Market intelligence company Business Monitor International projects that Vietnam consumer electronics spending will grow by about 18 per cent in 2013 to US$6.2 billion.
The country’s vast, under-penetrated rural market offers the most growth potential, with Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City accounting for most sales.
In 2012, Vietnamese retail demand for consumer electronics products grew robustly, despite pressure on consumer incomes from rising inflation. Growth areas include smartphones, where a surge in demand has been fuelled by lower prices, and flatscreen TV sets, which now comprise more than two-thirds of TV set sales.
The growth in smartphone sales has been fuelled by the popularity of Android-based models, which accounted for more than 70 per cent of smartphone sales in the first half of 2012.
“Although the operating system landscape is becoming increasingly competitive, we expect Android to retain its top position over our forecast period,” said BMI.
In 2012, smartphone sales grew by around 40 per cent and accounted for about one-third of the market.
Meanwhile, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are understood to account for around 85 per cent of notebook sales. The spread of fixed and mobile broadband services will spur purchases of mobile PCs as connectivity devices. As elsewhere, telecoms operators such as Viettel are emerging as significant distribution channels for notebooks as vendors seek tie-ups.
