Vietnamese consumers increasingly tech-savvy: Nielsen

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The study found that companies looking for growth opportunities are increasingly unable to target the traditional middle class, whose incomes have grown sluggishly in recent years. Instead, they may turn to “a new emerging type of consumer,” said Rakesh Dayal, executive director of Consumer Insights, Nielsen Vietnam.

“Connected spenders are a fast-growing new segment of consumers: digitally savvy consumers with discretionary income and are avid shoppers who punch above their income class in spending,” the director said. “Our research shows that Vietnamese connected spenders will spend 800 billion USD over the next decade. Therefore, for consumer-facing businesses seeking to grow in Vietnam, these are the consumers whose needs will need to be addressed.”

There were 23 million connected spenders in Vietnam in 2015, according to Nielsen Vietnam’s latest study, and that sum is expected to grow nearly double to reach 40 million people in 2025. Their spending will rise from 50 billion USD annually in 2015 to 99 billion USD by 2025.

Connected spenders span a range of ages and income groups.

Around one-third of Vietnamese connected spenders are between the ages of 21 and 34 (34 percent), the report showed.

Over three-quarters of the consumers within the higher income bracket are connected spenders, while nearly two-thirds of middle-income Vietnamese are connected spenders. In the lower income bracket, 43 percent fall into the category.

Connected spenders tend to be confident in the future: The Nielsen Confidence Consumer Index revealed that in 2015, connected spenders had a consumer confidence score of 117, versus 99 for other Internet users.