Marketbuzzz’s most recent study has revealed the dramatic extent to which media consumption has been impacted by COVID-19.

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The last year has seen huge impacts and changes in Thailand’s media consumption as we have been placed in and out of lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

During 2020, we saw quite an immediate change in how people were consuming media. Some of those changes were because certain options were not accessible anymore, for example cinemas being instructed to close due to lockdown restrictions. Outdoor media consumption also took a massive hit as people were told to stay indoors.

We also saw changes in media consumption driven by people adapting to new circumstances and utilising media to help them navigate through this new way of life. Many people were either unable to go to work or were working from home, and on top of this leisure time was also being spent at home as the hospitality and non-essential retail sectors were forced to close.

We also saw changes in media consumption that were already in use and yet were accelerated with the adaptation of more eCommerce buying, food delivery apps and watching of streaming video content.

Fast forward to mid-year, 2021 and a nationwide study by Marketbuzzz, reconfirms many suspicions about how media channels have been impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic, as well as revealing some added findings which were not so obvious from what we have seen in 2020.

Marketbuzzz’s 7day diary among 700 Thais nationwide shows a detailed look at what media people are using morning, afternoon and evening, during the week and on weekends.

The survey reveals the media channels which were used the most by Thais 81% were Social Media, 65% Internet, 50% is Streaming Video Content and 47% TV.

Mr. Grant Bertoli, CEO of Marketbuzzz commented “With little to do outside of the home, no doubt people were looking for things to do with their time and turned to other media for entertainment, to keep in touch with family and friends, to shop, to learn new skills and hobbies and to keep up to date with the latest news”.

Bertoli added “even more interesting is the device that people are watching on – even over this period where majority of time is spent at home, it’s the mobile device which is being universally used”

Social media was used more than ever as a tool to stay socially connected – whether that is with their closer network with 86% used Line or broader network of friends and acquaintances with 79% for Facebook. Both of these social media platforms are used constantly by Thais.

For those surfing the Internet, the majority were searching the internet, followed by looking up topical areas of interest, information websites and also shopping.

Youtube, the free video sharing platform dominates the video streaming followed by Line TV, Netflix and VIU. And for those who were listening to Music its was predominantly YouTube Music and JOOX followed by Spotify and Apple Music.

The other big winners over this period were the eCommerce Shopping Platforms – whether this was for actually buying or just browsing, 36% of Thais were using the Shopping platforms with a big increase of 22% even from a year ago.

Even a year on, and the research has shown many Thais are adopting these new media channels more so than ever before.

Bertoli added “While we don’t know what the full implications of COVID-19 on the media landscape will be, its likely that the changes in people’s lives will continue to prompt many Thais to reevaluate their usual way of life, their routines and behaviors and what media they are using may well remain. Perhaps just changing in the amount of time spent on it”.

The fact that we have seen these changes and Thais becoming even more digital and mobile centric in their media consumption habits suggests marketers may need to rethink the way in which they are targeting their core audiences moving forward.