Buying Buddhas

A shop sells statues and sculptures of the Buddha. There are many shops like this in Bangkok's vibrant Rattanakosin area (Old Town). I wonder who buys these statues? They are far too big for a private home (I would think). Do temples need to buy their own statues? Or, perhaps the temple's congregation might buy a statue as a donation; an act of good merit. Even after living in Thailand for more than eight years, there are still little aspects of daily life and culture which I don't know.