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