HCM City (VNA) - Online shopping has increased significantly in Vietnam, especially byyoung consumers, according to the High Quality Vietnamese Product BusinessAssociation.

Nguyen VanPhuong, in charge of the committee carrying out the 22nd annual VietnameseHigh Quality Goods Survey, said the association’s survey thisyear found that the ratio of people shopping online increased three-foldfrom the same time last year.

Theseshoppers are mainly in big cities and aged 16-25, he said.

High-techelectronics; toys - sports equipment; cosmetics; blankets, drapes, pillows,curtains; beauty care equipment; and stationery and fashion items are the mostpopular products bought online, he said.

Accordingto many experts, online shopping will continue to expand in Vietnam togradually replace buying at brick-and-mortar stores.

Effortsto facilitate online shopping, improve online transaction security and customerservice and reduce delivery costs are helping boost online shopping.

Besides,online sources of information have increasingly become important for consumerswhen choosing a product, especially in urban areas, Phuong said.

If twoyears ago relatives and friends were the most preferred source of informationfor consumers, now sellers had become the number one source, he said.

“Sellersact as a bridge transmitting businesses’ images to consumers. Therefore,promoting products directly to consumers plays an important role in businesses’development strategy.”

Thesurvey this year also found other market information that businesses andmanagement agencies will find critical.

Forinstance, while Vietnamese goods still dominate the market, the ratio of peoplewho “like” and “use” them has reduced by 27 and 32 percentage points from lastyear to 51 percent and 60 percent.

Thisindicates Vietnamese producers fail to meet consumers’ expectations, offeringan opportunity for imports, he said.

Thesurvey also found that consumers lay great stress on hygiene and food safety,with 62 percent of the respondents concerned about the use of banned substancesin production and preservation, he said.

Thesurvey directly interviewed 13,000 households and 3,000 people at points ofsales in 12 provinces and cities, receiving 17,300 responses.

Throughthe survey, consumers voted 834 businesses as producers of VietnameseHigh-Quality Products.

Thenominees were then screened by authorised agencies and relevant industries andchecked for transparency of information before 640 were chosen for the prestigious“Vietnamese High-Quality Goods Award” given away by the HCM City-basedassociation.

Theawards ceremony will be held at the White Palace Convention Centre in Phu Nhuandistrict on February 7. This is the 22nd year it is giving awaythe awards.

Vu Kim Hanh,chairwoman of the association, said the association would run two programmes tohelp Vietnamese businesses promote their products in the domestic andinternational markets.

The two,to be run simultaneously, will help train their staff and create linkages topromote trade.

It willenhance trade promotion through participation in a trade fair in the US andorganic agricultural fairs in France and Japan, among others.-VNA