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Abstract:
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This study aims to examine credit card usage behavior and credit card debt management of three working age groups in Mueang Chiang Mai District, Thailand. Based on demographic concepts, three sample groups are used in this study: Generation Y (24-41 years), Generation X (42-53 years), and Generation B (54-72 years). Analysis focuses on the behavior of each group based on the theory of demand and consumer behavior (6Ws1H), concepts of debt, properties of allocation for consumption, motivation theory using descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, and qualitative data analysis from in-depth interviews.
The results of this study found that:
1) Credit card usage behaviors of all three working age groups in Mueang Chiang Mai
District were quite similar. However, when considering secondary habits in credit card usage, Generation Y, despite having the lowest income level, tended to be a debt creator compared with Generation X. Also, Generation B tended to be more conservative, only using credit cards when needed as an alternative to cash to purchase consumer products or fuel;
2) Credit card debt management of all three working age groups in Mueang Chiang Mai
District was quite different. Although Generation Y and Generation X were both familiar with using technology to gather information on money matters and debt and as a channel for debt settlement, when handling debt, Generation Y tended to settle debt by creating new debt in the form of soft loans, whereas Generation X settled debt immediately. Generation B however, being more conservative, preferred not to have unnecessary debt and consulted more with credit card issuers or payed bills directly through branches when outstanding debt began to rise.
In conclusion, the three different generations of customers in Mueang Chiang Mai
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District were able to change their credit card usage behavior and credit card debt management practices but not in all factors. This study found that factors such as: when to use credit cards; the reason for using credit cards; day-to-day buying decisions; or approach to handling outstanding credit card debt could not be used alone to determine behaviors across the generations because such factors are dependent on average net monthly income per household, and type of product or service purchased. Thus, the researcher recommends further study in greater detail on how average net monthly income per household of different generations can describe credit card usage behavior and credit card debt management.
Key words: Credit card usage behavior, credit card debt management, generation,
theory of demand and consumer behavior (6Ws1H), Mueang Chiang Mai District
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