Virtual markets make inroads in Vietnam

Electronic transactions are more common in Vietnam than ever before with global virtual markets gradually making headway into developing countries which just a decade ago were alien to information technology.

Hoang Son, a sophomore from Hanoi University of Social Sciences and Humanities boasted he could earn VND1.4 million (US$87.5) per month purely from the Internet. He owns a cyber shop on www.chodientu.com, a virtual market.

Son recalled that after attending a conference themed ‘Students of the Internet era’, he came home eager to embark on a cyber journey of selling cheap Chinese USBs.

With the catchy slogan “One USB 128Mb costs eight bowls of Pho” (Pho is a popular soup for Hanoi people), he began his promotional campaign that earned him a surprisingly large number of orders.

Son has a relative from northern Lang Son province who agreed to ship the USBs to Hanoi for sale on the Net. Lang Son, bordering China, is famous for an abundance of cheap Chinese products.

A USB 128Mb, which normally costs VND250,000 ($15.6) now is sold at only VND190,000 ($11.8) or 8 bowls of pho.

“Selling via the Internet saves us expenditures on renting an office. Thus, our products cost two-thirds or even half market prices while the quality remains the same. Competitive prices are our strong point”, Son said confidently.

An eatery in Hanoi that specializes in box lunches maintains a website www.comhop.com which is being upgraded. Before the technical overhaul, one could find a variety of food on offer just a click away.

“Our targets are office employees who have easy access to the Net. Thanks to the website, we sell 200 more boxes per day”, the owner Vu Thanh Tuyen said.

Another similar site www.banhminhulan.com, hosted by Nhu Lan Bakeries offers assorted breads, biscuits and even customized birthday cakes. The food will be sent to private houses on online registration or by telephone orders.

Another young man who successfully capitalized on cyber service is Nguyen Viet Hung, a former student of journalism who is now the proud architect of an online market www.chomuaban.com. What’s more, he has just designed another profitable website www.quatetonline.com that sold presents during the lunar New Year festival.

Though creating a website costs little, maintaining it is expensive. A virtual market without a user-friendly interface, good administrators and most importantly customers is a cyber-wasteland, Hung said adding that he would continuously modify and update his site.

Nguyen Tuan Minh, manager of the www.chodientu.com is just one among many who knows how to tap into the potential “market” in Vietnam. Being a virtual market, the website receives tens of thousands of hits daily. Many consider it the largest web of its kind in Vietnam.

In the beginning, we were only making sure our site is familiar to most Vietnamese customers. After a certain time, we will charge a reasonable fee on transactions, Minh said.

“In a few years, when e-businesses are more common, earning billions of dong from our site will no longer be a distant dream”, he added.

However, Minh admitted the dream was not easy to realize. “To do that, we have to change the habits of Vietnamese shoppers … they prefer browsing and actually touching items, then haggling face to face rather than online purchasing”, he told Thanh Nien.

In the near future, a Vietnamese eBay or Amazon is very likely to appear, with www.chodientu.com, www.quatetonline.com or the www.comhop.com by amateurs like Son, Tuyen or Hung blazing the trail.

Reported by K.T.L, T.H.M – Translated by Hoang Bao