Shopping in Thailand: Supermarkets, Hardware, Electronics and Online Stores for Expat Retirees

Thailand is easy for day-to-day shopping. A 7-Eleven is rarely far away. Hypermarkets like Makro, Big C and Lotus's cover the weekly shop, and HomePro and Global House handle the hardware. Lazada and Shopee deliver almost anything. This guide explains what each big chain is for, where imported Western food is easiest to find, and what changed for overseas online orders in 2026.

We don't quote prices here. They change constantly and vary by branch, so check the chain's own website or app.

At a glance

• Everyday top-ups, bills and snacks: 7-Eleven (and FamilyMart, Lawson, Lotus's Go Fresh).
• Big weekly shop: Big C or Lotus's. Bulk and catering sizes: Makro.
• Imported and Western food: Villa Market, Gourmet Market, Tops; Rimping in Chiang Mai.
• Hardware, fans, aircon, furniture: HomePro, Global House, Thai Watsadu, Do Home, Index Living Mall, SB Design Square, IKEA.
• Phones, laptops, appliances: Banana, Power Buy, JIB, Advice, Studio7/Apple.
• Online: Lazada and Shopee. Buy from LazMall or Shopee Mall shops to cut the risk of fakes.
• Overseas orders: since 1 January 2026, import duty and 7% VAT apply from 1 baht. The old 1,500-baht exemption is gone.

7-Eleven: the shop you'll use most

7-Eleven Thailand is run by CP ALL. At 30 June 2026 it had 16,284 stores in Thailand, up from 15,945 at the end of 2025, and planned about 700 more openings in 2026 (Pattaya Mail, reporting CP ALL's Q2 results). In towns and cities there is usually one within walking distance, and many are open 24 hours.

What you can do there:

• Ready meals and toasties. Chilled and frozen meals, and the toasted sandwiches staff heat for you. Also drinks, coffee, snacks, basic groceries and toiletries.
• Pay bills over the counter. Electricity, water, phone and internet bills, plus many online orders, through Counter Service, CP ALL's bill payment service. Bring the bill or barcode. A small service fee usually applies.
• Phone top-ups. Top up prepaid SIM credit at the counter.
• ATMs. Most branches have a bank ATM inside or outside. Foreign cards usually pay a withdrawal fee set by the Thai bank, on top of your home bank's charges (see our bank account guide).
• Parcels. Many branches act as drop-off or collection points for parcel services.
• Pharmacy. Some branches have an eXta Plus pharmacy counter.
• All Member points. CP ALL's ALL member programme gives points and member prices in the 7-Eleven app, and stamps on promotions. Its online shop is 7-Eleven ALL Online.

The other convenience chains:

• FamilyMart and Lawson 108 are smaller Japanese-branded chains.
• Lotus's Go Fresh is Lotus's small-store format. It carries more fresh food than a typical 7-Eleven.

Supermarkets and hypermarkets

• Makro is a wholesale warehouse store aimed at restaurants and small shops, though anyone can shop there. It's good for bulk dry goods, frozen meat and fish, cleaning supplies and catering sizes. It is part of CP Axtra, the same group as Lotus's.
• Big C is a hypermarket: groceries, household goods, small appliances and clothing under one roof, often with a food court and shops attached. Smaller Big C Mini stores are found in residential areas.
• Lotus's (formerly Tesco Lotus) is the other big hypermarket chain, similar in scope to Big C. Its smaller formats are Lotus's and Lotus's Go Fresh.
• Tops (Central group) is a supermarket, often in Central and Robinson malls, with a decent imported range.
• Villa Market focuses on expats: imported cheese, deli, wine, cereals and familiar brands.
• Gourmet Market is the upmarket supermarket in The Mall group's malls. It's strong on imported and premium food.
• Foodland is a supermarket chain, mainly in Bangkok, with in-store eateries.
• Rimping is a Chiang Mai supermarket chain known for imported goods (see Retiring in Chiang Mai).

Home and hardware

• HomePro sells appliances, air conditioners, bathrooms and kitchens, and offers installation services.
• Global House and Thai Watsadu are big-box building-materials and DIY stores.
• Do Home is a big-box hardware and building-supplies chain.
• Index Living Mall and SB Design Square are furniture and homewares chains, useful when furnishing a rental (see our renting guide).
• IKEA Thailand has stores in and around Bangkok and Phuket, and delivers more widely.

Electronics and IT

• Banana (Banana IT) sells phones, laptops and accessories, often in malls.
• Power Buy (Central group) sells appliances and electronics.
• JIB and Advice are computer and IT parts chains.
• Studio7 is an Apple premium reseller. Apple also runs its own Apple Stores in Thailand, in Bangkok.

Department stores, malls and pharmacies

• Central is Thailand's largest department-store group. Its malls (CentralWorld, Central Festival and others) usually include Tops, Power Buy, a cinema and restaurants.
• Robinson is Central's mid-market department store, often in provincial towns.
• The Mall group runs The Mall, Emporium, EmQuartier and Siam Paragon, with Gourmet Market supermarkets.
• Boots and Watsons sell personal care and over-the-counter medicines and have pharmacists on duty. For prescriptions and health cover, see the healthcare section.

Comparison table

The Western equivalents are rough comparisons to help you place each chain. They don't mean the stores are owned by, or identical to, the Western chains.

Thai chain	What it's like	Rough Western equivalents (AU / US / UK)	Best for
7-Eleven, FamilyMart, Lawson	24-hour convenience store with services	AU: 7-Eleven / US: 7-Eleven, CVS (snacks) / UK: Tesco Express, Co-op	Snacks, ready meals, bills, top-ups, ATM
Makro	Wholesale warehouse	AU: Costco / US: Costco, Sam's Club / UK: Costco, Booker	Bulk, catering sizes, frozen meat
Big C, Lotus's	Hypermarket	AU: Big W + Coles / US: Walmart Supercenter, Target / UK: Tesco Extra, Asda	Weekly shop, household basics
Tops, Foodland	Mainstream supermarket	AU: Woolworths, Coles / US: Kroger, Safeway / UK: Sainsbury's	Groceries with some imports
Villa Market, Gourmet Market, Rimping	Premium and imported supermarket	AU: Harris Farm, David Jones Food Hall / US: Whole Foods / UK: Waitrose, M&S Food	Cheese, deli, wine, Western brands
HomePro	Home improvement and appliances	AU: Bunnings + Harvey Norman / US: Home Depot, Lowe's / UK: B&Q, Currys	Aircon, appliances, bathrooms, installs
Global House, Thai Watsadu, Do Home	Big-box building supplies	AU: Bunnings / US: Home Depot, Menards / UK: B&Q, Wickes	Tools, building materials, garden
Index Living Mall, SB Design Square	Furniture and homewares	AU: Fantastic Furniture, Freedom / US: Ashley, Pottery Barn / UK: DFS, Dunelm	Furnishing a home
IKEA	IKEA	IKEA everywhere	Flat-pack furniture
Banana, Power Buy, JIB, Advice	Electronics and IT	AU: JB Hi-Fi, Officeworks / US: Best Buy, Micro Center / UK: Currys, Argos	Phones, laptops, PC parts
Studio7, Apple Store	Apple reseller or Apple retail	Apple Store / AU: JB Hi-Fi Apple corner	Apple products and service
Central, Robinson, The Mall	Department stores and malls	AU: Myer, David Jones / US: Macy's, Nordstrom / UK: John Lewis, House of Fraser	Clothes, cosmetics, gifts
Boots, Watsons	Pharmacy and personal care	AU: Priceline, Chemist Warehouse / US: CVS, Walgreens / UK: Boots, Superdrug	Toiletries, OTC medicines
Lazada, Shopee	Online marketplaces	AU: Amazon AU, eBay / US: Amazon, eBay / UK: Amazon UK, eBay	Almost anything delivered

Hua Hin

Hua Hin has two main malls:

• Market Village, on Phetkasem Road in town.
• Bluport Hua Hin, towards Khao Takiab.

Both have supermarkets, food courts and chain stores. The big chains, including Makro, HomePro, Global House, Big C and Lotus's, have branches in or near Hua Hin. Branches open and move, so check the exact current location in each chain's store locator before you drive out. For the rest of the town, see Retiring in Hua Hin and Hua Hin areas.

Online shopping

• Lazada and Shopee are the two big marketplaces. Both have apps and English menus, and both offer cash on delivery on many items. Delivery inside Thailand is usually quick.
• Avoiding fakes. Buy from LazMall or Shopee Mall shops, which are official brand and authorised stores. Check seller ratings, and be wary of branded goods at prices that look too good. Shopee's Help Centre explains its returns and refunds.
• Retailers' own apps. Central's online store, Big C, Lotus's, Makro and HomePro all sell online with delivery, often from your nearest branch.
• Grocery and meal delivery. Grab (GrabMart and GrabFood) and LINE MAN deliver from supermarkets, convenience stores and restaurants.

Import duty on overseas orders

From 1 January 2026, Thai Customs collects import duty and 7% VAT on imported goods valued from 1 baht. This ended the old exemption for items under 1,500 baht (National News Bureau of Thailand).

How you pay depends on how the parcel arrives:

• Thailand Post parcels: you pay the duty, tax and a postal processing fee by QR code or in cash before delivery (USPS bulletin relaying Thailand Post's notice).
• Couriers: couriers usually pay the tax upfront and collect it from you on delivery.
• Marketplaces: Customs has been working with platforms such as Lazada and Shopee to collect tax at checkout.

Thai Customs' own page on postal imports still showed the older 1,500-baht wording when we checked.

Practical tips

• Markets vs malls. Fresh markets and night markets are usually where Thais buy produce, meat and street food. Malls and supermarkets have fixed prices, air-conditioning and imported goods. Many retirees use both.

• Member cards.

  • Makro has a membership card.
  • Big C and Lotus's have loyalty programmes in their apps.
  • Central's The 1 card covers Central, Tops, Robinson, Power Buy and others.
  • 7-Eleven has ALL member.

  Sign-up usually needs a Thai phone number, and sometimes ID or a passport.

• Imported goods cost more. Expect familiar Western brands, cheese, wine and spirits to cost noticeably more than at home, because of import duties and alcohol taxes. Local brands are usually much cheaper. For budgets, see the cost of living guide and Hua Hin budget.

• Paying.

  • Malls and chains take Visa and Mastercard.
  • Markets and small shops prefer cash or a PromptPay QR code, which you can pay from a Thai bank app.
  • A Thai bank account makes daily life much easier: see opening a Thai bank account.

• Alcohol sales hours. Shops can only sell alcohol at certain times of day, and not at all on some Buddhist holidays. See our festivals guide.

What we couldn't verify

• Prices. We haven't compared prices between chains and don't quote any. They vary by branch, promotion and member price.
• Hua Hin branches. We haven't confirmed the exact current address of every chain branch in Hua Hin. Use each chain's store locator.
• Unchecked websites. Some official sites (Big C, Tops, HomePro, Power Buy, Advice, Watsons, Robinson, Villa Market, FamilyMart, Lawson 108, SB Design Square) blocked or timed out on our automated check from outside Thailand. The links are the chains' known official domains.
• Member schemes. Card and app terms change. Check the current conditions in each chain's app.