A forum on “Vietnam’s consumer trend in 2017” was held in Hanoi on May 25 to discuss changes in consumption habits and how to promote the sustainable development of consumer goods in Vietnam.
Customers at Co.op mart Foodcosa Quang Trung in HCM City's Go Vap District (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) - A forum on “Vietnam’s consumer trend in 2017” was held inHanoi on May 25 to discuss changes in consumption habits and how to promote thesustainable development of consumer goods in Vietnam.
As the nation with the third largest population in Southeast Asia, about 70 percentof whom are at working age, Vietnam has potential for consumer goods withsignificantly rising purchasing power.
The forum was an opportunity for businesses in consumer goods, managers,economic researchers to exchange information. Participants also evaluatedopportunities for Vietnamese consumer markets and discussed promotingconsumption and market development, said Nguyen Van Nam, Director of theInstitute for Brand and Competitiveness Strategy (BCSI).
The event covered various themes such as changes in consumer trends in Vietnam,internet shopping, brand positioning, consumers’ confidence in local goods andquality and cost of clean products.
Chaitanya Kishore Reddy, research director of P&S – Mekong at the TNSGlobal market research company, said that consumption was changing in Vietnam dueto improving living standards and lifestyle changes.
Consumers want changes in packaging, as they want to see eye-catching productswhen they shop, he said.
Consumers tend to prefer foreign brands to domestic ones, which has harmedlocal firms. Some 64 percent of rice sold in Vietnam has a foreign name insteadof a Vietnamese language name tag, with some Vietnamese firms using foreignlanguages to boost sales, reported Tran Nhat Tan, deputy head of Vibiz’sresearch department.
Consumers also tend to focus on safe food and beverages which are good forhealth and “green” products that protect the environment.
The seminar also discussed the effects of the fourth industrial revolution onconsumption. By applying digital technology into consumption habits, people cansave time by shopping online.
Global market research firms predicted that in 2017-25, the number of onlineconsumers in Vietnam would surge, with a diverse range of buyers and sellers.
Therefore, enterprises should engage in high technology to introduce productsto many online consumers in the era of technology development.
The event was organised by BCSI in accordance with the Vietnam EconomicTimes (Thoi bao Kinh te Viet Nam) newspaper.-VNA
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Customers at Co.op mart Foodcosa Quang Trung in HCM City's Go Vap District (Photo: VNA) 
