Retail industry sees new pressure in digital era

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Of this, 58% access the internet for 3-7 hours a day and 62% shop online. They mostly buy clothes, household-use appliances, and products for mothers and kids, and mobile phones.

Sendo.vn has had annual growth rate of 300% for many years. In 2017, Sendo.vn had more than 40 million users each month with more than 4 million downloads on both Android and iOS. There are 200,000 sellers with over 80,000 active stores each month on the website.

Nguyen Thi Hanh from Sen Do Technology Company said only technology can help bring such a high growth rate. 

 The firm develops and runs a technological platform that allows partners (shipping, advertisement and customer care service providers) to connect with each other to bring added value to customers. 

 All of the links of sale on sendo.vn, from order placement, confirmation and goods transportation to delivery and money collection are implemented in a closed process with the support of technology. 

 Analysts say that big rivals equipped with advanced technologies will have outstanding advantages. 

 Lieu Hung Tien from Haravan said that consumer shopping behaviors in modern times are different. Buyers can easily find information about sellers and suppliers on the internet with detailed descriptions about products, origin and prices.

 Meanwhile, buyers can place orders with any supplier in Vietnam or overseas and get deliveries at their home. 

 The advantages that Vietnamese retailers have had for a long time such as geographical positions and low prices will become less significant. 

 With technological tools, it is easier to find suppliers that provide goods and services at low prices and high service quality.

 The second concern is that retailers will have to compete with cross-border sales and cross-border customers. 

 This will forever change the business environment and affect business operations. Now South East Asia is seen as a single market with 600 million consumers.

 Hung warned that in the new circumstances, businesses would not survive and develop if they only run online or offline sales.

 With only offline sales, they will have to spend a lot of money on retail premises and workers. If they have only online sales, they will face barriers related to consumer confidence, shipping and payments. 

 Developing omni-channel sales, heightening awareness about the community, and applying technology are the only choice for retailers in the new digital era.