Our visit to Udon Thani confirmed our thesis of a strong ongoing spending recovery among high-income consumers, especially for CPN, Thailand’s biggest mall operator. The recovery is fueled by both locals and shopping tourists from Vientiane.
High-income consumers spending heavily
A few weeks ago, we visited to Udon Thani in Thailand’s Northeast, the closest major Thai city to Vientiane (the capital of Laos). In Udon Thani, we met with the owner of a major Northeast region wholesaler, Tang Ngee Sun Co Ltd (TGS), and the manager of CPN’s Central Plaza Udon Thani (CPNUD). Both TGS and CPNUD confirmed a strong recovery in consumer spending, especially among high-income demographics. Post-COVID, TGS noticed consumers spending more on premium-segment products (such as high-end instant noodles and personal care items); CPNUD saw a 100% recovery in spending at the mall in 3Q22, even though mall traffic was only 85% of the 3Q19 number.