Fashion, travel, books and music were the most commonly purchased items according to the 2018 Nielsen Connected Commerce Report as reported by VNExpress. Seventeen percent of Vietnamese netizens use the web to order fresh groceries, which represents a 5% rise since last year.
Nguyen Anh Dung, Executive Director, Head of Retail Measurement Service, at Nielsen Vietnam explains: “Travel, fashion, and books are typical categories for first-time online shoppers, but as their familiarization, comfort, and trust levels increase, their category repertoire expands into areas like beauty, personal care and baby products, and then moves even wider afield to packaged and fresh grocery categories, and this is evidenced by the significant jump we’ve seen in online purchasing in groceries and food delivery in recent years.”
Dissatisfaction with return policies offered at traditional brick and mortar shops coupled with same or next day delivery options are enticing consumers into making e-purchases. Further credit can be given to the proliferation of cheap and easy web connections and devices as well as payment methods. Cash on Delivery (COD) remains the most common form of payment and Facebook is the country's favorite way to shop.
A different report describing shopping habits explains that recommendations from friends and reviews are important factors in determining what people purchase online. It also noted that privacy and security, as well as food and product safety, are people's greatest concerns.
While considered one of the world's fastest-growing markets, there is still plenty of room for growth. Online purchases account for only 1% of total retail sales. The positive figures are, however, in line with the government's prediction that by 2020, 30% of the nation will shop online with revenues of US$10 billion.
[Photo via Creative Commons]
