"Opening the shop early but waiting in vain, customers are sparse, sales drop to alarming levels." This depicts the current situation of small restaurants and SMEs in Thailand facing a market of "poor sales, cautious consumers, and reduced spending."
Data from Kasikorn Research Center shows that the Thai food and beverage market in 2026 is expected to grow 3.9% from the previous year (revised up from an earlier forecast of 2.5%), reaching approximately 682 billion baht in value.
However, a deeper look reveals that this growth rate is slowing continuously, due to fragile consumer purchasing power, fierce competition, and rising costs, all of which inevitably pressure profits across all business groups.
Amid this market condition, LINE MAN, as the platform with the largest number of participating restaurants in the country—over 520,000 shops across all 77 provinces and more than 266 districts—plays a key role as an economic driver, especially through the “Thai Help Thai Plus” project, in which LINE MAN ranks first with over 59,000 merchants participating.
The sales of merchants adapting through this project have grown 1.8 times more than the previous campaign (from 15 June to 18 September 2026) and are expected to double by project end. Government subsidies exceeding 2.57 billion baht have been disbursed nationwide via over 16 million orders.
This success is underscored by results from the prior “Half-Half Plus” project, confirming that average daily sales per merchant increased by 67% during the program, and importantly, sales continued to grow by 10% after its conclusion. This shows government subsidies not only provide short-term boosts but also create lasting sustainability, illustrated by Prajak Roast Duck, which saw sales rise 130% during the project and gained over 3,500 new customers via LINE MAN Food Delivery, similarly for Tum Yum Yua By Botun, which added more than 2,600 new customers and grew sales by 44%.
Yod Chinsupakul, Chief Executive Officer of LINE MAN Wongnai, said that beyond government support, leveraging technology for sustainability is critical. Currently, over 72,000 restaurants use Wongnai POS, the number one management system. Statistics clearly show that merchants not using any technology have about a 70% survival rate; those participating in government programs without POS have an 84% survival rate; while those using POS alongside technology see the highest survival rate of 93%.
To elevate management further, LINE MAN Wongnai has launched “Wongnai Genie,” an AI solution that analyzes deep data from LINE MAN, Wongnai, and Wongnai POS to help manage stores, increase sales, and reduce costs.
The goal is to expand usage to more than 520,000 restaurants on the platform for free. Beta tests with top merchants like Bearhouse found popular queries focus on detailed sales analysis, menu cost-profit calculations, and inventory management, accounting for 13% of actual usage.
in real operation, “Wongnai Genie” connects with POS systems and the LINE MAN Merchant App to act as a personal CFO, analyzing sales data, peak time insights, pricing, and cost reduction techniques.
It answers questions like why sales dropped this month, which menu sells best, how to increase sales, which menu is most profitable, which has excessive costs, and how to adjust pricing for greater profit.
Testing with a business operating 50 branches showed that it could save employees up to 50 work hours daily, or 10-15% of labor costs.
The platform is free for merchants, developed entirely in Thailand with international security standards, with plans to consider premium models in the future offering advanced features such as automatic image editing or menu customization.
Another key dimension is converting merchant data into capital. Yod said that in the past 12 months, LINE MAN Wongnai has partnered to provide loans and financial services to over 30,000 merchants through various services like LINE MAN Installment, LINE MAN Quick Loan, and LINE MAN Borrow, in cooperation with LINE BK. They are also preparing to collaborate with the Small Industry Credit Guarantee Corporation (SICGC) to guarantee loans, making it easier for entrepreneurs to access funds without relying on informal sources.
Looking at the food delivery business over the first nine months of 2026, Yod added that overall growth was about 20%, mainly driven by consumers who remain familiar and continue using the service as a convenient, cost-saving option, supported by government projects like “Thai Help Thai Plus,” which allows use of benefits through delivery brands.
Despite challenges like rising oil prices directly affecting rider costs, management of benefits, rider support, and fuel-efficient motorcycles have kept the overall impact manageable.
For Q4, the high season, Yod anticipates positive factors from the October school break, year-end holidays, bonuses, and the expected two-month extension of the “Thai Help Thai Plus” project with a 60-40 co-payment under a 1 billion baht budget. These factors are expected to accelerate growth beyond the base case of 20%, potentially reaching 20-25%.
However, the platform plans to increase marketing budget by about 20%, or roughly 100 million baht per month (similar to the “Half-Half” project which spent over 300-400 million baht), to support reduced GP fees and promotional activities.
Regarding merchants, Yod believes the main beneficiaries of government projects are small shops with annual sales not exceeding 1.8 million baht, such as made-to-order restaurants, Thai and Isan food, noodle shops, and beverage vendors. Popular menus remain staples like stir-fried basil, spicy papaya salad with fermented crab, and iced Americano, unchanged from normal conditions.
Chain stores may need to adapt more. Yod emphasized that GP fees have not increased over the past year, with a maximum of 30%. Additional advertising purchases depend on bidding and value per area. Financial services have provided loans and installment plans with LINE BK to over 30,000 shops and tens of thousands of riders—nearly 100,000 people total in the last 12 months.
On regulations, the company is preparing for the public driver licensing enforcement effective 30 September, having notified and collected rider license information in the system, with more than half complying. Regarding the IPO, official announcements are still pending.
On national policy matters, Dr. Akniti Nitithanprapas, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, emphasized that the Finance Ministry’s policy is to use technology as a key mechanism to create economic opportunities and distribute income to entrepreneurs at all levels, especially SMEs and small merchants. The “Thai Help Thai Plus” project increases opportunities through five key mechanisms: reducing living costs, boosting merchant sales, and using platforms to bring shops online.
Besides promoting SMEs, Dr. Akniti shared updates on energy crisis management and excise tax considerations, noting the government’s main tools include the fuel fund and using refinery profits to reduce fuel prices. Excise tax adjustments must be carefully considered based on fiscal gaps to avoid harming national fiscal stability, aligning with Fitch Ratings’ recent confidence in Thailand’s energy management. Future excise tax reductions will focus on biofuels like E20 and B20 to ensure benefits reach farmers growing sugarcane, cassava, and oil palm directly.
Therefore, traditional shop models are no longer sufficient for survival. Entrepreneurs and merchants must accelerate digital adaptation, using tools as an advantage, and seize government support that is becoming a "lifeline" to sustainably revive small shops.
ReferencesKasikorn Research Center
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