Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - E-commerce platforms are trying to emulate thefamous Black Friday sale in the US with a massive advertising campaignannouncing attractive discounts.

In the US, Black Friday falls on the fourth Friday of November, followingThanksgiving Day.

In Vietnam, many online shopping websites have been preparing for their BlackFriday since the beginning of the month with a series of promotions.

Lazada, the online shopping giant operating in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand,the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam, is also one of the largest e-commercesites in the Vietnamese online market.

It is calling its year-end discount programme “The Raining Sale”. In just threedays, Lazada announced that it had sold over 1.43 million products, three-foldlast year’s figures.

The company also plans a special four-day promotion campaign for its BlackFriday sale, lasting from November 24 to 27, reported news websiteenternews.vn.

The Black Friday concept has gone beyond e-commerce sites to includetraditional shopping channels, but it is the former that has been moreaggressive in reaching out to customers.

Other well-known local e-commerce sites like Tiki.vn, Adayroi.com, Shopee.vnand Sendo.vn have also been offering many attractive promotions for manyproducts including household items and clothing, though the most anticipatedsales are from apparels.

More convenient

The success of e-commerce has a lot to do with changes in the purchasing habitsof consumers.

Hoang Chi Mai of Hanoi told Viet Nam News that she preferred shopping online.“I can easily compare prices of the same products offered by various onlinewebsites within shortest possible time, and not waste time wandering intodifferent stores.”

Besides increasing the number and improvingthe quality of merchants and products, many online shopping platforms have alsotried to reduce delivery times, which is a key factor in enticing clients.Furthermore, some sites allow customers to reject goods on receipt, if they arenot satisfied. These factors are helping e-commerce platforms outdo traditionalshopping channels.

Le Duc Anh of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s E-commerce and DigitalEconomy Department told news website enternews.vn that in 2013, the number ofe-commerce companies’ registered accounts was just 1,923. By 2016 it was 10times higher.

“As the number of enterprises involved in e-commerce increases, the e-commercemarket will see increasingly fierce competition,” Duc Anh said.

According to market research firm Nielsen, Vietnam’s e-commerce revenuesreached 4 billion USD in 2016. At the current growth rate, it is set to hit 10billion USD in 2020, accounting for 50 percent of the total retail sales in Vietnam.

With 45 percent of the population now accessing the Internet, the e-commerceindustry is looking at a highly promising future.

Stiff competition

But, as noted earlier, the e-commerce battle is heating up, with foreigncompanies tipping the scales back in their favour.

In addition to lowering product prices, Lazada has announced four new centresto process orders from clients, minimising the congestion seen in previousyears.

Despite being a heavyweight contestant, Lazada has said that it remains on itstoes, with many new rivals coming on the scene, like Shopee Vietnam, which hasbeen growing very fast over the last two years with a lot of supportivepolicies for sellers and buyers.

"We will continue to provide customers and sellers with better supportingpolicies in the future," Tran Tuan Anh, Operations and Chief FinancialDirector of Shopee Vietnam, told enternews.vn.

Lazada and Shopee have also forced local companies to fight harder to retainand expand their market share.

Tiki.vn plans to offer 3,000 incentives for orders placed during the year-endperiod, including 50 percent discounts, free delivery for bills over 111,000 VNDand delivery within 2 hours for orders of over 599,000 VND.-VNA