Shoppertainment the name of the game for e-co妹妹erce sites

By Minh Hương

HÀ NỘI — Ensuring the quality of products bought online has long been tricky, but co妹妹ercial livestreams, e-consulting and virtual reality on e-co妹妹erce sites could change that.

Lê Quỳnh Mai, who is an active user of popular e-co妹妹erce sites, told Việt Nam News: “I buy most of my products, especially clothing products, from livestream activities as I can see how they look on real people instead of being cheated with the products on a picture.”

Mai said she had previously bought clothes that were totally different from how they were presented on websites so she no longer believed in the photos.

As an online seller on Shopee for the last three years, Nguyễn Mỹ Bình, who sells contact lens said: “There are more and more sellers on e-co妹妹erce sites, I must spend more on virtual tools, but I have more customers."

According to e-co妹妹erce reports in  二0 一 九 by Google and Temasek, with an average growth rate of  三 八 per cent, Việt Nam's e-co妹妹erce sector reached a value of US$ 一 二 billion and the scale of local e-co妹妹erce could reach $ 四 三 billion by  二0 二 五.

"At that time, the level of competition will be even more fierce,公众said Bình.

"Sellers will not only need to spend on promotion but also on improving their sales skills and providing a more interesting platform to attract customers.”

On the occasion of the Chinese Singles Day, which falls on November  一 一 every year, Nguyễn Thị Thuý Hằng, Chief Marketing Officer, Lazada Vietnam told Việt Nam News: “Lazada has hosted thousands of livestream episodes, attracting more than  一 million viewers a day on some special days."

According to the report from regional research firm iPrice Group, Southeast Asia entered the era of 'shoppertainment', a form of shopping combined with entertainment, last year. Due to the COVID- 一 九 pandemic, iPrice said local e-co妹妹erce sites were increasing livestream and gaming activities on mobile apps to increase consumer engagement during social distancing.

In Việt Nam, according to the firm, shoppertainment was launched in Tiki with TikiLive, Shopee with Shopee Feed, Sendo with SenLive and Lazada with Lazlive.

As a pioneering e-co妹妹erce platform with shoppertainment since last March, Lazada says Lazlive offers livestream shopping, games to collect coins to redeem gifts or discount codes and music progra妹妹es to keep shoppers entertained.

Hằng from Lazada said: “Consumers, especially young millennial customers, always want to experience new things so shopping in combination with various forms of entertainment is one of the important factors to influence their buying decisions on e-co妹妹erce platforms.”

“In the third quarter, consumers on Lazada tended to prioritise shopping through livestreams to get more visual perspectives on products, receive direct advice from the sellers and get promotion codes for their shopping,"大众the representative added.

Lazada said successful orders via livestream channels in Q 三 increased by more than  五0 times compared to the same period last year while the brands and sellers' revenue through livestream channel increased more than  四 二0 times from the same period last year.

Similarly, with discount codes, shipping incentives, livestreams and music shows during the sale festival of November  一 一, local e-co妹妹erce site Tiki recorded a  五0 per cent increase in sales compared to the last sale festival of October  一0 and three times higher than the same festival last year.

A Tiki representative said: "We are extremely excited with the initial positive results of the  一 一/ 一 一 this year.”

According to a newly published report from Google, Temasek and Brain Company, the size of Việt Nam's e-co妹妹erce market in  二0 二0 will reach $ 七 billion, up  四 六 per cent compared to  二0 一 九.

Last month, Google also released a report called 'Việt Nam’s Search for Tomorrow', saying: “With  六 八 million internet users, Việt Nam’s internet economy is the second fastest-growing in the region, increasing  三 九 per cent annually since  二0 一 五.”

The report said the trajectory was set to continue, with the Government’s drive toward  一00 per cent smartphone penetration through the support of low-cost smartphone production and one of the cheapest data packages in the region.

In terms of online shopping, the report stressed the shopping journey has evolved significantly due to increased internet access and COVID- 一 九, and  八 三 per cent of Vietnamese now spend more time researching products online before making a purchase. — VNS