Online shopping: a new habit of a housewife in Nghe An

(Baonghean.vn) - While e-commerce has affirmed its position as a trend in world trade and in Vietnam, in Nghe An, business people and consumers have also begun to know about this new form of business through a more 'popular' name: online 'market'.

Bustling online buying and selling forum

Every day, an indispensable thing for Ms. Cao Tu Quyen (Hung Dung ward, Vinh city) is to take advantage of the time to 'surf the internet' and shop on online 'markets'. No need to waste time traveling, can take advantage of any free time during the day, a variety of items to choose from, from the smallest items to high-value items,... these are the conveniences that make customers 'fascinated' with online 'markets'.

Ms. Quyen said: "I am 'addicted' to online shopping because it is convenient, just need to choose the goods, contact the seller and receive the goods, the transaction becomes easier even for busy people. Usually, I often buy clothes, cosmetics, household items and local foods... on the Mother and Baby Association forums, chovinh.com. Although buying online is still risky because the quality is 'lucky, unlucky', the prices are cheaper than outside, so as long as you have experience, it is okay."

Forum chovinh.com, specializes in buying, selling and exchanging all kinds of products and services in Nghe An, has tens of thousands of visits every day.

For mothers with babies, everyone knows about the Nghe An - Ha Tinh Mother and Baby Fair. This is a form of online 'market' where users can advertise or buy goods and services according to their needs. Ms. Truong Thuong Hoai (Ha Huy Tap, Vinh City) (facebook: Truong Thuong Hoai) is an "online trader" who has been involved in the Mother and Baby 'market' for more than 3 years. Thanks to the convenience of this form of online business, she has both secured her job as a travel agency employee and earned extra income from selling household items on the online 'market'.

Ms. Hoai said: "This online business does not require rental fees so the prices are competitive, and updating products, promoting, and connecting with customers is very fast and effective. Moreover, I can be flexible with transaction times with customers, so it is convenient for both sides. Once I have created trust with customers about product quality, my business is quite favorable; each day I sell an average of 20-25 household products (revenue of about 2 million VND/day)."

There are now many convenient online shopping forums, serving the shopping needs of busy people.

Currently in Nghe An, forums for exchanging information on buying and selling, online 'markets' are developing quite strongly such as: chovinh.com, raovatnghean.vn, raovatvinh.com, chodocu.info...

Chovinh.com is one of the fastest growing forums, currently having 20,000 visits per day. On average, about 150 VIP posts (displayed on the main interface) are posted every day. As for free classified ads, on average, a new post is posted every 8-10 seconds.

Catch up with e-commerce trends

Many businesses in Nghe An are also not outside the 'whirlwind' of the trend called e-commerce.Mr. Nguyen Kim Cuong - Director of Redsand Technology Development Joint Stock Company - specializing in providing digital technology solutions for businesses said: "The number of businesses with the need to build and manage websites coming to our company is increasing, increasing about 2-3 times compared to 2 years ago."

In Nghe An, businesses that use online channels as a tool to support traditional sales channels quite effectively include some "big guys" such as: hongha.asia, hc.com.vn; thegioididong.com, trananh.vn...

However, there are not many effective e-commerce businesses in Nghe An like the names mentioned above - in contrast to the vibrant development of spontaneous or 'amateur' buying and selling forums. Studying the reasons, it can be said that, compared to buying and selling forums and information exchange, maintaining a separate sales website for a brand or product requires more investment in terms of services.

Mr. Phan Anh Trung - Manager of Bravo Fashion Store in Nghe An said: "In addition to 2 shops in Vinh city, we also have online sales channels which are 2 websites and 1 fanpage. To maintain the effectiveness of these channels, we must regularly update information about products and provide consulting support to make it easy for customers to buy online. To attract customers, we also have a policy that allows customers to try on clothes, return them, and only pay when satisfied." He also said that online sales account for over 60% of this brand's sales in Nghe An.

Online sales account for over 60% of Bravo Nghe An's total sales.

Mr. Ho Van Binh - Deputy Director of Binh An E-Commerce Joint Stock Company, believes that customers have not yet formed the habit of online shopping, which is the biggest difficulty: "Although customers ask for product information a lot, the number of customers buying through the company's website is very small, only a few customers per day. Partly due to the habit of buying in the traditional way, on the other hand, electrical and refrigeration products are often of high value, so customers are not really confident when buying online."

In addition to customer habits, according to Mr. Nguyen Kim Cuong, there is also a reason that businesses have not yet built effective advertising and customer care strategies, so they have not fully exploited the advantages of e-commerce.

Moonlight