A survey conducted for Visa showed that e-commerce is booming in Vietnam.
Visa, through TNS, surveyed 8000 respondents from eight countries around the world including Vietnam about their online payment attitudes and behavior. Respondents were internet users who are accessing internet at least once a week aged 18-55, selected after taking into consideration age, gender and annual household income.
It found purchasing by the sample group had doubled year on year.
The research, Visa APCEMEA E-commerce Consumer Monitor Research 2012, revealed that internet usage in Vietnam rose 67 per cent, which is nearly on par with the global’s internet usage growth rate of 68 per cent. The increasing internet user-base in this country has provided opportunity for e-commerce to gain share in the retail market, says the report.
The study further showed that 98 per cent of Vietnamese respondents browsed products and services online in the past 12 months and 71 per cent said they have made an online purchase during the period. This figure is expected to continue to grow with 90 per cent of the respondents indicating that they are likely to shop online in the future.
“With this trend sustaining momentum in the next year, there is an opportunity for merchants to enhance the online shopping experience for customers to drive online purchases,” said Paul Jung, Visa’s head of e-commerce solution for APCEMEA.
Health and wellness sector has seen fast increase in the number of online payments at 11 per cent from four per cent last year. Other popular categories include fashion, baby products and electronics.
The rise in consumer perception of online security is seen to have encouraged more online purchases. About 70 per cent said the availability of more online payment security features such as Verified by Visa and security around personal and financial information upheld by financial institutions and online merchants persuaded them to purchase online.
The ability to access the internet via multiple electronic devices has also contributed to the rise in online purchases. The survey revealed that 39 per cent browsed products and services online through their mobile devices. Bill payment and online gaming and digital content were the most popular categories browsed using mobile devices at 14 per cent and 13 per cent respectively.
“The growing prevalence of smartphone and tablet use translate to greater online access for a consumer to retailers and as a result we expect to see more people shopping on-the-go and more often.”
GB
