According to the IDC Worldwide Quarterly Industrial Printer Tracker, large format printer category significantly declined in the 2020Q1 period. Furthermore, graphics market declined by -17.1 % from the previous quarter and -28.6% YoY. The hardest period for all graphic printing industry players was during the March to June period – with the lockdown caused by COVID-19. Print advertisement projects was postponed as department stores and street market remained to be closed from mid-March to May 2020.

“There haven’t been any new print advertisements, so the majority of print service providers stopped investing on new signage printers. Print service providers have been waiting and observing the situation until the government completely lifts the lockdown of all businesses and activities across the country,” says Puwanart Pientanyakij, Market Analyst for IPDS at IDC Thailand.

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The Thai government declared an emergency decree to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus last March 2020. The decree limited access to certain areas – department stores, street market, etc. – and restricted transportation across provinces. This prevented printed advertisement to be delivered.

Online businesses such as Grabfood, Get, Lineman, and Shopee have been more active during COVID-19. Food & Beverage to Beauty & Health industries prefer online advertisements and are mindful about investing on print advertisements during the pandemic as the online approach offers real-time results and is more favorable with the enforcement of the lockdown.