Thai consumers spent on average US$61 (Bt2,379) each on clothing over the past three months, according to a Cotton USA survey. The survey was conducted in Thailand, China, Japan, Italy, the United Kingdom, Columbia, Brazil and South Africa.

Thais spent less than consumers in the othercountries surveyed.

In Thailand, the survey was conducted between March 2 and 22. A total of 507 residents of Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Chon Buri, Hat Yai and Nakhon Ratchasima were surveyed.

The survey found that Italian and Japanese consumers were the top clothing shoppers, spending on average $408 and $303 each respectively.

In terms of types of clothing bought, Thai consumers were more casual. T-shirts and lingerie topped the global list with 57 per cent of those surveyed having purchased these products during the previous three months, followed by jeans (55 per cent) and trousers (49 per cent). In Thailand, 79 per cent of those surveyed purchased T-shirts during the previous three months, followed by jeans (56 per cent) and trousers (51 per cent).

"About 47 per cent of Thai respondents said that they shopped for clothes quite often or at least one time a month," said Apirak Petrakul, project director of Synovate Co Ltd, the research firm that conducted the survey.

Apriak said 35 per cent of those surveyed shopped once in two to three months, and 10 per cent shopped once in four to six months.

In Italy and the UK, 65 per cent of consumers shopped for clothes at least once a month, the survey found.

About 51 per cent of Thai consumers said street shops were their first choice for buying clothes - compared to an average of 8 per cent in the overall survey - followed by department stores (24 per cent) and hypermarkets (16 per cent), Apirak said.

The survey also found that Thai and British consumers were less concerned about the type of textile used in the clothing. Only 29 per cent of the Thais surveyed said they often look at the fabric label when purchasing clothes, whereas 65 per cent of Chinese consumers carefully examine the fabric label.

About 73 per cent of Italian consumers are most concerned about product quality and are willing to pay more for higher quality, the survey found. "Some 78 per cent of Thai consumers are not addicted to fashion, but will buy clothes that are casual and durable," Apirak said.

Kwanchai Rungfapaisarn

The Nation