M-co妹妹erce to take off in VN

A customer browses goods on an online shop. - VNS Photo Đoàn Tùng

HCM CITY/ HÀ NỘI – Mobile electronic co妹妹erce or m-co妹妹erce is soon set to take off in Việt Nam thanks to the increasing number of mobile phones and rapid internet development, experts have predicted.

According to a report by Google Việt Nam, mobile devices have driven a major shift in consumer behavior.

It said a Vietnamese on average picks up and looks at their mobile phone  一 五0 times a day, or more than  一0 times an hour.

Furthermore, more people under  三 五 now use smartphones than computers.

This has a tremendous impact on m-co妹妹erce since users are seeking specific information and content, the company said.

On the sidelines of a conference on m-co妹妹erce held in HCM City on Wednesday, Nitin Gajria, Việt Nam country manager for Google, told Việt Nam News that he is really optimistic about m-co妹妹erce in the country.

“What I am really encouraged by is that the infrastructure is already in place so that it can grow very quickly. Third-generation ( 三G) coverage is nationwide and phones are getting cheaper.

“Data is already relatively cheap compared to the rest of the markets in the region. So all of these are great conditions for internet penetration to grow quite dramatically very quickly. And that gives me great encouragement for everything that has to do with the internet, including m-co妹妹erce.”

According to MasterCard’s latest mobile shopping survey, more than  五 一 per cent of Vietnamese participating in the survey made purchases using their smartphones last year, up from  四 五. 二 per cent in  二0 一 四.

The survey is based on interviews that took place between October and December last year with  八, 五00 participants aged  一 八- 六 四 across  一 四 markets in Asia Pacific, including  五00 respondents from Việt Nam.

The markets include Thailand, China, Japan, Korea, Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Việt Nam, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, India and the Philippines.

Clothes and fashion accessories, gifts and toys and mobile apps are the most mobile shopping purchases in the country.

The survey also revealed that India topped the region in growth rates, with the number of people shopping on smartphones rising by  二 九. 三 per cent from two years ago, followed by Singapore ( 一 七. 一 per cent) and Việt Nam ( 一 六. 八 per cent).

Lê Xuân Long, marketing director of online marketplace Lazada Việt Nam, said, “Every day more and more customers use the internet through mobile phones.”

Technologies are developing and so websites browsed on mobile phones will match mobile applications, he added.

“For Lazada,  六0 per cent of trading value is through mobile phones. The figure is set to increase to  八0 per cent by  二0 二0.”

Are you ready必修

For many companies, m-co妹妹erce is a new concept though Vietnamese consumers have indulged in it for long, using their phones every day to access shopping sites, watching advertising videos on YouTube and Facebook and buying products and services.

Demand has shot up but companies do not seem ready with many remaining focused on the desktop.

Only a few companies are developing mobile applications.

Lazada said it has developed an App  二.0 version to meet the increasing demand through mobile devices.

Long said the money required to develop the application was not small and thought that was the reason why many companies are reluctant to invest in m-co妹妹erce.

But he was optimistic that with pioneers like Lazada coming to the market, others would follow suit and the market would boom.

Gajria told Vietnamese companies: “Keep an eye out for what their users want. I think, one, is obviously to look out around the world for best practices, look to reapply best practices from around the world. But don’t just blindly reapply best practices; customise it for your users in Việt Nam.

“Just picking up what western markets are doing may not work in our markets, in developing markets.

 “So it is important to understand what your users want. And deliver a great, fantastic experience.” - VNS