Amid the eerie silence of an empty gold shop, owner Nat Kansane anxiously awaits the arrival of customers in search of the perfect gold necklace for their loved ones.
Striking red and gold tiger decorations, Chinese New Year paper cuttings, and red lanterns ushering in the Year of the Tiger deck Rungroj gold shop for the auspicious festival.
While smartly dressed and service-oriented, it is in Nat's tone of voice one senses mental anguish brought on by a prolonged pandemic that has caused a sharp decrease in customers.
At a time of year when in normal circumstances business is brisk, gold shops are struggling to survive, Nat said.
"I have given up hope that the 2022 Chinese New Year will be any different than the past two years where at best I was able to sell a handful of saleng [25 satangs] gold chains," said Nat, gathering his emotions while he spoke.
Nat set up shop just three months before Covid-19 hit. The entrepreneur was in for the shock of his life -- lockdowns and redundancies that followed the pandemic meant his gold shop did not have the opportunity to make a profit or break even before the economic impact of Covid-19 could be felt.
"After close to two decades of assisting at my sister's gold shop, I was branching out on my own. With the amount of experience I have, I was confident to do well. Unfortunately, I was proven wrong. We are going through unprecedented times."
Nat said to adapt to the changes taking place he had to come up with a solution that would make purchasing a gold chain more accessible to his clientele, most of whom work at a wet market opposite his shop.
"To keep my business afloat I have introduced a scheme where customers can deposit as much money as they can save to reach the amount to purchase a gold necklace of their choice, which could include a half saleng necklace for 4,000 baht," Nat said.
"If they desire to buy a heavier one, they can continue paying until they reach that amount, say on a day that coincides with Chinese New Year.
"For instance, if a vegetable vendor can save 200 to 300 baht from her profits for the day, she comes and deposits it with me. On a day that she doesn't make enough, there is no hard and fast rule that she is required to make a deposit. It all depends on how comfortable the customer is budget-wise to do so. In this manner, there is no pressure. I feel in this way people of all echelons of society can get a shot at owning a gold necklace.
"Other gold shops have a similar plan but have a clause in the contract that customers have to pay the complete amount on a stipulated date. However, for us, it is an open time frame. I needed to come up with a clever marketing scheme because while gold prices are high the spending power of our customers who have been adversely affected by the pandemic has decreased."
Nat said gold is still considered an investment given its dependability when people require hard cash. He said in the past two years, many gold shops have seen a rise in people selling off their gold ornaments. However, the purchasing of gold has been sluggish.
Nat thinks that the pandemic has altered the manner in which people purchase gold on auspicious events such as the Chinese New Year. The option for gifting gold bars takes precedence over necklaces from what he has observed. This, he said, has contributed to high redundancy among goldsmith's within the country.
To continue to stay relevant in such precarious times, Nat said he is reluctantly moving most of his business online.
"I am not IT savvy and have been putting off the need to put my business online for a while now. Needless to say, this has held back any opportunity I have to increase my revenue during Covid-19. Many gold shops are not able to stay in business if they don't go online, which makes sense because of the fear of contracting the virus.
"I need to get out of my comfort zone and jump on the bandwagon like the rest who have gone online to sell their wares. I need to change the mindset that things will soon come to normal, it is not business as usual."
Speaking on the significance of gold during Chinese New Year, Boonlert Siripatvanich, CEO of Ausiris Gold, said despite outside factors the mindset of Thais remains strong that the gifting of gold is a must because the person receiving it holds a special meaning in their life.
Realising the deep-rooted connection gold has within Thai society, gold businesses offer a large array of packages for potential customers and clientele on such events.
"At Ausiris, we have packages that offer blessings on Chinese New Year for loved ones and friends. For example, we have gifts of gold bars that have all sorts of wishes for a prosperous new year written on them in the Chinese alphabet. As it is the Year of the Tiger, we have cards accompanying these gifts with its emblem.
"A major part of selling gold is the marketing side, especially during a pandemic. Today we need to focus on a person's lifestyle."
Gold businesses are one of many sectors that have been disrupted by the multiple impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and the increased use of technology to keep companies afloat.
Boonlert said e-commerce has played a vital role in helping to generate revenue in the new normal environment, where one had to reach out to the customer than the other way around.
"Owners who have adapted quickly to this paradigm shift have benefitted since the pandemic started. Even the most reluctant business owner has found that even though they are not comfortable with conducting business online they need to have a presence on social media to drive sales.
"The adapting period has seen gold shops become increasingly active on social media platforms like Facebook Live, Instagram and other such tools to address the disruption."
As for whether cryptocurrency and other digital assets have the potential to contend with gold as an investment during such volatile economic conditions, Boonlert said: "I believe the standard of gold in Thailand is such that it can be considered fortunate enough to be a commodity that is deemed secure and a supportive asset.
"Globally speaking, of course, there has been disruption. However, in Thailand we see crypto making a far less impact on investors' decisions largely because it is still not popular with the older generation.
"I believe that both gold and crypto have their followers, thus both are not in competition with each other. Gold buyers have their character and the reason they invest is more as a life resource, something that can eventually be passed on to loved ones. It is deemed as wealth, an asset that is most stable to invest in during a global economic downturn for future generations."
Boonlert said during Chinese New Year the buying of gold is more about gifting than investment.
"In my opinion, the purchasing of gold during such an auspicious event hasn't seen much impact from the pandemic. Due to budget constraints, people very well may opt to purchase lighter weight gold but otherwise, it is business as usual for most places.
"By and large gold establishments have adapted well to the new normal. We see that the types of designs on offer are also more diversified and thus offer the customers a much larger array to pick from."
Boonlert also believes gold will never lose its shine because of what it signifies.
"I would like to encourage people to go out and purchase gold for Chinese New Year because it has a sentimental value to both the giver and receiver. As for the gold shop businesses, I would suggest they rebrand and as much as possible put their business online. However, for establishments that prefer to not do so, it is still okay. Their profits may go down, but I do not believe to the point that they have to close shop.
"Gold shops are still an integral part of Thai culture, where clients can buy and sell, so customers frequent establishments that they have already formed a rapport with."
