Vietnam Online – Understanding Vietnam’s E-commerce Market

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By Edward Barbour-Lacey and Fabio Zaca

HANOI – Vietnam, like much of Asia, has a growing middle class which, in-turn, is spawning a strong consumer culture. Within the country, e-commerce is fast becoming the preferred method of shopping, particularly among the young.

According to Vietnam’s E-commerce and Information Technology Agency (VECITA), by 2015, e-commerce sales will amount to more than US$15 billion. Current sales are estimated to be around US$2.2 billion, with an average spending of US$120 per capita. The strong growth that has been predicted is primarily due to the fast increasing number of internet users.

In 2013, Vietnam’s online population reached a total of 32.6 million users; this represents 35.6 percent of the total population. The majority of these current users tend to be quite young, with 73 percent under 35 years old. Of current online shoppers, 59 percent are women and 41 percent are men. According to recent surveys, 92 percent of internet users go online every day.

Most importantly, in terms of e-commerce, 61 percent of the country’s internet users have bought at least one item online.

VECITA believes that by 2015, 40-50 percent of the country’s population will be online and will spend around US$150 per capita on e-commerce purchases.

Continue reading this article on Vietnam Briefing.