Thailand’s Restaurant Battlefield 2025: Survival Demands Strategy, Speed, and Smart Tech
The Thai restaurant business in 2025 is facing a new wave of challenges—very different from the rapid growth seen during the post-COVID recovery. As the market begins to show clear signs of slowing, entrepreneurs must rethink their strategies and look for opportunities amid intensifying competition.
These insights were presented by Ekalak Wiriyakovitaya, Managing Director of Merchant Digital Solutions at LINE MAN Wongnai, during the Thailand Restaurant Conference 2025. Using big data from the platform, he offered a clear picture of current market conditions to guide operators through this transitional period.
Restaurant Openings Decline, but Location Still Holds Power
The first and clearest signal of slowdown: a sharp drop in new restaurant openings. In the first half of 2025, about 44,000 new restaurants opened—down 30% compared to 63,000 during the same period the year before.
Despite this drop, the overall situation isn’t entirely bleak. The restaurant closure rate remains steady, with over 50% of new openings shutting down within their first year—comparable to previous years. This reflects the ongoing difficulty of the restaurant business, but with fewer new entrants taking the plunge.
In this high-stakes environment, location, a major fixed cost, has become a key indicator of success. Data shows that restaurants located in shopping malls have a 22% higher survival rate than those outside—an advantage that has remained consistent over the past three years.
Ekalak described mall investment as “buying insurance”: while the fixed costs are higher, businesses gain instant access to strong purchasing traffic from day one.
Dine-in Sales Drop, Delivery Surges
Another major shift this year is the clear drop in offline (dine-in) sales, which fell 14% in Q2 year-over-year. In contrast, LINE MAN delivery sales continue to grow by more than 15%.
This indicates that consumers aren’t eating less—they’re just visiting restaurants less frequently, favoring the convenience of delivery instead. For many operators, delivery is no longer just an alternative but a primary survival channel.
Promotions and Menu Trends Drive Decisions
With customer behavior shifting, understanding consumer demand is critical. Data shows that the top thing customers look for on food apps is promotions, with 88% seeking food discounts—now seen as a basic expectation.
The most popular promotions are:
- Delivery fee discounts (59%)
- Flash Sales (56%)
- Set menus (29%)
- New customer deals (27%)
These act as strong decision triggers. However, only 51% of LINE MAN orders currently involve promotions, up from 43% last year—still leaving room for growth and competitive edge.
Menu trends are another golden opportunity. LINE MAN search data shows strong interest growth in:
- Mala (+60%)
- Shredded Chicken Noodles (+58%)
- Suki (+51%)
The most surprising surge? Shio Pan (Japanese salted bread), which saw a 130x spike in searches compared to the previous year—and an 11x jump within a single month. Ekalak noted this as proof of how fast-moving trends can open huge sales windows for those who move quickly.
Tech Becomes Core, Not Just a Tool
In-store tech is now essential. Around 72% of customers prefer restaurants with multiple ordering options, and 66% favor those offering diverse payment methods. Most are comfortable with self-service elements—like scanning QR codes to order—if it speeds up the experience.
Accepting multiple payment types also boosts revenue: restaurants that support both QR code and credit card payments see 32% higher average bills than those accepting QR codes only.
“Standing on the Shoulders of Giants”
The key takeaway for today’s restaurant operators? Leverage platforms that already command strong customer traffic—namely, shopping malls (offline giants) and delivery apps (online giants).
“If your business can ‘stand on the shoulders of these giants,’ you’re more likely to see positive sales outcomes because these giants already have built-in ‘buy-ready traffic,’” said Ekalak.
In the end, success isn’t just about great food. It’s about data-driven thinking, systemized strategy, and tech-enabled operations—so you can move faster and more precisely than your competitors on every front.