Rapid global change driven by several factors within a short period of time—both COVID and war, together with technological change—has caused society to shift dramatically. “Upcountry consumers and people in the provinces have moved and changed along with it as well.”

Penetrating the upcountry market when most citizens do not live in Bangkok

People are spending more time at home

COVID has entered its third year. The fear of not daring to leave home and various checkpoints have become little more than announcements. In the provinces, life has begun returning to normal: people go out, go to markets, meet others, dine out, and shop. Travel checks have eased, and planes can fly normally again, but people are traveling long distances less often. Trains, buses, and flights have fewer services, and there are fewer passengers on each trip.

That means “people are spending more time at home,” and this is the point at which technology has taken on a far more important role. It has also allowed brands to reach provincial consumers more deeply, whether through news distribution, advertising, entertainment, or online buying and selling among people outside Bangkok.

COVID and the Leap Forward of the Upcountry Market in 2022

A Netizen Country

Smartphone technology now reaches almost 100% of people in Thailand, and the number of mobile phones exceeds the population. This means that “the number of people with access to the internet will increase dramatically,” and Thailand will soon become a country of netizens. People can fully access information and, importantly, choose the content they want to watch for themselves.

People within the same family choose to watch different things. Television has become a secondary medium, while online channels have become the main path to news and entertainment. Provincial people in each region and language group can choose from a wider variety of things they personally enjoy. “They no longer have to watch the same things as people in Bangkok and are beginning to place greater importance on their own identity,” as seen in much freer self-expression.

Source: All Google Search data points included in this report are from Google Trends, Thailand, Sep 1, 2020 – Aug 31, 2021 vs. Sep 1, 2019 – Aug 31, 2020, unless indicated otherwise.

It is easy and fun to own content and gain followers

This is the starting point for everyone with a mobile phone to “have the courage to express themselves.” No matter what gender or language, people can gain acceptance, views, shares, and attention. Society and culture have become much more open, and these things will continue to spread across channels, allowing people of different classes and ages to reach and understand one another more. Older people can easily access youth platforms and enjoy them, while children can also play roles on channels that are easy, fun, and give them pride in their own creations.

Creating content through your own channels can be enjoyable

It can reach into every corner

This is the reason short-form video on TikTok has become so popular: it is user-friendly and easy to create. People can become famous artists within a very short time. TikTok became so popular that both Facebook and YouTube added similar formats on their own platforms through Reels and Shorts. We can see elderly people laughing and enjoying different kinds of content. This is “freedom... reaching deeply into every corner with complete freedom,” to the point that it is hard to know how far it will go or how much more it can transform.

These are more channels through which provincial consumers can access online spaces more than before and spend more time online than the world average.

You must understand them and speak in language they can easily understand, through people they like and trust

Access entertainment and desired information through smartphones

Because access is so easy, provincial consumers go online through mobile phones, and because platforms are easy to access, they have become not only online buyers but also sellers. Shopee and Lazada have opened more space for provincial consumers to play a bigger role. Opportunities like this will encourage people in the provinces to improve themselves in order to access online channels. Facebook and LINE have become increasingly important sales channels for both older people and young people in the provinces. At the same time, however, online financial channels among provincial consumers are still too limited, which means there is considerable room for future development.

People outside Bangkok use smartphones to access online content anytime, anywhere

This kind of rapid change “creates greater diversity in access.” Segmentation is becoming more specific through interests and preferences, and through people who are closer to them—people who speak the same language and like the same things.