Five Fast Growing Market Sectors in Thailand, Asia.
With the evolution of sports education, data and AI technology, there has been significant advances in five key market sectors in South East Asia. These include sports, fitness, health, wellness and education. As the world becomes more interconnected, these industries are adapting to changing market conditions, producing innovative products in order to stay ahead.
Blue Orange Asia is an award winning sports, fitness and health education marketing agency servicing brands including Virgin Active Bein Sports and Fitness First.
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In this blog we will review the five fastest growing industries in South East Asia.
1. Sports.
The sports industry is expected to grow at an annual growth rate of 42 percent in 2024. With increased investment in sports and fitness brands, the market is expected to be worth over 700 billion U.S. dollars by 2026.
A key driver in the growth is sports wearables. A rising demand for improved sports data and wearable devices amongst top athletes to gain insights on their performance and fitness is key to this growth. These include acceleration, heartbeat, and speed tech. In addition, the demand for high-quality wearables is also being affected by rising health and wellness consciousness consumers.
Sports Trends in 2024.
• Sports Drinks. The athletic drinks market in Asia has seen double digit growth in the past 3 years. Nutrient rich drinks such as Berocca and Gatorade allow athletes to perform longer for more effectively training and competition by providing energy to working muscles and the brain. Sports drinks can help meet nutrition recovery goals by replacing fluids and electrolytes helping to replenish glycogen stores.
• Seamless, Mobile-First Experiences. Flexible mobile-friendly solutions that simplify the purchase process are particularly important in a tough economic climate, where consumers are often wary of spending on non-essentials.
• Enhanced Match Day Engagement. Sports match day experience has evolved in recent years thanks to social media. Teams now turn press conferences, line-up announcements and match events into content creation opportunities. In addition, with so many clubs and events competing for fans’ attention, the importance of fan engagement and experience is rising.
• Web 3.0 Sports Digital Content. In early 2024 there were countless examples of web 3 crypto based sports brand sponsorship deals. Crypto.com became an F1 and FIFA World Cup sponsor, blockchain company Tezos became a Manchester United sponsor. Red Bull Racing and Liverpool FC all sold NFTs on various marketplaces.
2. Fitness.
With more interest in fitness, sales of sports apparel clothing and equipment have surged. The retail market has grown as a result of more people setting up home gyms, taking part in online workouts, or buying home exercise equipment like Peloton, bikes and turbo trainers. In addition, leading fitness brands in Asia such as Virgin Active are constantly expanding their gym product range to deliver a better users experience for their members.
Trends will include • Portable Tech Wearables. This is not a big surprise, we are in the digital age. • Training from Home. For many of the people who started training from home this has become a habit that they have no intention of giving up. • Strength Training. Strength training with dumbbells, bars and medicine balls, among other free weights.
• Exercise for Weight Loss. The weight problems derived from confinement, working in front of the TV and the increase in sedentary lifestyle would be driving this trend this year. • Outdoor Activities. such as walking and light running have outstanding benefits to the mind and body.
3. Health and Wellness.
Revenue in the APAC health and wellness segment is projected to reach US$55 billion in 2024. The healthcare dietary and nutrition industry includes medical professionals as well as critical services such as mental health, social care and the pharmaceutical industry.
Heath and wellness trends include • Artificial intelligence (AI); specifically machine learning (ML) tools in healthcare. Various AI-aligned technologies and pattern recognition algorithms are already deeply embedded in the healthcare ecosystem. Examples of AI use include drug discovery where it assists with predicting outcomes of clinical trials and side effects of new drugs. In addition AI is used to analyse medical imagery using computer vision algorithms to spot early warning signs of disease in x-rays or MRI scans.
• Wearable Medical Devices. Wearable devices will be increasingly used by individuals to track their own health and exercise activity, as well as by clinicians to monitor patients remotely.
• Retail Healthcare. It is predicted the amount of healthcare business conducted through retail outlets will double in 2024. This is more evident as retailers like Amazon offer healthcare services such as blood tests, vaccinations, and medical check-ups that have traditionally been delivered by hospitals.
4: Education.
The education and university technology market size in Asia was valued at 55 billion USD in 2023 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate 16 % from 2024 to 2030. Furthermore, making smart and effective investments in people’s education in South East Asia is critical for developing the region further. Leading the way is education technology.
Education includes hardware and software technology used to educate students on a virtual level to improve learning in classrooms. Ed Tech platforms assist students overcome hurdles to receive a comprehensive education by utilising technology for learning and teaching.
Digital content is comparatively easy to generate than printed content, which tends to incur higher production costs. Digital books are available in different languages and can be easily translated and retrieved by a wider user base.
5: Sport and Fitness Retail.
Since covid, there has been a big retail bounce back. Especially for online where shopping apps are dominating. Moreover, In an age where the binge watch generation has taken over, brands are streaming professional crisp live video flash sales through apps (Amazon, TikTok and Instagram) offering live streaming. Furthermore, Live stream shopping is a rapidly growing e-commerce trend.
Trends will include • Social commerce. The act of selling products directly over social media channels. • Omnichannel. This business strategy that promotes a seamless shopping experience across all media channels, including in store, mobile, and online.
• Augmented reality (AR). Retailers want ways to substitute in-store shopping with immersive online experiences. Cue the rise of AR: with 3D visualizations, product demos and virtual try ons, consumers can trial items without leaving home. • Direct-to-Consumer (DTC). With a DTC channel, companies can sell their products or services directly to consumers, eliminating the need for intermediaries like third-party distributors.
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