Policy makers are in need of a set of data that reflects how the
Internet is used by all sectors of the population if they were to come
up with ICT policies that could contribute to national and agency level
planning that truly responds to the needs of the people. The data ought to
be compiled continuously on an annual basis in order to demonstrate the
changing directions, and trends of Internet usage and its users’ behavior.
Besides, new e-commerce entrepreneurs or existing ones could come to
an understanding of Internet usage and users’ behavior as shown by the
data so that they could plan their marketing strategies to suit their target
customers. The government sector could use the data to plan its policy
framework to ensure that the Internet is used widely and appropriately.
The Electronic Transactions Development Agency (Public
Organization) or ETDA is mandated to develop, promote and support the
nation’s electronic transactions. It participated in the national efforts to
lay down infrastructures that are conducive to electronic transactions
and to support service businesses related to electronic transactions while
establishing ICT standards that are secure and reliable. ETDA recognizes
the importance of data compilation on Internet users’ profiles and has
been conducting the survey on Thai Internet users’ profiles since 2013.
Data on Thai users’ characteristics and behavior forms the database for
analysis. ETDA plans to conduct such a survey every year.
The survey findings are normally divided into two major parts: the first
part concerns the behavior of users, based on basic questions that are
comparable to those used in earlier surveys; the second part is a survey on
a topic of current interest which necessarily changes every year. This year’s
special survey was on online purchasing behavior in a digital economy,