HCM City (VNS/VNA) - The e-commercemarket in Ho Chi Minh City has developed significantly, with total onlinespending growth up by more than 12 percent annually since 2015,according to the municipal Department of Industry and Trade’s report one-commerce development.

Pham Thanh Kien, the department’s director,said enterprises in the city had enhanced digital transformation andpromoted online sales.

E-commerce platforms have become importantsales channels for businesses.

The survey found that about five percentof enterprises in the city sold their products on e-commerce platforms, anincrease of 0.4 percent compared to the preceding year.

In the first quarter of the year, due to theimpact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of orders for healthcare products,food and essential products on four e-commerce platforms, Tiki, Sendo, Shopeeand Lazada, went up by 70-80 percent on average over the same period last year.

Orders for face masks and hand sanitisersincreased by 140 percent over the same period last year, but the number oforders for fashion, technology and electronic products decreased bymore than 50 percent.

In the first quarter, total traffic and salesof e-commerce platforms decreased by about 9 – 10 percent over the same period.Only Shopee reported an increase in traffic thanks to its promotions such asgifting vouchers and offering free ship.

The city’s residents also increased theirspending on online shopping, with total online shopping value in 2019reaching 5.62 million VND (240 USD) per household on average, up 13.2 percentover 2018.

Online shopping methods of consumers havealso changed greatly.

The proportion of people shopping viawebsites decreased by 15 percent last year compared to 2018, accounting for 21 percent,and shopping via apps dropped, accounting for 24.2 percent.

The proportion of shopping donethrough forums, social networks and e-commerce platforms continued torise, according to the survey.

The number of people using televisionshopping channels was much lower than shopping via YouTube or livestreaming on Facebook.

Businesses use TV shopping channelsmainly to introduce and advertise their products and as a tool to supportsales on websites, apps or social media.

Regarding payment methods, cashwas still the most preferred payment mode for e-commerce purchases in thecity last year, accounting for 95.1 percent, a year-on-year increase of 2.3 percent. Buyers stilldo not trust sellers, so they are reluctant to pay in advance.

Payment via bank accounts reached only 17.9 percent,down 7 percent compared to 2018, and payment via credit cards was only 12.9 percent,down 3.8 percent compared to 2018, according to the survey./.