A report on smart consumer behaviors by NielsenIQ Vietnam (NIQ) and GfK released recently showed that the digital economy is one of the major driving forces of Vietnam with 60.7 percent of consumer shopping online weekly.

The contribution by digital economy to the national GDP is expected to reach 10.4 percent in normal conditions, but the figures could be up to 19.9 percent in good conditions and 26.2 percent in case of breakthroughs.

The report showed that 64 percent of Vietnamese think there is a recession, 55 percent feel worried, and practicing thrift is the choice of many families.

In such conditions, shopping online is a good solution for consumers to cut spending and tighten their purse strings. Online shopping allows consumers to choose shops offering flash sale, control shopping cart costs, and seek preferences. Also, as they don’t have to go directly to shops, they can save travel expenses.   

However, consumers still have worries about the quality of products they buy online. 

Consumers know they can find products with good prices at online stores and tend to compare prices across different e-commerce channels and stores to find best products with lowest prices.

In addition, consumers choose online shopping because e-commerce helps consumers buy anything at anytime and at the prices which are better than offline shopping. Also, consumers can choose different payment methods and convenient delivery services.

Therefore, businesses and retailers need to invest in IT apps and e-commerce. Twenty one percent of businesses said investing in IT infrastructure and e-commerce bring high effects.

According to NielsenIQ Vietnam, one of the top priorities is that businesses need to choose a suitable e-commerce platform to build their websites. In addition to technical factors, scale and budget, GMV (Gross merchandises value) is also an important criterion.

After choosing an e-commerce platform, businesses need to work with suppliers to be sure that they understand online business activities, creating interesting experiences for online stores like at traditional stores.

Ninety-two percent of consumers choose online shopping because of interesting experiences, so DX (digital experience) is one of top priorities in administration when the number of internet users and mobile banking are increasing.

Businesses have also been advised to approach Gen Z; 68 percent of them use social network daily.

Van Anh