Power of the Pink Baht
Friday, August 26, 2005
Thailand’s gay population is increasingly being recognised as big spenders. A recent survey conducted by a Bangkok research company, Nano Search Co Ltd, found that in spite of the economic slowdown, sales of cosmetics, apparel and trendy mobile phones are on the rise partly because of demand from homosexual buyers according to a report published in The Nation.
According to the report the survey in Bangkok this year involved 520 homosexual and 220 heterosexual respondents. The results were revealed yesterday at a seminar on economic trends and impacts on purchasing power in the consumer durable goods industry, organised by GfK Marketing Services (Thailand) Ltd, the local arm of an international business and marketing surveyer.
“From our survey, we have seen tremendous potential in this gay product segment,” said Teerasak Wongpiya, a business consultant for Nano Search said. “Gay people have generated a dramatic demand for products serving this ‘rainbow gender’.”
Teerasak said gay consumers enjoyed 25 per cent to 30 per cent more disposable income, on average, than heterosexuals and tend to be image conscious. On top of this, homosexuality has gained increasing acceptance from society - their study showed that about 40 per cent of people say they don’t have negative feelings towards homosexuals, only 0.4 per cent of them dislike gays.
Teerasak said that despite the trend, Thailand’s gay market remained untapped.
See The Nation website for the full report.
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