Nguyen Van Phuong, in charge of the committee carrying out the 22nd annual Vietnamese High Quality Goods Survey, said the association’s survey this year found that the ratio of people shopping online increased three-fold from the same time last year.

These shoppers are mainly in big cities and aged 16-25, he said.

High-tech electronics; toys - sports equipment; cosmetics; blankets, drapes, pillows, curtains; beauty care equipment; and stationery and fashion items are the most popular products bought online, he said.

According to many experts, online shopping will continue to expand in Vietnam to gradually replace buying at brick-and-mortar stores.

Efforts to facilitate online shopping, improve online transaction security and customer service and reduce delivery costs are helping boost online shopping.

Besides, online sources of information have increasingly become important for consumers when choosing a product, especially in urban areas, Phuong said.

If two years ago relatives and friends were the most preferred source of information for consumers, now sellers had become the number one source, he said.

“Sellers act as a bridge transmitting businesses’ images to consumers. Therefore, promoting products directly to consumers plays an important role in businesses’ development strategy.”

The survey this year also found other market information that businesses and management agencies will find critical.

For instance, while Vietnamese goods still dominate the market, the ratio of people who “like” and “use” them has reduced by 27 and 32 percentage points from last year to 51 percent and 60 percent.

This indicates Vietnamese producers fail to meet consumers’ expectations, offering an opportunity for imports, he said.

The survey also found that consumers lay great stress on hygiene and food safety, with 62 percent of the respondents concerned about the use of banned substances in production and preservation, he said.

The survey directly interviewed 13,000 households and 3,000 people at points of sales in 12 provinces and cities, receiving 17,300 responses.

Through the survey, consumers voted 834 businesses as producers of Vietnamese High-Quality Products.

The nominees were then screened by authorised agencies and relevant industries and checked for transparency of information before 640 were chosen for the prestigious “Vietnamese High-Quality Goods Award” given away by the HCM City-based association.

The awards ceremony will be held at the White Palace Convention Centre in Phu Nhuan district on February 7. This is the 22nd year it is giving away the awards.

Vu Kim Hanh, chairwoman of the association, said the association would run two programmes to help Vietnamese businesses promote their products in the domestic and international markets.

The two, to be run simultaneously, will help train their staff and create linkages to promote trade.

It will enhance trade promotion through participation in a trade fair in the US and organic agricultural fairs in France and Japan, among others.-VNA