Master's Thesis
Local context, behaviours and values for a French beauty brand entering the Thai market.
Over the last few years, e-commerce, and specifically the beauty sector in Thailand, has been flourishing. Local, East Asian and Western brands share this extremely competitive market.
In this study, I aimed to understand which local context, customer behaviors, needs and values French beauty brands should consider to enter and perform in the Thai market.
The literature review taught us about the decisive role played by marketplaces, the persuasive power of influencers, mobile phone usage and the new payment methods to be aware of as a brand. It also highlighted the factors influencing the consumer decision between Thai and Western beauty products based on ethnocentrism and perceived brand awareness. Insights about purchase drivers on brands’ websites were gathered by focusing on three cultural dimensions.
Then an online survey was conducted with 50 Thai respondents that emphasized or provided added nuance about consumer behaviors to the literature findings. Overall, French beauty brands are well-known among the respondents. They highlighted the trust-building factors shaping their purchasing decisions, such as quality ingredients, products aligned with their specific skin types, scientific expertise and online reviews.
What I found
· French brands are linked to dermatology, luxury, sustainability and authenticity, but also seen as expensive and hard to reach.
· Three biases shape choices: ethnocentrism, perceived brand “globalness” and the “foreign brand halo”.
· Six purchase drivers matter most: availability (mobile-first, marketplaces), effectiveness, affordability, personalisation, sustainability and peer influence.
What it means for UX
French brands’ websites should look at payment methods, mobile-first layouts and the density of product pages. This needs further testing with Thai users.
Credits. The hero image was generated with AI tools.
I’m travelling in Southeast Asia from December 2026 and looking for a UX/UI or UX research role in the region.
Let’s grab a coffee!
Or write to marion.hulot@gmail.com