Vietnam has 23 million regular online shoppers.

According to Nielsen research, Vietnam has about 23 million people who regularly shop online and is growing rapidly thanks to the growth of the mobile market.

In addition to the middle class, according to Nielsen Vietnam, the domestic e-commerce market currently has an even more important customer group, which is “Connected Spenders”. This concept refers to people who are passionate about technology, have diverse incomes and are willing to spend in the online environment. This group currently has about 23 million people. The spending of this group accounts for one-third of e-commerce spending of consumers in Vietnam.

“Of course we do not ignore the middle-class customer group, but to immediately seize the opportunity in the e-commerce market, we identify 'Connected Spenders' as the most important group to focus on exploiting,” said Mr. Doan Duy Khoa - Director of Consumer Research Department of Nielsen Vietnam at the Vietnam Mobile Day 2017 event held in Ho Chi Minh City.

The expert predicts that e-commerce in Vietnam, especially on mobile platforms, will continue to develop rapidly in the coming time thanks to the convergence of many favorable conditions.

Mobile e-commerce in Vietnam has great potential.

Half of Vietnam’s population now uses the Internet and is among the top online users in Southeast Asia. On average, each person spends nearly 25 hours a week online, or more than 3 hours a day. Nearly a third of Internet users have started shopping online, with an average per capita spending of $160 a year.

People who use the Internet in Vietnam are also considered by experts to be 'super-connected'. Specifically, in large cities, the percentage of the population using phones is up to 95%. Of these, 78% use smartphones. In addition to accessing social networks, reading news, taking photos, chatting and playing games, Vietnamese people also use smartphones to search for product information, read reviews and compare prices when planning to buy an item. Smartphones also create fiercer competition in the advertising industry.

“Almost all online people in Vietnam are tending towards multi-screen. That is, they can sit and watch TV while holding their phones to surf social networks. This creates a challenge for manufacturers. In the past, when they advertised on TV, they got a lot of attention. Now, when they advertise on TV while you are online on your phone, the problem is how to make the advertisement attract you,” Mr. Khoa commented.

Currently, the three most popular online shopping categories in Vietnam are fashion, health and beauty products, and electronics. However, online payments via phone and mobile banking are not high. This rate in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi is only 13%. Compared to last year, it has increased by 5 percentage points and continues to show an improving trend. 16% of consumers surveyed confirmed that they will use mobile banking in the near future.

“When asking customers about their intention to use mobile banking, only one-third feel secure. They are afraid of losing information when making payments. That is a huge obstacle. Security is still the most important factor for customers, more than the price of the product,” Mr. Khoa added.

In the long term, the prospects for e-commerce, especially on mobile platforms in Vietnam, are much higher than the obstacles. “IoT (Internet of Things) is a constantly growing trend. All connected devices will become devices participating in e-commerce, especially mobile phones,” commented Mr. Arn Vogels - Director of MasterCard Indochina.

According to VNE