: Cultural and Infrastructural Influences, EJISDC, 30 (2) pp, 1-226 Laosethukal, K, Thaweephan Leingpibul, Raweewan Kaewwit and Chesada Kaewwit (2007) Does Gender Perception toward Computing Exist in Thailand? – A Comparison Study between Thai and the US, International DSI / Asia and Pacific DSI 2007

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supported by the findings of Aykin N (2007) where popularity of online

shopping took set back due to issues of trust, safety and availability of

online store and internet access.7 The researchers in different disciplines

have also stressed on the importance of trust in online shopping and

similarly online retailers are finding it difficult to attract more number of

customers due to lack of representation, increase public awareness

regarding the company and its products.(Sonja G.K., 2002)8

Thailand’s culture has also a vital role to play in the development of

online shopping. Gibson (Thanasnakit, T. 2003)9 during his research on the

confluence of culture and information technology in Thailand found that the

English barrier is directly related to Thai culture as most of the people

speak and read only their native language because of which Thai people

cannot comprehend English well enough to be able to acquire new ideas

and knowledge related to information technology. Masuyama et al (2003)

mentions that due to low penetration of PCs and the Internet in Thailand,

ecommerce is still in its development stage with most of the Thai’s having

null experience in B2C services. It was further found in NECTEC survey

that 80.9 percent of Thailand’s internet population never shopped online

because 44.1% replied as they cannot touch and feel the products, 33.8%

were reluctant to divulge their financial details, 32.8% did not trust online

7 Aykin, N (2007) Usability and Internationalization: HCI and culture, Volume 1, Springer, pp 6038 Sonja Grabner-Kraeuter (2002) The Role of Consumers' Trust in Online-Shopping, Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 39, No. 1/2, Four Teenth Annual Conference of the European Business Ethics Network (EBEN) Springer pp. 43-509 Thanasankit, Theerasak (2003) E- Commerce and Cultural Values, Idea Group Inc (IGI) United States of America, p. 23

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merchants, 26.1% were not interested in shopping online, 25.3% did not

possessed credit cards, and 23% felt that the online process is too

complicated.10

The largest network of convenient store in Thailand, 7 – Eleven,

planned to adopt e-commerce service by building a business to consumer

(B2C) network throughout its branches by installing computer in every

store in order to help its customers who don’t won computers, don’t have

internet access, and benefit those customers who are reluctant to reveal the

financial details online. But the service does not offer any physical gain as

they consumers have to visit the shop for making purchase using the online

services. (Lindstrom, 2001)11 The only benefit is providing the customers

the facility to browse through the stocks, make the purchases and come

back to take the goods after few days. Therefore it is necessary to invent

the technology that should be suited to the Thai culture facilitating both

computer illiterate and literate people and hence the need for present

study.

Research Questions: Need and Aims of the Study

As stated earlier that most of the Thai citizens are not accustomed to

using internet and most of them do not possess computers. The government

is taking necessary steps to boost the volume of online sales by expanding

access to the internet and providing necessary infrastructures and in view

10 Masuyama, S. Vandenbrink, D. Nomura, and Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (2003) Towards a knowledge-based economy: East Asia's changing industrial geography, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. Pp. 13611 Lindstrom, M (2001) Clicks, bricks & brands, The Marriage of Online and Offline Business, Kogan Page Publishers, Australia

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of the global competition around the world and more importantly in Asia

and the Pacific regions where most of the sales are coming from Japan,

Korea and Australia. Thus it has become necessary to plan and adopt an

online shopping model that suits to the Thailand consumer base in line with

their problems and comfort. The present study aims at finding the right

online shopping model for Thai markets facilitating easy online shopping

without much difficulty from any place.

Research Objectives

The objectives of the present study are:

To identify the suitable model for Thai consumers to facilitate easy

online shopping

To identify the problems that Thai consumers restricting them to

traditional sales

To assess the consumers view regarding the online sales and their

perceptions on the existing online shopping models.

Research Methodology

Conducting a research is a difficult task and the meaning of research

should be clearly understood before undertaking any research. Dr. C.R.

Kothari (2008) states that research in common parlance refers to a search

for knowledge and is an art of scientific investigation. According to Clifford

Woody (Dr. C.R. Kothari, 2008) research comprises defining and redefining

problems, formulating hypothesis or suggested solutions, collecting,

organizing and evaluating data, making deductions and reaching conclusion

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and testing the conclusion whether they fit the formulating hypotheses.12

Robert (2003) mentioned that qualitative research is multimethod in focus

which involves interpretive, naturalistic approach to its subject matter

whereas quantitative research uses numbers and statistical methods.13 The

present study intends to provide a plan that should be suited to the Thai

culture and people. Therefore quantitative methodology is adopted wherein

target group people between graduates and working people as they are the

ones who use the internet often either at home or café or workplace. The

samples will be selected randomly and parallel research will be done to

identify the problems in online shopping and what facilities they require for

convenient shopping. The data will be collected through questionnaires and

two different set of questionnaires will be prepared and distributed

randomly to the target groups. Later the collected data will be compiled and

analyzed to support the findings and recommendations for the study.

Research Contribution

The present study focuses on conceptualizing online shopping in

Thailand which is not rare as there are plenty of literature available

mentioning the details regarding the statistics of internet users, access to

internet, computers in households, etc. But the present study focuses on

gathering information regarding the choices and their problems with regard

to online shopping. The study also intends to provide information regarding

12 Dr. C.R. Kothari (2008) Research Methodology: Methods And Techniques, Edn. 2, New Age International, p.113 Robert M.T. (2003) Blending qualitative & quantitative research methods in theses and dissertations, Corwin Press, pp. 2

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the facilities that user wants during online shopping and what other options

do the consumers want regarding online payments. The present study will

enable to understand the user characteristics regarding online shopping to

further reinvent online shopping in Thailand.

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References

1. Aykin, N (2007) Usability and Internationalization: HCI and culture,

Volume 1, Springer, pp 603

2. Dr. C.R. Kothari (2008) Research Methodology: Methods And

Techniques, Edn. 2, New Age International, p.1

3. His – Jui Wu, Cedric and Li, Hung Jen (n.d.) A Study on the Online

Shopping Value and Consumer Responses: Internet Travel Agency as

Example, Department of Business Administration, National Dong Hwa

University, Taiwan

4. Ho, Chin – Fu and Wu, Wen – Hsiung (1999) Antecedents of Customer

Satisfaction on the Internet: An Empirical Study of Online Shopping,

Proceedings of the 32nd Hawaii International Conference on System

Sciences, IEEE.

5. Laosethakul, K and Boulton W (2007) Critical Success Factors for E-

Commerce in Thailand: Cultural and Infrastructural Influences, EJISDC,

30 (2) pp, 1-22

6. Laosethukal, K, Thaweephan Leingpibul, Raweewan Kaewwit and

Chesada Kaewwit (2007) Does Gender Perception toward Computing

Exist in Thailand? – A Comparison Study between Thai and the US,

International DSI / Asia and Pacific DSI 2007

7. Lindstrom, M (2001) Clicks, bricks & brands, The Marriage of Online

and Offline Business, Kogan Page Publishers, Australia

9

8. Masuyama, S. Vandenbrink, D. Nomura, and Institute of Southeast Asian

Studies (2003) Towards a knowledge-based economy: East Asia's

changing industrial geography, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. Pp.

135

9. Masuyama, S. Vandenbrink, D. Nomura, and Institute of Southeast Asian

Studies (2003) Towards a knowledge-based economy: East Asia's

changing industrial geography, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. Pp.

136

10. Robert M.T. (2003) Blending qualitative & quantitative research

methods in theses and dissertations, Corwin Press, pp. 2

11. Sonja Grabner-Kraeuter (2002) The Role of Consumers' Trust in

Online-Shopping, Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 39, No. 1/2, Four

Teenth Annual Conference of the European Business Ethics Network

(EBEN) Springer pp. 43-50

12. Thanasankit, Theerasak (2003) E- Commerce and Cultural Values,

Idea Group Inc (IGI) United States of America, p. 23

13. Windham, L and Orton, K (2000) The soul of the new consumer: the

attitudes, behaviors, and preferences of E-customers, Allworth

Communications, Inc New York.pp 281

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