A survey by Nielsen Vietnam and Infocus Mekong Mobile Panel found that 25 percent of polled people said they had increased online purchases and decreased offline shopping activities.

“Previously, I went to the traditional market near my house to buy essential things. But I have shifted to buy goods online to avoid contact with many people,” said Le Anh Tuan, a teacher.

Meanwhile, Thu Hoai, an office worker, said she orders everything online, from food to clothes and cosmetics.

VinID reported that people now not only order dried or processed food, but also fresh food for daily meals. Meat, vegetables and fruits are the items most ordered in recent days on the app.

Offline shops have become deserted as people are staying at home to prevent the spread of coronavirus. As a result, online shopping activities have become busier.

People now go online, not only because this is convenient, but also because the app is offering incentives in payment.

“The number of people shopping online with VinID has increased by three times,” said Mai Lan Van, marketing director of VInID on VTV.

“The number of Scan&Go orders at times gas increased by 15 times,” she said.

Tran Vu Khanh Duy, the owner of Hesa Shop which provides clean food, said 70 percent of his clients order food online. Duy understands that people don’t want to contact others, and he encourages online payment through bank cards.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) reported that while revenue at traditional markets in Hanoi has decreased by 50-80 percent, revenue from online shopping through e-commerce channels of some enterprises has increased by 20-30 percent since the beginning of the epidemic.

In contrast to the excitement about VinID, Tran Tuan Anh, managing director of Shopee Vietnam said on VnExpress that he could not see any direct relation between the epidemic outbreak and increase in online shopping.

The newspaper cited a report of SimilarWeb as showing that the number of visits to the four biggest e-commerce marketplaces (Shopee, Tiki, Lazada and Sendo) in the first two months of the year decreased by 14 percent compared with the same period last year.

According to Nguyen Ngoc Dung, deputy chair of the Vietnam E-commerce Association (Vecom), consumers are paying more attention to online shopping in the epidemic. However, this is for only essential goods. In general, the purchasing power is on the decrease because consumers are tightenibg their purse strings.

The demand for face masks and hand sanitizer has soared. VnExpress reported that the demand for face masks has increased by 600 times.

Le Ha 

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