TikTok-commissioned Ipsos study: 94% of Thai TikTok shoppers buy in Mega Sales and plan 2.8 days ahead

TikTok says 94% of TikTok shoppers in Thailand buy during Mega Sales campaigns, and two in three come back to buy again across several campaigns during the year. The figures come from a TikTok-commissioned study conducted by Ipsos in Thailand in 2026, which Marketing Oops published on 14 September 2026 alongside TikTok internal data and four campaign recommendations. The numbers are TikTok's own, and the article does not give the survey's sample size or method.

What TikTok released

The release makes one central argument: in Thailand, Mega Sales days have stopped being isolated discount events and have become shopping moments that run through the whole year, because shoppers now search and compare before they buy, and much of that searching happens on TikTok. TikTok names two recurring campaign types beyond the headline sale days: PayDay campaigns timed to salary day and Brand Crazy Deal campaigns with deep brand discounts.

Thanyawut Wongsoontorn, General Manager of TikTok for Business Thailand, was quoted as saying Thai consumers have not slowed their spending but have become more deliberate about what they buy, where and how, and that brands which reach shoppers before a campaign starts, with content that feels genuine, are better placed to turn Mega Sales demand into growth.

Readers should hold three facts about the data before using any of it. First, the survey was commissioned by TikTok, which sells the ads the release recommends. Second, the article marks figures with three footnote levels: one star for the Ipsos study "Mega Sales Journey, Thailand, 2026", three stars for TikTok internal data from the Mega Sale period in April 2026, and two stars for a set of figures whose footnote does not appear in the published article. Third, no sample size, fieldwork dates or question wording were published.

The shopper figures

These are the survey and platform figures as TikTok reported them, with the footnote source for each.

Search behaviour before the sale

Beyond the headline numbers, the Ipsos figures describe a shopper who researches more than once. Six in ten said they search for information about a product or promotion two to three times before buying. Six in ten also said their basket per order is higher during Mega Sales than during ordinary online shopping, which is the average order value argument for keeping the big sales days in the plan.

The study splits search timing across the day: 58% search for products in the evening, 43% at night and 42% during the daytime. The categories overlap, so the percentages add up to more than 100.

According to the release, shopping searches in 2025 concentrated on three themes: promotions and discounts; extra benefits such as free delivery, bundles, free gifts and coupons; and specific products or needs such as best-sellers, trending items and seasonal products.

The four recommendations and the numbers behind them

TikTok frames its advice as four strategies. Each comes with performance figures that TikTok attributes to its own data, so they describe outcomes on TikTok's platform as TikTok measured them, not independently verified results.

1. Start before campaign day

TikTok says brands that start marketing before a campaign generated up to 2.8 times more GMV, and brands that stayed active through the campaign's peak periods pushed sales up to 2.3 times above normal. Both figures carry the three-star marker, TikTok internal data from the April 2026 Mega Sale period.

2. Cover the full funnel with ads

The release recommends running awareness, consideration and conversion campaigns under one plan, with GMV Max closing sales directly to TikTok Shop. It reports that campaigns combining Consideration Ads with GMV Max saw a 1.2 times higher add-to-cart click rate, 11.5 times more orders and 7.2 times higher average order value than GMV Max alone. These are two-star figures without a visible footnote, and the release does not say how campaigns were matched or over what period.

3. Keep content running through the campaign

TikTok recommends mixing short video, creator content, review clips and themed livestreams. It says its Video-to-LIVE approach can raise ad impressions in livestreams by up to 75%, and that 82% of video viewers had never reached the brand through a livestream before. Both are two-star figures.

4. Prepare the whole campaign

The fourth point is operational: sufficient stock, clearly defined hero products, and a campaign structure that covers the full festival period. For this year's Mega Sales, TikTok says brands focused on bundles saw a 61% higher product click rate and 17% higher average order value than brands promoting single items. These are also two-star figures.

How behaviour differs by category

The release describes category differences in qualitative terms, without percentages:

• Beauty and personal care shoppers decide from real-user reviews, tutorials, demonstrations and before-and-after content, which TikTok says suits bundle offers.
• Food and beverage discovery comes from trending menus, easy recipes, restaurant recommendations and festival moments; free delivery codes, gift sets and limited editions convert interest into orders.
• Fashion and lifestyle shoppers use TikTok to follow trends and outfit ideas.
• IT and electronics buyers compare specifications, watch real-use demonstrations and look for in-depth reviews.
• Wellness and mother-and-baby are named as two rising categories. TikTok links wellness demand to longevity, recovery and proactive health, supported by running and Hyrox communities and smartwatch tracking; for mother-and-baby it points to parent community word of mouth, product quality and value from bulk buying.

What the release does not tell you

Before using these numbers in a plan or a pitch, note what is missing:

• The Ipsos sample size, age range, fieldwork period and how "TikTok shoppers" were defined. A 94% purchase rate among people already defined as TikTok shoppers is a different claim from 94% of Thai online shoppers.
• The footnote for the two-star figures, including the 107 million searches and the GMV Max comparison.
• How the GMV Max comparison controlled for budget, category or brand size. Brands that run both consideration and conversion campaigns are likely to differ from brands that run only one.
• Any comparison with Shopee, Lazada or other marketplaces. The release is about TikTok only.

What this means for Thai marketers

The most usable finding is not the 94%. It is the planning window. If shoppers on average plan 2.8 days ahead and search two or three times before ordering, a brand that switches on spend only on the sale day itself is arriving after most of the comparison has happened. That supports building search-friendly content and consideration campaigns in the days before a sale, then shifting weight to conversion formats as the day approaches. The 2.8 times GMV figure points the same way, but it is platform data from TikTok's own April campaign and should be tested, not assumed.

Practical checks for the next Mega Sales window:

• Look at the search terms people use on TikTok for your category and make sure product videos and titles use the promotion and benefit words the release lists: free delivery, bundle, free gift, coupon.
• Set up bundles for beauty, food and mother-and-baby products where it makes commercial sense, and measure click rate and order value against single-item listings in your own account rather than relying on the 61% and 17% averages.
• Split budgets across pre-sale consideration and on-day conversion, and read results by phase. A TikTok ads plan built this way makes the pre-sale spend visible instead of burying it in the day's ROAS.
• Check stock and hero products before the campaign, because the release names stock availability alongside budget and ROI.

TikTok is one channel in most Thai sales calendars. The same pre-sale logic applies to marketplace ads and search, and an ecommerce marketing plan that lines up TikTok Shop, marketplaces and the brand site around the same campaign dates avoids paying three times for the same buyer. For creator and paid social planning across platforms, see social ads.

FAQ

How many Thai TikTok shoppers buy during Mega Sales?

94%, according to a TikTok-commissioned Ipsos study from 2026 published on 14 September 2026. The figure applies to shoppers on TikTok, and the sample size was not disclosed.

How far ahead do Thai shoppers plan Mega Sales purchases?

An average of 2.8 days before ordering, the same study says. Six in ten also said they search for a product or promotion two to three times before they buy.

Is the GMV Max result independent research?

No. TikTok reports that combining Consideration Ads with GMV Max produced 11.5 times more orders than GMV Max alone, but the figure is TikTok's and its footnote does not appear in the published article.

Do bundles really lift sales on TikTok Shop?

TikTok says brands selling bundles in this year's Mega Sales had a 61% higher product click rate and 17% higher average order value than single-item brands. Treat that as a hypothesis to test in your own account, because the comparison method was not published.

Which product categories does TikTok call rising in Thailand?

Wellness and mother-and-baby. TikTok ties wellness to longevity and fitness communities, and mother-and-baby to parent word of mouth, quality and bulk-buy value.

If you are planning your next Mega Sales campaign, Relevant Audience can help you set up TikTok campaigns that start before the sale, and measure whether the pre-sale spend actually pays back.