Vietnamese people shop online four times a month

This number is twice the monthly frequency of Vietnamese visits to supermarkets, according to NielsenIQ Vietnam.

Research presented at the June 28 event found that the average person uses 3.2 platforms to shop online.

The low cost of goods available online is not the most important factor attracting consumers. The two main reasons are shopping to replenish supplies for family reasons (25%) and urgent needs (21%).

In previous years, Vietnamese people mainly used e-commerce to buy non-essential items such as electronics, fashion items or household appliances. However, they are now more likely to buy everyday items online.

On average, customers buy 6.5 types of products, and the three categories with the highest purchase rates are food, beverages and cosmetics. The next priorities are fashion, sports, home care and technology.

Le Hoang Long, director of Retailer Vertical at NielsenIQ Vietnam, said: “Online shopping is becoming a common activity, and basic goods are becoming more and more popular.”

Earlier, a first-quarter report from e-commerce data firm Metric showed that Vietnamese are spending more on online shopping, far exceeding platform forecasts. The five largest e-commerce platforms — Shopee, Lazada, Tiki, Sendo and TikTok Shop — achieved a combined retail revenue of VND71.2 trillion ($2.79 billion), up 78.7% from the same period in 2023.

E-commerce maintains a better growth rate than the overall retail market. According to the Central Statistical Office, total revenues from retail sales of consumer goods and services in the first half of the year increased by 5.7% after excluding the price increase factor, slower than the increase by 8.8% in the same period last year.

Hung Huynh, director of TikTok for Business SMB Vietnam, noted that the e-commerce market is still very open and has great potential, but medium, small and micro enterprises have not fully exploited it.

“The main reason is constraints in human resources, tools and digital transformation of these enterprises,” he said.

In the second half of 2024, TikTok Shop Vietnam plans to support 10,000 small and medium-sized enterprises with a total budget of USD 1 million. They will not work directly with enterprises, but through local governments and business associations, which send a list of people who need support. About 20 provinces and cities and more than 10 associations have sent lists.

“We also plan to organize a live-streamed festival in one province every week,” said Nguyen Lam Thanh, representative of TikTok Vietnam.