People spent less and made fewer visits to Tesco Lotus in the first half of this year. The average expenditure per bill also dropped sharply, especially for customers in provinces who suffered several negative factors, notably low farm prices. The index of farm prices for July plunged by more than 15% year-on-year, thanks to high early-season production of several crops such as cassava, oil palm, shrimp and longan, which lowered product prices and farm income. Apart from marketing campaigns, Mr Sompong said Tesco Lotus will renovate the fresh food division of the store to draw shoppers. The marketing plans will help Tesco sales grow by 3%, on par with the retail industry this year, he said.

Source: Bangkok Post August 22, 2017 00:06 UTC