Vietnamese consumers are also becoming more discerning and value conscious (Photo: VNA) Vietnamese consumers’ overall optimism remained one of the highest amongcountries globally, according to global management consulting firm McKinsey.
McKinsey wrote in a recent article on its website that Vietnamese consumerswere optimistic that the country’s economy would rebound within two to threemonths and grow just as or even more strongly than before the COVID-19pandemic.
There was also a clear intent by consumers to “splurge” and treat themselves,with more than 70% of respondents saying they intend to increase spending oncategories of products or services they spent less on over the past year and ahalf.
It was estimated that more than half of the Vietnamese population would enterthe global middle class by 2035, creating more disposable income and fuellingconsumption.
However, Vietnamese consumers were also becoming more discerning andvalue-conscious.
McKinsey analysis showed that Vietnam’s prospects remained strong for theupcoming decade since GDP growth was on the rise again – with year-on-yeargrowth of 2 to 7% expected between 2023 and 2030.
However, the country was facing headwinds at the start of 2023 which werelikely to impact the ability of its population to spend.
“More Vietnamese consumers anticipate a reduction in income and savings thanconsumers in other Asia - Pacific countries, with more than 90% noting priceincreases, fears of inflation, gas shortages coupled with higher fuel prices,and rising interest rates. These mounting financial pressures and uncertaintiesare accelerating consumers’ shift to more discerning shopping choices.”
McKinsey said that Vietnamese consumers were becoming more sophisticated andseemed to be evolving in four ways: they were more value-conscious, preferredomnichannel platforms, had less brand and store loyalty, and looked for purposein what they bought.
A report by global trend forecasting organisation WGSN also said that Vietnamwas a key growth market in the Asia – Pacific for brands and retailers thisyear.
WGSN also said that Vietnamese consumers were increasingly having trust indomestic brands and products with 76% said preferring goods of domestic brandsto foreign brands, urging brands and businesses to seamlessly blend in-personand online channels by investing in online presence, service discovery 'clickand collect' (order online and pick up in store), pay in-store for onlineorders, and multi-service upgrades.
As Vietnamese consumers were embracing the convenience and ease of digitalpayments, brands needed to start integrating digital payments and diversepayment methods across channels to reduce problems and increase conversionrates, as the trend of using cash will decrease in the coming years, WGSNsaid./.
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