Vietnamese online shoppersshopping behavior
Growth in eCommerce revenue of Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and Philippines 2015 – 2016 (USD)
Vietnam’s 2016 eCommerce
smaller.
In Southeast Asia, Vietnam is now the second most valuable eCommerce market
Source: Vietnam E-Commerce And Digital Economy Agency
Growth in eCommerce revenue (USD) and number of eCommerce sites in Vietnam
Source: Vietnam E-Commerce And Digital Economy Agency
By the end of 2016, there were
more than 13,500 eCommerce
websites based in Vietnam.
As revenue has grown, so too has the number of eCommerce players in the market.
In January 2018, JD.com – the direct competitor
of Alibaba in China – officially announced a US$44
million investment in Vietnam’s leading B2C
platform Tiki.vn.
share in Southeast Asia, in March 2018, Alibaba
raised its total investment in Lazada Group to
US$4 billion, bringing in executives from Alibaba
to lead Lazada’s regional office here.
Asian investors are pouring in more money to fuel the growth of Vietnam’s major eCommerce players
In February 2018, an affiliate of private equity firm
Creador approved an investment of US$43.8
million in Thegioididong.com – Vietnam’s largest
mobile phone and electronic device retailer.
eCommerce platforms
Are consumers adapting to this shift?
But…
About the study
A L O O K A T T H E O N L I N E S H O P P I N G
H A B I T S O F V I E T N A M E S E C O N S U M E R S
752,057 ONLINE VIETNAMESE
Data is weighted based on the online population in 2017
Source: Decision Lab online population
53%
47%
Across the majority of categories, women are the dominant shoppers
28%
66%
28% 23% 23%
All purchases P3M Recall: Males vs. Females
n = 1081Q: Which of the following products/services that you purchased in the last 3 months?
Considering both offline and online purchases, women are more likely to have purchased more often than
men across all categories with the exception of electronic devices and alcoholic drinks.
Men are more likely to buy online than women
56%
23%
Clothing or footwear Cooking ingredients Beauty products Mobile phone Home appliances Short distance travel Long distance travel
Males Females
n = 1081
Other categories are omitted due to insufficient sample size
Q: For the chosen products/services, did you purchase it online or in store?
Considering only purchases made online men are more likely than women to have done so. For brands
moving online, the challenge is to convert the dominant shopper from buying offline to online.
Pre-shopping research
A B R E A K D O W N O F T H E T Y P E O F
R E S E A R C H C O N D U C T E D B Y V I E T N A M E S E
S H O P P E R S P R I O R T O P U R C H A S E
Consumers want to be more informed before buying
6% 6% 7% 7% 7% 8% 10% 13% 15% 17% 18% 20% 21% 23% 23%
28% 29% 31%
94% 94% 93% 93% 93% 92% 90% 87% 85% 83% 82% 80% 79% 77% 77% 72% 71% 69%
No research Research
n = 1945Q: For the chosen products/services, did you conduct pre-shopping research?
Product research is performed prior to purchase across every category in Vietnam
Product and service information is gathered both on and offline
15% 19% 19% 19% 20% 20% 25% 27%
33% 37%
67% 63%
Primarily offline research Primarily online research
n = 1945Q: For the chosen products/services, was the research that you conducted primarily online of offline?
There is variation across categories in where the source of pre-shopping research is conducted. Online
research dominates for big ticket items like phones, appliances and travel, while for non-durables like food
and beverage, offline is the main source of research.
In some categories, the source of research determines where the purchase is made.
If research is primarily offline…
8%
17%
footwear
If research is primarily online…
61% 63% 60%
footwear
Primarily Online Purchase Primarily Offline Purchase
Q: For the chosen products/services, was the research that you conducted primarily online of offline?
Q: For the chosen products/services, did you purchase it online or in store?
The chart on the left reveals that
shoppers who conduct pre-
purchase research primarily online,
chart on the right shows us that
those who primarily research
n = 1945
F&B purchases are primarily made in stores, although pre-purchase research also happens online
If research is primarily offline…
2% 2% 4% 3%
98% 98% 96% 97%
drinks
If research is primarily online…
19% 21%
drinks
Primarily Online Purchase Primarily Offline Purchase
Q: For the chosen products/services, was the research that you conducted primarily online of offline?
Q: For the chosen products/services, did you purchase it online or in store?
The chart on the left reveals that a
large proportion of those who
research online will then purchase
in stores, while the chart on the
right shows us that those who
prefer to research offline will also
almost exclusively buy offline.
The moment of online purchase
A B R E A K D O W N O F H O W A N D F R O M
W H A T D E V I C E S H O P P E R S I N V I E T N A M
P U R C H A S E O N L I N E
Both laptops and smartphones are used to make online purchases
Computers and smartphones are currently splitting the share of device used to purchase
online. Only 12% of online shoppers use other devices such as a tablet or smart TV.
Q: For the chosen products/services, which devices did you use when making an online purchase?
42% COMPUTER
46% SMARTPHONE
12% OTHERS
n = 1081
35% 33%
61% 59%
purpose
47% 46% 50%
Clothing or
footwear
Beauty
products
Mobile
phone
Home
appliances
The device used for online purchases varies between category Although a mobile device remains the primary means of booking short distance travel online
in Vietnam, the personal computer or laptop remains favored for hotels and long distance
travel. Other categories enjoy an equal split between the two.
Q: For the chosen products/services, which devices did you use when making an online purchase?
Primarily mobile
Purchase occurred on computer
Facebook browser E-commerce website
Purchase occurred on mobile
Facebook app E-commerce apps
Q: For the chosen products/services, on which platform did you buy them?
Whenever a mobile device is
used to shop online in Vietnam,
Facebook is the most popular
gateway for purchase, especially
when shoppers are buying
clothes and beauty products.
computer, eCommerce
n = 1081
on a mobile device
to find them shopping online than males
• Purchase of clothes, beauty products and electronics
device is likely to be online if the pre-shopping
research is online
• Facebook app emerged as a popular stop for clothes
and beauty products shopping
• If my target consumers are Females, should I tap into
eCommerce?
• How can I catch my target consumers at the research
stage to retain top of mind?
• Is there any potential for F&B business to move
online?
marketplace?
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