Vietnamese Internet
Users Online Buying
And Selling Behavior
Results of an online-survey
among 2,495 internet users aged
18 - 54
1
Fieldwork: 20 July – 13 August , 2012
Conditions of Use and Copyright
Readers are welcome to use the data contained in this report for their own
purposes provided they acknowledge the source and both Acorn and Epinion
as the authors.
• Purpose: To understand Vietnamese internet users online buying
and selling behaviour
• Roles in the Joint Study:
– Acorn – study & questionnaire design, charting, analysis and reporting
– Epinion- programming, selection of respondents & online administration
• Respondent selection criteria:
– Existing members of Epinion’s online panel
– Aged 18 to 54
– Quotas placed on age to be representative of Vietnam’s internet
using population
– Nationwide coverage
• Methodology: Online survey via emailed invitation -July/Aug ‘12
• Length of interview: maximum 20 minutes
• Sample size: n=2,495
• Data Analysis: Data post-weighted to reflect actual internet usage
age ranges in Vietnam
Research Purpose and Methodology
OVERVIEW OF SAMPLED
RESPONDENTS
2%
11%
24%
63%
Education
Secondary school and under
High school
University - without degree
University - with degree
Sample Profile (Online Respondents)
38% 36%
26%
18-24 yo 25-34 yo 35-54 yo
Age
10%
16%
33%
29%
13%
F-D
C
B
A
A+
Income /SES
Base: All respondents, n=2,495
53% 47%
Gender
Male
Female
2%
20%
34%
43%
Less than 1 hour
1- 2 hours
3-5 hours
More than 5 hours
How many hours per day do
they spend online?
Online Users Internet Usage
6%
28%
30%
21%
15%
How long have they been using
the Internet?
Less than 3 years
4 to 6 years
7 to 9 years
10 to 12 years
Over 12 years
Average internet
usage 8.5 years Average internet use
5 hours per day
Ref: How many years have you been accessing the internet? / How many hours do spend online each day? Base: All respondents, n=2,495
ONLINE SHOPPING BEHAVIOR
Online Window Shopping & Buying
1%
2%
3%
22%
72%
Less often
Once/3 months or more
Once/month or more
Once/week or more
Everyday
14%
21%
20%
14%
20%
Less than 2 times
3-5 times
6-10 times
11-25 times
More than 25 times
Visit frequency Purchase frequency
Ref: How often do you visit online shopping sites and/or buy and sell sites/auction sites? / How many times have you bought something online? Base: All respondents, n=2,495
99.7% 88%
0.3% 12%
Ever Visited Online Shopping Sites Ever Bought Anything Online
No
Yes
Online Users Buyer Segments
33% 26%
37% 41%
41%
45%
40% 36%
14% 17% 12% 11%
4% 5% 3% 4%
8% 7% 8% 8%
TOTAL 18-24 yo 25-34 yo 35-54 yo
Never bought & don't
intend to
Never bought but might
in future
Ever bought, just 1-2
times
Moderate buyer (3-10)
Heavy buyer (>10)
Ref: How many times have you bought something online? / How likely are you to consider buying something online? Base: All respondents, n=2,495
Online Users Devices Owned & Used to Access Shopping Sites
76%
64%
47%
37%
16%
63%
45%
12%
22%
8%
Laptop PC at home Feature phone with 3G/GPRS
Smart phone Tablet
Device owned
Device used to access shopping sites
Ref: Which of the listed items you personally own / Which device do you use to access online shopping sites/buy and sell/auction sites? Base: All respondents, n=2,495
Types of Online Shopping Websites
Eg
- Thegioididong.com
- Fptshop.com
Proprietary online stores owned by one
company – normally bigger companies –
often sell electronics. Promoting online
payment but can also be COD.
Example sites:
- Muachung.com
- Cungmua.com
- Nhommua.com
Site owner bulk buys goods and services
from suppliers and resells them to
consumers as redeemable coupons at
discounted rates. Payment usually COD
Examples
- Vatgia.com
- Aha.vn
Similar to classified ad sites but for more
serious small businesses to make mass
sales. Payment may be via site or direct
to poster. Good delivered by poster.
Classified Ads Sites Coupon sites
Online retail sites Commercial sites
Examples
- 5giay.vn
- Rongbay.com
- Muare.vn
- 123mua.vn
Individuals /small companies post new/used
items for sale online paying site owner to post
ad. Payment and delivery settled directly
between poster and buyer.
Vietnam’s Online
Shopping Website Types
Examples of Key Websites by Shopping Site Type
Coupon sites Classified Ads
sites
Commercial
sites
Online retail
sites
51deal.vn 123mua.com aha.vn fptshop.com.vn
cucre.vn 5giay.vn vatgia.com thegioididong.com
cungmua.com chodientu.vn
cungmuasam.net ebay.vn
hotdeal.vn enbac.com
khuyenmaivang.com muaban.net
muachung.vn muaban24h.com.vn
nhommua.com muare.vn
vndoan.com raovat.vn
rongbay.com
Online Users Type Of Shopping Websites Visited Most Often
80% 77%
46%
29%
82%
75%
43%
25%
75% 75%
52%
29%
79%
76%
46%
28%
Coupon site Classified Commercial site Online retailer site
18-24 yo
25-34 yo
35-54 yo
Total
EXAMPLES >>
Ref: Which of the following sites have you visited in the past month please tick all those you have visited? Base: All respondents, n=2,495
Muachung.com
Hotdeal.vn
5giay.vn
Rongbay.com
Thegioididong.com
Fptshop.com
Vatgia.com
Aha.vn
Online Shopping Most Popular Shopping Website Types & Conversion Rates
79% 76%
46%
28%
65%
29%
13% 11%
Coupon site Classified Commercial site Online retailer site
Visited
Purchased
Ref: Which are the following shopping/buy & sell/auction sites you visit the most often? / Which of these sites did you make your last three purchases from? Base: All respondents, n=2,495
Conversion
rates (%) 82% 38% 28% 39%
Online Shopping Item Categories Bought Online
61%
42% 37%
32% 31% 26% 24% 24% 24% 23% 22% 21%
16% 16% 14% 12%
3
3
5
2
3 3
2 2 2 2 2
3
1
2 2 2
-10%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
0
1
2
3
4
5
6 Bought
Median # times
Ref: What categories of products have you ever bought online / Please indicate the number of times you have bought items in each category online . Base: Online Buyers, n=2,197
# of items
24%
32% 31%
37%
12% 16%
61%
16%
24%
42%
14%
24% 26%
21% 23% 22%
32% 29%
24% 23% 20%
18% 16% 15%
12% 10% 10% 9% 8%
5% 4% 4%
Bought
Not Appropriate to be sold
Online Shopping Categories Less Suited to be Sold Online
Ref: What categories of products have you ever bought online / Which products categories are NOT APPROPRIATE to be sold online in your opinion? Base: Online Buyers, n=2,197
Online Shopping Method of Order Placement for Online Purchases
96%
71%
Telephone vs Direct Online Order Placement
Has placed order directly online
Has placed order via telephone
69%
31%
Share of total orders
Ordered directly online
Placed order via phone (after search)
Ref: How many of the purchases you have ever made online were: a) directly ordered online and b) ordered via a telephone hotline (for direct delivery) after an online search? Base: Online Buyers, n=2,197
Online Shopping Average Spend for Last Purchase & Payment Mode
77%
2%
4%
3%
10%
4%
Cash on delivery
Debit card online
Credit card online
Third party online
Online bank transfer
Check/cash sent first
367,000 VND Mean spend (last purchase)
750,000
750,000
400,000
750,000 400,000
400,000
Ref: How much did you spend on your last online purchase? When buying something online, how do you pay most often? - MEDIAN Base: Online Buyers, n=2,197
Online Shopping Satisfaction Compared to Face-to-Face Shopping
9%
3%
29% 37%
22%
Better than face to face instore shopping
About the same as face to face instore shopping
Worse than face to face instore shopping
Somewhat
Much
Ref: How satisfied are you with the experience of shopping online compared with normal. Base: Online Buyers, n=2,197
Online Shopping Future Intention to Keep Buying Online
67% 64%
7% 7%
Intention to buy online again Recommendation to others
Negative
Positive
Ref: How likely are you to shop online again? / Would you recommend shopping online to your friends and relatives? Base: Online Buyers, n=2,197
88% 12%
Ever bought
3%
6%
12%
14%
25%
30%
32%
40%
Delivery - I fear the goods will not be delivered after paid
Delivery - Slow delivery, it's quicker to buy it myself
Payment - I had no way to make payment
Fear- Afraid my payment details will be hacked
Availability - didn't have the type I wanted
Quality/appropriateness - not sure it was fit for purpose
Prefer to see and touch
Price -more expensive than in the shops
Online Window Shoppers Barriers to Buying Online for Non-Shoppers
75% 25%
Ever wanted to buy
something but didn’t
Yes
No
Reason for Not Buying the Item Seen Online & Desired (that could afford)
99.7% 0.3%
Ever visited online
Shopping sites
Ref: Did you ever see anything at online shopping sites/auction/buy & sell sites that you wanted to buy and had enough money to afford? / Why did you not buy the item(s) - what were the reasons? Base: All respondents, n=2,495
12% n=291
9% n=218
99.7% n=2,487
100% n=2,495
Non-Shoppers Likelihood to Buy Online in the Future
14%
20%
43%
16%
8%
Very likely
Somewhat likely
Might of might not
Somewhat unlikely
Very unlikely
Ref: How likely are you to consider buying something online in the future? Base: Internet users who window shop but have never bought anything online & who never visit online shopping sites, n=298
40%
40%
41%
43%
46%
50%
54%
60%
63%
65%
66%
76%
34%
38%
32%
31%
32%
31%
32%
19%
17%
16%
11%
4%
You can be reasonably sure that goods will be delivered after bought online
In the future, all Vietnamese with internet access will buy things online
The internet is a great source for finding out about new products
The internet is a good place for finding out about products & window …
I do not ever see myself buying anything over the internet
There are safe ways to pay for things over the internet
Just about any service or product can be sold over the internet
You can get the same quality at a cheaper price on the internet
I would buy things online if there was a safe payment & delivery system
I generally trust people & companies selling things online
Buying things online saves time over buying things face to face
Making payments for goods bought from the internet is dangerous
Agree Disagree
Non-Shoppers Attitudes to Shopping Online
Ref: How much do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements? Base: Internet users who window shop but have never bought anything online & who never visit online shopping sites, n=298
Negative statement
ONLINE SELLING BEHAVIOR
37
28
16
11 11
6 5 5
4 3 3 3
2 2
33
17
14
6 6 4 4
5
2 2 2 2 1 1
Product Types Sold (%)
Sold
Only Second hand items 34%
66%
Ever Sold Online
Yes
No
Online Selling Behavior Incidence and Top Categories Sold
Ref: Have you ever SOLD anything over the internet, either via an auction site or your own website? / What kind of products have you sold online? Base: All respondents, n=2,495; Online sellers, n=849
34% n=849
Online Selling Behavior
Type of Goods Sold
NEW
33%
2nd HAND
37%
BOTH
30%
Ref: Was the item(s) you sold new or second-hand/used? Base: Online sellers, n=849
Online Buying and Selling Behavior Most Popular Categories Sold
53%
37%
32%
28% 27%
23% 21% 21% 21% 20% 19% 18%
14% 14% 13% 11%
9%
2% 1%
13%
4% 2% 1%
4% 5%
1% 1% 1% 0% 0% 1% 2%
Bought
Sold
Ref: What categories of products have you ever bought online? What kind of products have you sold online? Base: All respondents, n=2,495
Online Selling Behavior Type Of Websites Used by Sellers
79% 76%
46%
28%
65%
29%
13% 11%
21%
8%
Coupon site Classified Commercial site Online retailer site
Visited
Purchased
Sold
Ref: Which are the following shopping/buy & sell/auction sites you visit the most often? / Which of these sites did you make your last three purchases from? Base: All respondents, n=2,495
Online Selling Behavior
34%
66%
Ever Sold Online
Yes No
Top 3 Barriers to Taking Up Internet Selling
17%
21%
22%
26%
40%
42%
42%
46%
Handling tax implications and accounting
Setting the price
Trusting the buyer
Ensuring the delivery of product
Establishing and controlling the payment system
Deciding what to sell
Advertising/promoting the item to the audience
Sourcing the product to sell
17%
61%
Dissatisfied
Satisfied
Satisfaction with result
Future online selling likelihood
18%
57%
Unlikely
Likely
Ref: How satisfied were you with the result of selling online? / How likely are you to try to sell something online in the future? / From this list what would be the top three most barriers that you believe you would face in conducting or setting-up online sales? Base: All respondents, n=2,495; Never sellers n=1,646
100% n=2,495
66%; n=1,646
34%; n=849
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Online Shopping Incidence and Behaviour
• Virtually all (99.7%) internet users have visited a shopping site online and 72% do
so everyday
• Two-thirds of Vietnamese online shoppers access shopping sites online and 45%
do so on a desktop PC – only 22% use their smartphone and just 8% use a tablet
• A staggering 88% have ever bought something online, with 20% claiming more
than 25 purchases to date and a median of 8.75 purchases
• Most have bought things through coupon sites (65%) and classified ad sites (29%),
with 13% buying through commercial sites and 11% through online retailer sites
• Even among the 12% who have never bought anything online, 4% do not rule out
the possibility that they will – nor are never-shoppers more prevalent among the
older age groups, indeed older respondents (35-54 years) appear to contain more
heavy buyers than younger age groups
• Most commonly bought items are fashion (61%), house appliances (42%), food
and beverages (37%), mobile devices (37%) and cosmetics (31%). Least likely to
have been purchased online are phone apps and software (12%).
• Average (median) spend on last item purchased was approx. VND 367,000 (US$
17.6), though 8% said they spent over 5 million VND (US$ 240)
Executive Summary
Online Shopping Incidence and Behaviour
• But given poor access to credit and low bank usage in Vietnam, cash on delivery
dominates e-commerce in Vietnam - three quarters of last purchases were by cash
on delivery to home and only 5% made by credit or debit card
• Vietnamese on-line buyers feel comfortable buying online - with a plurality (38%)
believing that online shopping is better than face-to-face shopping, while just 25%
feel it is worse and two-thirds saying they will buy online again in future
• They also believe most items can be sold online – though electronic devices and
mobile devices are thought to be least appropriate to be bought online, while few
people reject buying travel services and tickets online
Non-buyers
• Among never buyers, around 75% have window-shopped online and wanted to
buy something that they could afford, but did not buy it, with 40% citing the higher
price online than in the shops as the major disincentive, followed by the need to
touch and feel the objects (32%)
• Trust appears to remain a barrier among those who have never bought online.
Three-quarters agree that making payments remains dangerous and less than half
(40%) agree that you can be reasonably sure of delivery if you buy something over
the internet.
Executive Summary
• Over half also appear to enjoy the shopping experience and finding out about new
products the old fashioned way
Online Selling Incidence
• While 88% have ever bought online, just 34% have ever sold anything online –with
the incidence of selling new and used goods being roughly equal
• Nevertheless, interest in selling online is high even among those who have never
done so – with over half (57%) saying they will likely sell something online in
future
• However, potential sellers are put off from selling online primarily by not knowing
where to source merchandise (46%), or what to sell (42%), or how to
advertise/promote the product online (42%) or establishing a payment system
(40%)
• The most common items sold online are mobile devices (13% of all respondents
have sold these online), fashion items (9%) and electronic devices (3%) and these
are mostly sold over classified sites (21%)
Executive Summary
Conclusions
• Persons who join internet panels are self-selected and hence can be expected to
be more active online than the average internet user. But even accounting for this,
this survey indicates that internet commerce is here to stay in Vietnam and can
only be expected to grow.
• Vietnamese netizens feel comfortable online and a surprising number have
bought (88%) and sold (34%) online already.
• However, online commerce in Vietnam has adopted a peculiarly Vietnamese flavor
in accordance with the state of financial development. Three quarters of
transactions are completed using cash on delivery whereby a delivery man rides
the ubiquitous motorcycle to your door to deliver your order. Credit and debit
cards are so rare that only 5% of last transactions were paid in this way.
• Trust in payment systems, and doubts about whether goods will be delivered also
remain as significant barriers to online commerce in the minds of never buyers –
even though two-thirds agree that online purchases save time, and possibly money
over face to face shopping.
• But as confidence in the banking and payments systems improves, these barriers
are also likely to slowly dissolve and internet commerce can only thrive and grow.
Executive Summary
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Contact : Pham Tran Nghia
Email : [email protected]
Tel: +84 905 025 752
Acorn Vietnam
Contact: Bill Pritchard
Email: [email protected]
Tel: +84-8-3823-3007