The common characteristic of the apps is that they develop from basic services, either e-hailing, messaging or social network. Later, they were integrated with new services to create all-in-one apps.

E-hailing

Grab, Go-Viet and be all were originated as e-hailing services. However, Grab has been the most successful player as it pioneers in the field and it has huge long term capital.

The e-hailing platform of Grab has become the No 1 choice for Vietnamese with the number of trips provided in 2019 increasing by 29 percent.

The common characteristic of the apps is that they develop from basic services, either e-hailing, messaging or social network. Later, they were integrated with new services to create all-in-one apps.

ABI Research reported that in the first six months of 2019, Grab led the Vietnamese market with 73 percent of market share, followed by ‘be’ with 16 percent and Go-Viet 10 percent.

‘Now’ once provided motorbike ride hailing service – NowMotor – in late 2018 in HCM City and Hanoi, but left the market just six months later. Zalo also launched Zalo Taxi, but it no longer exists.

Food delivery

Established as a food delivery app, Now had stayed firmly in the No 1 position for a long time until newcomers appearing. The appearance of GrabFood, Go-Food and Baemin, a player from South Korea, has threatened Now’s position.

According to Kantar, GrabFood is the most popularly used food delivery app in Vietnam. It is also the only app which applies the ‘central kitchen’ model with the name GrabKitchen.

Delivery service

Among available instant delivery services, GrabExpress has the highest growth rate, 97 percent.

Go-Send still cannot ‘squeeze’ into delivery service divisions of e-commerce websites. beExpress cooperates with Lazada. Meanwhile, GrabExpress not only cooperates wth Shopee and Sendo, but also with VinMart, the retail chain with the largest coverage at this moment.

E-payment

Of the platforms which have the ambitions to become super-apps, be and Go-Viet still don’t have e-wallets of their own. Grab has Moca, Now has AirPay and Zalo has Zalo Pay.

Moca has obtained the most impressive growth rate as it spent big money on sale promotion programs last year. A report showed that the total value of transactions via Moca on Grab increased by 131 percent and 43 percent of transactions on Grab were under the mode of non-cash payment.

Other services

Besides these services, platforms also provide other services to retain users. Grab has joined forces with Agoda and Booking. Com to provide hotel booking services. Now books tables at restaurants or at beauty salons.

Mai Lan 

CEO of ride-hailing service Be resigns

Tran Thanh Hai, CEO of the ride-hailing service Be, has stepped down after two years at the head of the service, which he joined in the beginning days.

Rise of ride-hailing firms against traditional taxis is inevitable in Vietnam: PM

Such trend would help better meet transportation needs at more affordable prices, ensuring convenience, safety and improving service quality of both taxis and electronic-contract based vehicles, stated Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.