Thai Product Purchasing Behavior of the Myanmar Consumer Crossing the Border via Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge to the Border SEZs in Mae Sot District, Tak Province

Abstract

          The purpose of this research is to 1) survey the demographic characteristics of the  Myanmar consumer crossing the Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge to buy goods in the Special Economic Zone of Mae Sot, Tak province; 2) survey the Thai Product buying behavior; 3) determine the affect of marketing communication to the purchase decision and 4) study the reason for crossing the Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge to buy goods in the Special Economic Zone of Mae Sot, Tak province and the category of Thai product trusted by the Myanmar consumer . A questionnaire was used to collect data. 388 questionnaires were completed. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the features of the data such as frequency and percentage. Statistics were used to test the hypothesis was Chi-squared.

          Based on the survey, the demographic characteristics of respondents-- the Myanmar consumer crossing the Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge to buy goods in the Special Economic Zone of Mae Sot, Tak province was mostly female with the average age of 35 years. Most of them were Myanmar ethnic race and had average income of 15,266 Baht per family per month. Most of them were small private business owners with lower than Bachlor’s degree education and live in Myawaddy in which adjacent to Mae sot. Most of the respondents came to Mae sot by public van once a month. The average purchase was 8,770 Baht per visit and mostly purchased Thai product in two categories which are snack and instant food and consumer goods for self-consumption. The three most popular stores were Tesco Lotus, Pa Ja-ruen traditional market and Hong Long Minimart.

          The Myanmar consumers place more emphasis on the quality of the product and brand. Word-of-mouth marketing was the most effective maketing communication channel. Price reduction was the most effective promotion on their purchase decisions. The reason for crossing the Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge to buy goods in the Special Economic Zone of Mae Sot, Tak province was that Thai products buying in Thailand were better quality than the same product exported to Myanmar. It also found that Thai consumer goods were more trusted than other categories of the Thai product.