Socioeconomic and demographic profile of marketplace informant: the influence of market maven on Thailand shoppers

The buying decisions of customers are influenced to a greater extent by the suggestions or references given by their friends and near ones than the information obtained by means of advertising or any other medium. The concept of word of mouth is independent of the products and services or the producer. It is a known fact that satisfied customers share their satisfaction with their group, either formally or informally. This satisfaction is shared in the form of information, which is nothing but publicity for the product which comes free of cost. This information sharing which spreads cumulatively is called word of mouth. This paper therefore, looked into the socioeconomic and demographic profile of marketplace informant and their influence on Thai shoppers. A total of 380 shoppers (who are able to read and write Thai language and have indicated to the research assistants that they share market information with friends) were surveyed from three strategic cities across Thailand; to respond to the instrument of survey (questionnaire) that was tested and deemed to be reliable. Reliability testing of the scale originally yielded a Cronbach's alpha of 0.82. A strong association (r = .609, p < .0001, n = 380) is evident between the number of respondents that considered themselves outgoing and will share information about their experiences in the marketplace.