Thai retailers are evolving from big box stores with a wide variety of products and prices to next-generation stores catering to a modern lifestyle and capitalizing on technology to offer personalized products and services.
In effect, both large and small retailers in Thailand are exploring innovative stores and concepts. A notable example is represented by the Emsphere mall of The Mall Group Co, located on Sukhumvit Road, and planned to open in December 2023. The mixed-use project covers 200,000 m2 in total, comprising retail, an entertainment arena, and a hotel. An artistic depiction of the new mall will also appear by December 2023.
Thailand’s shopping malls now integrate hypermarkets within their buildings, offering customers a more complete shopping experience. E-commerce boomed during Covid-19 and is now allowing consumers to shop both online and offline. Lotus’ retail stores, for example, are moving to ‘smart retail’ with each establishment offering a tailored product assortment for specific customer demographics using consumer insights and research. The company is also revamping over 220 Lotus hypermarkets, providing them with a new image and new marketing events.
Also worth highlighting is the recent announcement from Central Food Retail Co (CFR), the operator of Tops supermarket, of rolling out a new store format called Tops Fine Food Sukhumvit 49. This is a luxury destination for artisanal products and selected imported and premium ingredients sourced worldwide. The store offers more than 8,000 items from over 20 countries, including the US, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand.
(Source: Bangkok Post)
