BANGKOK - Sitting down and playing with her smartphone, store owner Thienmanee Ngamsaptawee waited for customers to go to her aroma product shop on a Sunday afternoon at Bangkok's once bustling Chatuchak weekend market.

"Five years ago, I hardly had time to sit down. Now, I don't have much to do," Mrs Thienmanee, the owner of two outlets at the market, told The Straits Times.