CityNews – In an effort to stimulate customer spending amid the economic decline, big retail chains are presenting hampers full of foreign products in the hopes they will be popular gifts over the Christmas season. Central Food Retail and The Mall Group’s Home Fresh Mart have both revealed their hamper promotion budgets to the public, to the tune of 80 million and 15 million baht respectively. The hampers will go on sale for prices to suit all budgets, from as little as 450 baht to a whopping 22,500 baht.
The hamper schemes in Thailand usually last from mid-November to mid-January, and include many desirable foreign products from countries such as Italy, Spain, the UK, the US, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, and more. Central Food Retail expects to net 520 million baht for this season’s hamper sales alone, and The Mall Group is positive that their Christmas-period sales will rise 20% more than last year. They will also continue to sell gift baskets of various grocery products for the whole of next year.
Big C is known for its year-round gift baskets for monks, which contain necessary household items and food, but they still have specialty hampers in store for Christmas and New Year. Their seasonal baskets range from the modest 299 baht for a hamper containing juice, biscuits, cereal and hot chocolate, to the more lavish ones containing foreign chocolates and coffees. For a Christmas splurge of 5,399 baht, you would receive a luxurious basket of olive oil, fruit jam, peanut-butter, coffee, hot chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate.