E-commerce in Vietnam

E-commerce

Internet access

Internet penetration has been continually growing in Vietnam. As of December 2017, Vietnam had a population of 96.49 million people, out of which there were 64 million internet users, placing the penetration rate at 66.3%. According to Vietnam Net, 67% of the population had access to the internet on their smartphones as of January 2018; and 52% of the population also had access to social media through their smartphones. Mobile broadband has played a significant role in increasing access to faster internet service, and fixed broadband remains a relatively small segment. Mobile phones are the most common device used to access the internet, as 85% of users aged between 15 and 49 go online via smartphones. As of January 2018, 72% of the adult population in Vietnam owned a smartphone, while 43% owned a computer and 13% had tablets. According to FreedomHouse, Vietnam's internet is considered "Not Free", given that the government may occasionally restrict access to the internet for political or security reasons, and social media and communications apps are periodically blocked. As of July 2018, the most popular browser in the country by market share was Chrome (78.3%), followed by Firefox (8.33%), Opera (3.6%), Safari (3.24%), Android (2.82%) and Microsoft Edge (1.15%). As for search engines, Google (92.58%) dominated the market, followed by CocCoc (4.73%), Bing (1.1%) and Yahoo (1.02%).

E-commerce market

E-commerce revenue in Vietnam amounted to US$ 2.73 billion in 2018 and is expected to reach US$ 4.54 billion by 2022, at an estimated annual growth rate of 13.5% (Statista). There are currently 35.4 million e-commerce users in Vietnam, a number that is expected to reach 42 million by 2021, which will represent 58% of the total population. E-commerce is expected to continue to grow mainly thanks to the growth of smartphone usage. As of January 2018, the most popular categories for consumers were: technology and electronic equipment (US$840.7 million), followed by travel (US$541.1 million), furniture & appliances (US$367.9 million), toys & hobbies (US$86.3 million), and fashion and beauty (US$358.3 million). E-commerce in Vietnam has made great progress in recent years. Internet retailers entered the Vietnamese market in the last five years, and global players have done so only recently (between 2016 and 2017), which presents an opportunity for stores to diversify their sales channels. Even though the market is growing, it still faces some challenges. Some issues include customers’ low trust in online shopping, few online payment platforms, quality of delivery and services, and unclear customs mechanisms and policies. Logistics also remains an obstacle for the sector, especially for customers in rural areas. The most popular payment method in Vietnam is cash on delivery, which accounts for 91% of purchases made online. Alternative payment methods include bank transfers, payment cards, e-wallets or scratch cards. Mobile World was the leading internet retailer in 2017 due to specialising in electronics and appliances distribution. Retail marketing in Vietnam is fragmented, leading marketplaces such as Lazada and Robins to become popular among small businesses looking to sell online. Some of the most popular e-commerce websites in Vietnam include shopee.vn, sendo.vn, chotot.com, lazada.vn and dienmay.com.