Many businesses have promoted winery eCommerce in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has been described as a “nightmare” for many economic sectors but appears to be “luck” for eCommerce.
According to Rabobank, eCommerce sales in the wine industry will reach USD 6 billion in 2021, up 4% from the same period in 2020. As said by Forbes, the percentage of online wine orders increased significantly compared to previous years before the pandemic.
Recognizing the potential of this field, many wineries in Vietnam have begun to develop eCommerce websites in order to quickly establish a market position.
Nam An Market
Nam An Market is a retail chain of healthy food stores that Nam An International Investment Co., Ltd. invested in in 2012. Its eCommerce website, which receives over 100,000 visits per month, was built successfully on the Haravan platform.
Aside from fruits, vegetables, meat, and fish, alcoholic beverages, particularly wines, are popular on Nam An’s website. Furthermore, the online shopping experience focuses on safety, convenience, speed, reasonable prices, and various appealing incentives.
Sieu Thi Ruou Ngoai is not only an eCommerce website that sells imported foreign wine but also a knowledge system about culture, history, and how to choose, preserve, and enjoy wines from around the world, allowing people who are passionate about or want to learn about wine culture to share and improve their understanding.
Sieu Thi Ruou Ngoai now has its own eCommerce website system, which receives over 50,000 visits per month and is highly regarded by customers for both product quality and online shopping experience.
Cao Minh was founded and developed by CEO Thanh Dung, a wine enthusiast who is passionate about learning about wine culture. After many years of research, learning, and improving service quality, Cao Minh has fully converged all the factors to become Vietnam’s leading wine supplier.
Cao Minh’s website is written in PHP and includes all the necessary features and an easy-to-use interface. Cao Minh Wine has become a household name among customers who prioritize online wine shopping.
Kho Ruou, also known as Kho Ruou Co., Ltd., is Vietnam’s leading importer and distributor of foreign wines and spirits, with over 3000 products of wine, spirits, beer, Japanese sake, and genuine high-end accessories.
Kho Ruou pursues an eCommerce business model by investing in developing a website using the WooCommerce platform. As a result, the company can easily reach a large number of potential customers both online and offline.
When eCommerce is a new trend widely praised by the Covid-19 pandemic. To keep up with that trend, Wine Tot built an eCommerce website with WooCommerce, which helped to increase brand coverage and reach a large number of potential customers on the Internet.
Ruou Nhap Khau is a wine eCommerce website operated by Ham Ruou Vietnam Co., Ltd, one of Vietnam’s leading import and distribution businesses.
Ruou Nhap Khau creates an e-commerce website with the PHP programming language. With an easy-to-use interface and good product quality and service, the company has gradually gained customer trust for its imported wine product lines ranging from popular to high-end.
Sanh Vang is a wine distribution brand founded in 2015 by Saigon Hoang Kim Investment and Trading Company Limited. Sanh Vang has expanded its branch network to many provinces, including Ha Noi, Ho Chi Minh City, Bien Hoa (Dong Nai), and Buon Ma Thuot.
Furthermore, Sanh Vang’s eCommerce website receives over 25,000 visits per month, and the brand receives many positive reviews from customers due to its wine quality, competitive price, available stock, and variety.
Winecellar, founded in 2007, is one of Vietnam’s largest wine companies, specializing in high-quality wine, beer, whiskey, food, mineral water, tea, and ceramic products. Winecellar, like Kho Ruou and Sanh Vang, uses the WooCommerce platform to implement eCommerce.
The Warehouse is a wine and spirits distributor in the Vietnamese market, as well as one of An Nam Group’s retail brands.
With a long-term and sustainable eCommerce business in mind, this brand has decided to invest in developing its own eCommerce website on the open-source Magento platform and continuously upgrading this system to provide a better eCommerce experience for customers.
In general, Vietnamese wine brands are reaping numerous market successes after successfully developing their own eCommerce websites. However, the wine eCommerce business necessitates careful consideration of tactics to take the most effective steps not only in the short term but also in the long term.
Furthermore, wineries need to find a support unit or build a highly qualified in-house team to help them to achieve a common goal.
With many years of experience implementing eCommerce in many countries, SECOMM provides free consulting services with professional eCommerce solutions.
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The eCommerce industry has a sizable market share in the Vietnamese economy and has shown impressive growth over the past two years due to the effects of the worldwide pandemic and social isolation.
After a year of society adjusting to the “new normal”, customers have started to buy at traditional stores again but the established trend of eCommerce consumption and the push from the wave of global digital transformation have encouraged businesses to change in order to suit the way the digital economy works.
Therefore, recognizing and anticipating the eCommerce trend of 2023 is extremely necessary for businesses’ New Year’s Marketing strategies to be implemented effectively and successfully.
Below is a list of 10 eCommerce trends that are forecast to “storm” the market in the next year.
Omnichannel
Omnichannel is an omnichannel sales model that helps businesses reach customers through many channels such as eCommerce websites, social networks, eCommerce platforms, chain stores, and distribution agents but operating in just one management system.
Additionally, there is a second type of sales model called “Multi-channel” that differs from Omnichannel in that it allows for discrete marketing content, unlinked data, and independent channel operation.
When purchasing across numerous channels, continuous and seamless updates result in a heterogeneous and seamless customer experience.
The difference between Omnichannel and Multichannel
Due to the lifting of social distance restrictions, consumers are beginning to return to in-store buying after two years of online shopping.
However, that doesn’t mean that eCommerce’s growth momentum is stagnant; on the contrary, it keeps exploding.
Businesses there make use of the current rise in popularity of online shopping to encourage the use of Omnichannel to improve the varied and efficient shopping experience.
As researchers have noted:
An estimated 56% of customers use smartphones to look up products while in a retail store.
Nearly 75% of users use many different channels such as websites, social networks, and physical stores to shop.
Around 73% of eCommerce consumers say they take an Omnichannel approach throughout the experience journey. For example, after shopping at a store, shoppers continue to follow the brand’s website, social networking sites, and eCommerce platforms.
As a result, 2023 will still be recognized as a strong year for omnichannel in eCommerce.
Mobile Commerce
Mobile Commerce or mCommerce is a business model that allows companies and individuals to deliver goods and services directly to consumers through handheld wireless devices such as smartphones and tablets.
According to Bankmycell, the number of smartphone users worldwide in 2022 is 6.648 billion, equivalent to 83.07% of the world population owning a smartphone.
Moreover, it is predicted that this number will increase to 7,516 billion by 2026. In addition, the percentage of global users participating in online shopping in 2022 accounts for 58.4%.
In Vietnam alone, interesting figures are listed in the Vietnam eCommerce White Book in 2022:
88% of people’s means of accessing the Internet are mobile phones, while this rate will only reach 57% in 2021.
The percentage of Internet users participating in online shopping is 74.8%.
91% of the electronic means commonly used to order online are mobile phones.
Among online shopping channels, 47% of users make purchases through mobile shopping applications.
Source: White book of Vietnamese eCommerce 2022
In upcoming years, the percentage of global people and Vietnamese people as well who own mobile devices and use them for online shopping is high and predicted to increase significantly.
Social Commerce
Social commerce refers to the method through which companies advertise and sell goods and services online using social networking sites like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Youtube, Zalo, etc. In other words, this type of business combines eCommerce and social media.
The impact of social networks has grown significantly in recent years. Over 59% of the world’s population uses social media, it is not surprising that this percentage will continue to rise.
While in the past businesses used social media to raise brand awareness and draw in new customers, today eCommerce businesses boost sales by offering goods and services to clients online via social media.
As a result, it’s incredibly handy for customers to interact, exchange information, and search and shop online all in one location.
According to Statista, global social commerce sales will reach $992 billion in 2022 and are projected to reach nearly $3 trillion by 2026.
The global social commerce sales in 2026 are expected to reach 3000 trillion USD.
Thanks to the development of social networks, social commerce has had a strong acceleration and has become a magnet for brands to come to approach and analyze a large number of potential customers, and achieve marketing and sales goals.
As a result, failing to prioritize social commerce in enterprises’ marketing strategies in 2023 is probably to lead to a significant loss of competitive advantages in the eCommerce market.
Headless Commerce
Today, businesses have a lot of choices to build an eCommerce website, but basically, the structure of a website will include the following main parts:
Frontend: Everything the user sees and interacts with when accessing the website including the interface, content, and functions,… is received from the backend.
Backend: All the active parts of the website or app that are not visible to the user such as the database system, design tools, management tools, and custom functions.
For websites using a traditional structure, the frontend and backend will be operated on the same platform and from there will be closely connected with each other. Therefore, any changes on the website will be edited in two parts at the same time. However, with Headless Commerce, the backend and frontend will be decoupled from each other and operate independently on two separate systems.
The benefits of deploying Headless Commerce:
Increase customization
Increase Scalability
Increase the page load speed
Seamless integration
Multi-channel sales support
The benefits of deploying headless commerce
By using the Headless structure, Nike has become a brand with a much larger market share than Adidas – a formidable competitor of Nike.
Moreover, Nike’s website recorded more than 60 million pageviews in just 1 month. In addition, the proportion of direct purchases without intermediaries also increased significantly.
From Nike’s Case Study, one of the practical alternatives for companies looking to encourage eCommerce sales growth is Headless Commerce.
Shoppertainment
Shoppertainment is a form of shopping combined with entertainment that is used as a marketing strategy to encourage customer engagement with brands and consequently increase shopping demand. Moreover, it is used and takes over most of the online commerce in the era of digital transformation, when eCommerce is positioned at the forefront of contemporary business trends.
Some common practices of Shoppertainment trends:
Live selling
Shoppable video
Gamification
These three practices all focus on entertainment and interaction. Then, the emotional element is aroused, leading to a series of unwise and unplanned shopping decisions. From a business perspective, this is beneficial for brands. TikTok‘s recent research proves it:
In Southeast Asia, 82% of consumers purchase goods from companies they hardly ever use.
55% of consumers have made unplanned purchases.
After watching videos on TikTok, 89% of consumers made unplanned purchases.
Half of TikTok users confess to finding new brands or products while using the app.
One in three customers desires to purchase and is satisfied with it.
One in three customers wants to add fun and entertainment to shopping.
Source: TikTok
The growth of the Shoppertainment trend in recent years demonstrates the extreme demand for social interaction and connection following the period of Covid’s life.
Shoppertainment is the solution that businesses seek. This is a way to make the most of the customer’s biggest weakness – emotions.
When feelings of euphoria and joy are elicited during the shopping process, customers engage more, and purchase more unplanned products, conversion rates are higher, and sales follow.
AI Technology
Artificial intelligence now has a significant impact on eCommerce businesses in providing solutions to optimize the online shopping experience of customers.
The following statistics demonstrate the incredible influence of AI on the eCommerce market and businesses operating in this field:
The AI-powered eCommerce market is estimated to reach 16.8 billion USD by 2030 (InsightAce Analytics).
In the retail eCommerce market, the value of AI is predicted to increase from $1.7 million in 2021 to $36.4 million in 2030 (Precedence Research).
78% of brands have used AI for eCommerce websites (Oracle)
Chatbot’s market value is predicted to reach 3.99 billion USD by 2030 (Grandview Research).
It is predicted that eCommerce transactions made through Chatbots will reach 112 billion USD in 2023 (Business Solution).
The cost of using AI Chatbots for customer care is 30% lower than hiring personnel to do this (Business Solution).
79% of eCommerce business owners admit that combining AI with marketing and sales helps increase the company’s revenue (McKinsey).
54% of businesses in France think that AI is good for analyzing eCommerce data (Statista).
70% of eCommerce business leaders in Europe and North America think that AI technology can help optimize customer experience personalization (Statista).
37% of users who click on an AI-driven eCommerce recommendation on their first visit to a website, return the next day (Investp).
The impact of AI on eCommerce
Currently, there are two applications of AI technology that are commonly used in eCommerce:
Chatbots
For eCommerce businesses, Chatbots will be like salespeople who can interact directly with customers 24/7. This helps businesses narrow the distance in terms of geography and time zones, helping the sales and customer services process to take place effectively without interruption.
Personalized Advertising Campaigns
By collecting customer data, AI can create tailored content and recommendations for each specific customer. To improve marketing campaigns and personalize the customer experience, AI can also predict purchasing behavior based on a user’s browsing and search history, when the data is legally available.
VR/AR Technology
VR (Virtual Reality) is a modern technology that brings users into a simulated but still very realistic space with only 3D glasses (virtual reality glasses). The virtual world that the user sees is actually set up and controlled by a highly configurable computer system.
AR (Augmented Reality) is a new technology enhanced from VR technology. This technology has the potential to erase the boundary between the real world and the virtual 3D model. That is, users will experience virtual models in real space through smartphones or computers.
With a clear plan and the appropriate approach, Lazada has been in front of the augmented reality trend for a number of years and developed a certain competitive advantage in luring both consumers and sellers.
Lazada leverage AR technology to enhance user’s experience.
In particular, the VTO (Virtual Try On) function on Lazada includes a wealth of features to assist customers in freely selecting and trying goods like eyeshadow, eyeliner, foundation, and cushions whenever and wherever they like.
Since its launch, LazMall brand partners in the cosmetics sector have experienced tremendous success with the VTO function, which has helped to boost conversion rates by 3.1x and average order values by up to 11%.
KOL/KOC
The rapid growth of social networks and eCommerce has given marketing efforts a fresh and original breeze thanks to KOL/KOC. Although KOL and KOC have long existed in some form, they have truly taken off in recent years.
KOL – Key opinion leader, also known as an “influencer”, is an individual or organization with expert product knowledge and influence in their field or industry.
KOC – Key Opinion Consumers are “the most influential consumers in the market”. Their job is to test products and services and make comments and reviews.
KOL will suit mid- to high-end brands, while KOC will suit mid-range brands. If KOL is used to select brand ambassadors, holiday season ambassadors, or product launch campaigns, KOC is used to boost sales in a short time or direct customers to websites or eCommerce platforms.
The difference between KOL and KOC
Some famous KOLs in Vietnam: Helly Tong, Giang Oi, Dino Vu, Co em Trendy, Chau Bui, Khanh Vy, Khoai Lang Thang,…
Some famous KOCs in Vietnam: Ha Linh, Call Me Duy, 1m88, Ong Giao Review, Chau Muoi, Hoang Viet, Pu Met 7,…
BOPIS
BOPIS – Buy Online Pick-up In Store is one of the shopping trends that promise to explode in 2023. Customers won’t have to be concerned about shipping costs, extended delivery times, or the risk of receiving unexpected goods when using BOPIS.
Businesses all around the world are pushing up their BOPIS implementation to meet customer expectations when merging online buying with in-person pickup. This is the ideal approach to boost store visits and close the gap between the offline and online buying experiences.
According to GlobeNewswire, the global BOPIS market is projected to reach $703 billion by 2027 with an estimated CARG of 19.3% between 2021-2027.
In addition, the following BOPIS trend statistics can help businesses consider implementing in 2023:
In the last 6 months of 2022, 67% of US consumers use BOPIS.
49% of BOPIS consumers admit to buying more products while in store to pick up their items.
65% of customers choose BOPIS to avoid shipping costs.
Source: Invespcro
The BOPIS model also aids businesses in cutting expenses, expediting deliveries, boosting demand for retail goods, and lowering the risk of product returns.
UGC
User Generated Content, also known as UGC, includes text, photos, video and reviews. Because people are becoming less and less engaged in the brand’s message over the past ten years, UGC has grown in importance.
According to a recent Salesforce survey, 53% of Millennials think user-generated content (UGC) influences their shopping decisions, and 92% of consumers prefer content created by friends and family over that created by brands. The reason for the above numbers is trust.
Therefore, user-generated content (UGC), such as photos, videos, and customer evaluations, is trustworthy social proof and aids in the development of a company’s reputation.
Source: Salesforce
In a nutshell, businesses must quickly adapt to evolving eCommerce and digital technology trends in order to avoid falling behind and being driven out of the market. By reading 10 eCommerce trends that stated and analyzed above, businesses will have an overview to be ready for the new journey.
With many years of experience in successfully implementing eCommerce for many customers in many countries, SECOMM specializes in providing consulting services with comprehensive and professional eCommerce implementation solutions.
Over time, the Covid-19 pandemic has greatly damaged the world economy, with significant consequences for investors and business owners across a wide range of sectors, including the wine sector.
Sales of alcoholic beverages have decreased dramatically as a result of the closure of hotels, restaurants, and nightclubs as well as the postponement of big events and festivals.
Despite the global economic issues, eCommerce must be considered among the industries that perform very well. Some companies across multiple areas have enthusiastically embraced eCommerce to weather the downturn.
Also, wine firms follow that wave of change, making eCommerce shine in the new era – the era of digital transformation.
Why 2023 is the perfect year to deploy wine eCommerce?
Wine eCommerce growth statistic
Wine eCommerce sales reached $6 billion in 2021, an increase of 131% compared to 2020. In the two years 2021-2022, online wine sales increased by 4%, while in 2020 they only increased by 2%.
The online revenue of the wine market reached more than 261 billion USD in 2022 and is expected to grow at 10.51% annually from 2022 to 2025.
According to IWSR, the global wine eCommerce market value will reach $42 billion by 2024.
An estimated 1.6% of the total liquor market revenue in 2023 will be generated from online sales.
The average annual growth rate of wine eCommerce in the US is around 20%.
In recent years, wine eCommerce has achieved amazing success.
Key drivers of wine eCommerce growth
Global Pandemic
In the midst of the global pandemic-related crises, the wine business, like many others, saw a breakthrough in the speed of online purchasing.
When the pandemic breakout occurred, 44% of American consumers placed their first-ever online wine and liquor orders.
The year 2020 saw a 42% increase in wine eCommerce as a result. Online wine sales increased from just $1 billion in 2018 to $6 billion by 2021.
Young wine consumer
In the US, according to Avalara, Millennials and the legal drinking age population are steadily increasing.
By 2023, the Millennial generation is estimated to account for nearly 45% of the LDA (Legal Drinking Age) population under the age of 80. By 2030, this number is projected to be 54%.
The significant increase in the number of young generation consumers is one of the important growth drivers for wine eCommerce in the future.
In Vietnam, Millennials (25–38 years old) and Gen Z (18–24 years old), often known as MillennialZ, currently make up 47% of the population or about 45 million people who are of drinking age. The population structure of the MillennialZ generation is expected to keep growing.
The primary factors influencing the growth of the eCommerce sector as well as the digital economy of Vietnam will also be the young people’s awareness of and keeping up with new trends in digital technology compared to previous generations.
Case study
iShop Changi Wines
The Duty Free Shop Group (DFS) and Changi Airport Group (CAG) collaborated on the iShop Changi Wines eCommerce online project, which offers world-renowned and premium wines and spirits with exclusive discounts to visitors to Changi Airport, particularly those who are CAG members.
The iShop Changi Wines website is cutting-edge and exquisitely styled, showcasing the distinctive qualities of the wine industry as well as the aesthetics from page layout, color, font text, logo, and banner, all of which are guaranteed to optimize the purchasing experience while also, and this is crucial, emphasizing the identity and brand-development elements for both CAG and DFS.
Due to the fact that this is a project of well-known companies, the iShop Changi Wines website has consistently received a lot of traffic, averaging approximately 592 thousand views each month since its introduction.
Therefore, to combat the unexpected surge in traffic and orders during the busiest shopping seasons of the year, the eCommerce system must be continually enhanced and optimized.
Two giants, CAG and DFS, have successfully cooperated in developing an online store for wine.
The fact that major corporations CAG and DFS both started and developed successful wine eCommerce websites shows the enormous potential of this industry now and in the future.
Previously, the business scope of wine businesses was quite limited, but now that limit has been broken thanks to the dominance of the Internet and the rise of eCommerce.
Moreover, the government’s assistance in lowering legal restrictions has given wine producers the assurance to confidently market their goods to a significant number of potential buyers in several nations across the world.
The Warehouse
The Warehouse, established in 2001, is renowned as a top supplier of wines and spirits in Vietnam, offering more than 16 different varieties of wine from numerous nations.
In addition, along with Annam Gourmet Market, Yves Rocher, and Flormar, this is another well-known retail brand of the Nam Group. Before being formally put on the market, products at The Warehouse are consistently inspected and carefully chosen to fulfill quality criteria.
The company has so far increased the reach of its distribution network across the nation, including Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Da Nang, Nha Trang, Hoi An, Quang Ninh, and Phu Quoc.
The Warehouse achieved its objective of serving the wine market with B2B and B2C business models by utilizing the Magento platform.
This implies that the business will broaden the retail channel to include private customers in addition to distributing wines to restaurants, hotels, resorts, pubs, and lounges.
A series of symbols, logos, and banners created especially to fit the characteristics of the wine industry are combined with Bordeaux red to create a website interface that is focused on UI/UX perfection.
The Warehouse is one of the wine companies that successfully used Magento to create an eCommerce website.
The Warehouse is flexible, secure, and has quick ordering, payment, and delivery options. Therefore, customers can place orders through phone, mobile app, or eCommerce website.
Customers can then pick up their purchases from the store or, in major cities like HCM, Hanoi, and Da Nang, the company will deliver them quickly within 2 to 3 hours. In other places, conventional courier delivery takes 2 to 5 days.
The Warehouse has been successful in raising brand recognition, expanding its customer base, and increasing both offline and online sales as a result of the timely growth of its business model and digital transformation
Trentham Estate
Long-standing Australian company Trentham Estate Winery, founded in 1988, focuses on the manufacture and distribution of wine.
After many years in business, the company is well regarded for its creativity in the wine-making process, which resulted in a variety of wines with different delicious flavors. Also, the brand has received hundreds of medals, titles, and other industry awards.
In the beginning, the business created and ran a WordPress website system for branding purposes.
Trentham Estate, however, has been forced to increase its company scale by making a substantial investment in an entire eCommerce website system due to the growth of eCommerce and the increasingly varied purchasing needs of potential clients.
Trentham Estate quickly develops an eCommerce website system to catch up with market trends.
In the beginning, the business created and ran a WordPress website system for branding purposes. Trentham Estate, however, has been forced to increase its company scale by making a substantial investment in an entire eCommerce website system due to the growth of eCommerce and the increasingly varied purchasing needs of potential clients.
That is what led to the creation of the website trenthamestate.com.au, which has a modern interface while still accurately capturing the distinctive features of the wine industry.
Similar to The Warehouse, Trentham Estate likewise creates an eCommerce website based on the Magento platform with a variety of features that satisfies eCommerce requirements and wine industry specifics.
Therefore, businesses can access and serve a wide range of large customer files not only in Australia and internationally thanks to effective marketing and branding strategies, towards a sustainable business model along with the changes of the digital age.
It would be hard to believe that an industry as sensitive as wine could be traded online so easily and efficiently. In that efficiency and convenience, there is a great contribution of the trend of eCommerce and the comprehensive National Digital Transformation program that is committed to supporting by the Government. This is an extremely appropriate time for wine businesses to confidently deploy eCommerce because of the support from the Government and the push from the market.
However, planning to implementation are two completely different categories. Businesses are required to have a practical strategy and technical assistance from highly skilled firms to hasten the success journey and help advance the National Digital Transformation goal.
SECOMM has many years of expertise in effectively executing eCommerce for numerous customers in various countries. We specialize in offering free consultation services with qualified eCommerce implementation solutions.
Contact us right away for free counsel and assistance.
The Covid-19 pandemic not only encourages the tremendous growth of eCommerce but also helps shift consumers’ priorities from in-store to online buying. However, instead of just buying, consumers frequently prefer to seek out novel, inspiring experiences.
Therefore, every company should strive to implement the approach of shopping combined with entertainment (Shoppertainment) in order to improve marketing effectiveness and boost sales.
What is Shoppertainment?
Shoppertainment is a combination of two elements “shopper/shopping” and “entertainment”.
Shoppertainment is described as “the provision of recreational or leisure facilities within or next to a retail store or shopping center, as part of a marketing strategy, which is designed to attract customers and stimulate purchasing” in the Oxford Dictionary (1990).
What is Shoppertainment?
Many companies, notably IKEA, the biggest furniture retailer in the world, have used shoppertainment with success in the past. IKEA launched a campaign in 2019 called “IKEA nightclub – Tonight is to sleep” for 100 lucky individuals.
During this campaign, customers can partake in activities like manicures, massages, snacks, and tea instead of cocktails before spending the night in rooms with IKEA furniture that is soon to be released.
The brand has had remarkable sales success thanks to the campaign’s resonance in North America.
The shoppertainment trend, however, is no longer just restricted to stores or other physical locations thanks to the growth of eCommerce and digital marketing but has instead gained popularity and taken over online shopping activities.
In comparison to the prior definition, shoppertainment has been enlarged and changed. Shoppertainment is a trend that combines online shopping with entertainment, allowing buyers to engage with merchants in addition to purchasing products as usual.
In Vietnam and in the Asia-Pacific region, certain forms of entertainment-infused shopping are very common. Examples include live streaming, shoppable videos, and gamification.
What role does shoppertainment play in eCommerce?
According to the Vietnam eCommerce White Paper 2022, the size of the retail eCommerce market in Vietnam will increase from $11.8 billion in 2020 to $13.7 billion in 2021 and is estimated to reach 16.4 billion USD in 2022.
Meanwhile, the percentage of consumers shopping online on eCommerce websites is 78% in 2021, up 4% over the same period last year.
Because of the urgency, lack of options, and social isolation, the effects of the epidemic have actually contributed to a change in consumption tendencies from in-person purchases to online purchases.
Since that time, it has seen the quick decline of the conventional commerce model and the rise of eCommerce. By 2026, Statista projects that eCommerce sales will total $8.1 trillion.
Additionally, it is not surprising that consumers like shoppertainment. Although this combination is not novel, it promises to set the consumption trend in the years to come as eCommerce takes center stage.
The demand for online shopping will be higher there, and expectations for the best shopping experience—including both online shopping and fascinating experiences will also be higher.
Retail businesses around the world have seen a significant rise in sales during the outbreak by combining online shopping with live streams, entertainment videos, and video games to create real-time digital interactions with customers.
For instance, Taobao Live, which Alibaba introduced in 2016, saw a 150% surge in sales in 2020 when the epidemic first appeared in China.
“Shoppertainment is now a basic expectation. You really have to leverage engaging tools so the shopper gets to learn about the product, its superiority, and has fun along the way,” notes Alex Vogler, senior director and head of marketing, eBusiness, Procter & Gamble (P&G) Asia, Middle East, and Africa.
The Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant negative impact on the human psyche, causing issues including depression and anxiety. On the other hand, a portion of the populace said that the social connections they were unable to have prior to the epidemic significantly improved their psychological well-being.
People need to connect with the community and others like them more than just for amusement. Brands have therefore concentrated on improving the consumer experience by transforming personal experiences into shared ones that bring communities together.
As an example, consider the hashtag #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt. Through the TikTok platform, users can easily and amusingly share their shopping experiences, resulting in videos going viral and receiving more than 4.5 billion views.
Shoppertainment will result in emotional and impulsive purchasing decisions since it emphasizes entertainment and connection. According to a recent TikTok research:
In Southeast Asia, 82% of consumers purchase goods from companies they hardly ever use.
55% of consumers have made unplanned purchases.
After watching videos on TikTok, 89% of consumers made unplanned purchases.
Half of TikTok users confess to finding new brands or products while using the app.
One in three customers desires to purchase and is satisfied with it.
One in three customers wants to add fun and entertainment to shopping.
TikTok study on recent shopping behavior by consumers
The studies mentioned above demonstrated the enormous influence that social networks and online shopping trends have on consumer decisions.
Because of this, Vietnamese retail companies have prioritized shoppertainment in their marketing plans.
Customers demand a more social and engaging online shopping experience, as well as the ability to connect and converse with one another while buying, which is the reason for any of this.
Best Shoppertainment practices
Live Selling
In recent years, both buyers and sellers in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) area have grown accustomed to live selling. Live selling is less common in the US and Europe than it is in APAC, but businesses there are nonetheless keeping an eye on this trend.
For instance, AliExpress initially introduced the live selling feature in France in May 2020, and since then, more than 3,000 live programs have been launched, with the involvement of more than 100 vendors.
Live selling is one of Shoppertainment’s most prominent practices
The combination of sales, interaction, and entertainment makes this one of the top social selling strategies. Customers can interact with vendors directly, view actual product photos, and make decisions by pushing their shopping emotions.
Plus, the engaging social interactions that take place throughout live streaming help retailers make an impact on customers, resulting in a high return rate.
Due to the growth of the Shoppertainment trend and the effectiveness of live streaming in generating sales through social networks, eCommerce marketplaces have started to put more of an emphasis on investing in producing engaging entertainment material for users on their apps, particularly through live streaming.
The customer buying experience is improved by several well-known live stream channels, like TaobaoLive, LazLive, Shopee Live, TikiLive, etc.
These companies have the resources to develop this feature for themselves, but lower-budgeted companies can still try the live-selling concept by integrating Facebook or YouTube live stream with an eCommerce website.
Shoppable Video
Live-streaming videos will be effectively replaced by shoppable videos. One of the joys of using this type of video is that companies may produce videos in their own distinctive styles that quickly introduce customers to their products, explain how they operate, and demonstrate how to use them. These videos can be attached to an eCommerce website. Users can always click the product link in this kind of short video to find out extra details or to make a purchase. The short-form video has overtaken popular platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and Youtube Shorts as the go-to method for branding, cultivating customer trust, and influencing purchasing decisions.
83% of people, according to Nielsen study, prefer watching videos of advertisements to GIFs or text. Short-form videos have gained popularity as a result of global digital transformation and consumer preference, and many brands now opt to use those as part of their video marketing strategies due to their useful advantages, which include the following:
Simplify the customer journey
Increase customer engagement
Improve the conversion rates
Get a boost in sales
Create brand loyalty
Build a better customer experience
Shoppable Video will be an effective alternative to Live Selling
Gamification
Gamification or Gamification Marketing is the skillful incorporation of a video game’s mechanics into promotional operations in a unique and impressive method to meet marketing objectives.
Gamification’s primary advantage, similar to live selling, is engagement, which keeps people on the site, drives conversions, and boosts sales.
Users are actually more likely to return for more shopping if a business can convince them that engaging with it is an interesting experience rather than a transaction.
A study by Bazaar Voice demonstrates the impact of gamification on businesses’ marketing strategies as follows:
70% of shoppers want gaming elements incorporated into online shopping.
But only 42% of shoppers enjoy gaming in-store.
Gamification piques users’ interest
For instance, take Bajaj Finserv’s Indian financial company’s Gamification Marketing campaign. The game was created by this firm to encourage people to use its travel loan services.
Users will complete tasks and respond to questions about their preferred travel destinations. Customers adored the campaign, and it immediately trended on Twitter with more than 75 million impressions.
Thus demonstrating Bajaj Finserv’s efforts to develop engaging experiences and provide them to customers in line with its marketing strategy. Brands attract more potential customers, enjoy the better engagement, and increase conversions as a result of the viral impact.
Shoppertainment has been around for a while, but it wasn’t until Covid-19’s effect that this trend truly took off. Businesses should take advantage of this trend to improve the online shopping experience for customers and increase sales in the era of eCommerce.
Due to the growing demands of customers for a better shopping experience and the ongoing changes in the market, achieving this goal is difficult and labor-intensive. As a result, companies must work with expert agencies to plan the proper eCommerce deployment from the start.
With many years of experience in successfully implementing eCommerce for many customers in many countries, SECOMM specializes in providing consulting services with comprehensive and professional eCommerce implementation solutions.
According to the latest of Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 2022, the eCommerce industry’s revenue is estimated at 13.7 billion USD, increase 16% compared to 2020 and accounting for 6.5% of the total retail revenue of Vietnam. Due to e-Commerce SEA, Vietnam’s eCommerce will grow by an average of 25% per year from 2022 – 2025, possibly reaching 35 billion USD in 2025.
The impact of the Covid-19 epidemic and social distancing orders, as well as changes in consumer behaviour, are driving the growth of this industry.
Thanks to super apps, such as Shopee, Lazada, Tiki, MoMo, and Zalo, it’s easier to deploy mini apps, creating a premise for inexperienced brands to build eCommerce systems to enter this billion-dollar market.
Shopee
Shopee is the most popular eCommerce market in Southeast Asia and Taiwan. Shopee was founded in 2015 to provide people with an easy, safe, and quick online buying experience.
Top 5 prominent eCommerce super apps in Vietnamese market – Shopee
Shopee is gradually becoming an eCommerce super app, not only offering online shopping services but also owning various mini-apps such as Shopee Food, Shopee Mart, Shopee Wallet, insurance services from banks, booking flights, hotels and so on.
Head office: Singapore
Countries: Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Taiwan, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Finland and Spain
Rating: 4.3 stars out of 1.62M reviews (CH Play), 4.4 stars out of 1M reviews (App Store)
Lazada
Lazada, founded in 2012, is one of Southeast Asia’s biggest eCommerce marketplaces. This brand has always been a pioneer in fostering regional development via commerce and technology, intending to service 300 million consumers across Southeast Asia by 2030.
Top 5 prominent eCommerce super apps in Vietnamese market – Lazada
Like Shopee, Lazada has many mini apps and utilities for its own e-commerce business strategies, such as eM wallet, card and eVoucher recharge, online shopping, etc.
Head office: Singapore
Countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam
Rating: 4.7 stars out of 19.5M reviews (CH Play), 4.7 stars out of 1.8M reviews (App Store)
Tiki
Tiki is one of Vietnam’s most successful eCommerce marketplaces. Tiki was founded in March 2010 as an online English book-selling site. Since then, Tiki has evolved into an eCommerce super app, focusing on delivering hundreds of thousands of goods from a variety of product categories.
Top 5 prominent eCommerce super apps in Vietnamese market – Tiki
Tiki has been a pioneering marketplace in applying digital currency to business concepts, as proven by the launch of Astra, to boost up eCommerce. At the same time, Tiki refined its ecosystem by creating a series of extensions with mini apps from brands in various industries, including finance, gaming, food, shopping, health, insurance, entertainment, lifestyle, tourism, and community.
Head office: Singapore
Countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam
Rating: 4.2 stars out of 242K reviews (CH Play), 4.8 stars out of 368.7K reviews (App Store)
MoMo
MoMo is an e-wallet created by Online Mobile Services Joint Stock Company (M Service) that allows users to make mobile payments and transactions. Through partnerships with more than 90% of Vietnam’s banks and 10,000 local businesses, the company dominates more than 80% of the market for digital payments. As of 2022, MoMo e-wallet has more than 31 million users.
Top 5 prominent eCommerce super apps in Vietnamese market – Momo
Since 2022, MoMo has developed a mini app technology, formally identifying itself as a super-payment app, helping small and medium companies to “climb on the shoulders of giants,” and construct an ecosystem for MoMo. In particular, utilities from businesses such as online shopping, restaurants, transportation services, tourism and hotels, investing and banking, medical services and so on.
Head office: Vietnam
Countries: Vietnam
Rating: 3.2 stars out of 401K reviews (CH Play), 4.4 stars out of 201.3K reviews (App Store)
Zalo
Zalo was formally launched in December 2012, with the essence of a cross-platform instant messaging software built by the Vietnamese startup VNG. Zalo is a blend of Zing (a VNG-created social network) and alo (a phrase used to pick up a phone in Vietnam). Zalo has progressed to become a multi-functional, multi-platform social networking super app.
Top 5 prominent eCommerce super apps in Vietnamese market – Zalo
Like MoMo, Zalo created a new brand named Zalo Mini App to help other brands reach 65 million regular users on Zalo, and make diversity for this messaging platform. Since then, Zalo has also supported other services, primarily through partnerships with brands in finance, eCommerce, entertainment, games, restaurants and hotels.
Head office: Vietnam
Countries: USA, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Australia, Germany, Myanmar and Singapore
Rating: 3.9 stars out of 2.03M reviews (CH Play), 3.0 stars out of 62.6K reviews (App Store)
As can be seen, the future of Vietnam’s eCommerce industry will continue to rely on these “giants,” thus businesses should incorporate eCommerce super apps into their business models as soon as possible to reap the full advantages of these applications. However, companies should not rely on these apps for long periods of time since it will result in a loss of customer data, income from commission per order, and so on.
With more than 8 years of experience in consulting and deploying eCommerce systems, SECOMM understands the challenges businesses face in implementing eCommerce business effectively.
Fashion eCommerce is growing increasingly influential, particularly in markets with a young population, such as Vietnam, where demand for fashion and lifestyle is diversified.
Recognising this, several fashion brands have begun developing their own eCommerce websites to join this lucrative business swiftly.
1. Coolmate
Coolmate is a men’s fashion business started in 2019. With a D2C eCommerce strategy as the centre for business development, after only 2 years of implementation, Coolmate had a successful capital call on Sharktank with Nguyen Hoa Binh for 500,000 USD. By 2021, Coolmate’s sales may reach VND 139 billion, an increase of 3.5 times compared to 2020, setting the 2022 revenue expectation at 440 billion.
Hai Trieu, which was founded in 1991, has over 30 years of expertise in the watch industry. To adapt to the changing industry and consumers, Hai Trieu has incorporated an eCommerce strategy into its business model with the objective of becoming a dominant watch retailer in Vietnam. Hai Trieu’s eCommerce website has received over 1 million monthly visits and is ranked among the top sites in the fashion eCommerce industry in Vietnam. (according to iPrice).
The official name of PNJ is Phu Nhuan Jewelry Joint Stock Company, which was founded in 1988. PNJ has spent a long time developing a fashion eCommerce website to apply the omnichannel sales strategy. Because of the early adoption of eCommerce, PNJ has surmounted the tumultuous year of 2021 with net sales of over VND 19,547 billion, an increase of 12% over 2020.
Founded in 2005, Juno is a brand known for its line of women’s fashion shoes and bags. Juno saw the enormous potential of the e-commerce sector and invested early in technologies to make the online company more efficient. As a result, the eCommerce website of Juno is currently the highest-visited website in the fashion line of shoes and bags in Vietnam.
Juno has usually cultivated the clothes and accessories area to suit its clients’ increasingly broad consumer demands.
Canifa is a family fashion brand established in 1997, under Hoang Duong Service and Trading Joint Stock Company – a large fashion retailer in Vietnam. Canifa has built an eCommerce business with a reputation achieved in traditional fashion since 2012. Because of its long-term and sustainable eCommerce business strategy, this company opted to invest in establishing its own eCommerce website on the open-source platform – Magento and regularly upgrading this system to provide clients with the better eCommerce experience possible.
Hoang Phuc International (Hoang Phuc) was established in 1989 as a luxury fashion retailer of Kappa, Ecko Unltd, Superga, Replay, and Staple. This brand has decided to enter the eCommerce industry after three decades of using traditional strategy. Hoang Phuc has utilised and changed numerous platforms to create the successful eCommerce website that it is now. This business is currently employing the Magento platform – an open-source platform specialised in eCommerce.
This firm utilizes KOL and Livestream strategies to boost market penetration, besides constantly improving its own eCommerce website for selling apparel online.
Bitis began as a small factory in 1982 and has grown to become the market’s top shoe and footwear brand. However, when user behaviour changes and new “players” enter the market, this business appears to fall behind. After a long period of lagging, Biti’s new CEO, Vuu Le Quyen – the eldest daughter of Mr. Vu Khai Thanh – chose to change strategy, focusing on investing in eCommerce business model to accelerate and catching up with the market.
Bitis’s has made a dramatic recovery due to this new strategy, vying directly with worldwide brands such as Nike, and Adidas in the Vietnamese market after a number of years of losing market share.
Orchard, which was founded in 2004, is a supplier of more than 200 luxury perfume brands from across the world. Orchard has implemented eCommerce promptly to tap the “gold mine” of this industry and become the No. 1 perfume retail brand in Vietnam. Orchard’s eCommerce website is now the favorite destination for customers who want to buy perfume online.
ONOFF was established in 2005 with the goal of providing daily comfort to everyone. ONOFF has advocated for adopting an eCommerce strategy by investing in building Magento websites like Canifa in 2016. As a result, the brand is gradually synchronizing on online and offline channels, with a customer loyalty rate of 80% maintained at all times, allowing ONOFF to more firmly believe in its goal of becoming the leading lingerie brand in Vietnam and a chance to conquering the ASEAN market in the next three years.
Rabity is a children’s fashion brand that was launched in 2000. Currently, Rabity is the sole Disney and Marvel partner with image rights for children’s fashion lines ranging from 0 to 14 years old. Rabity is pleased to have been the pioneer in deploying the first eCommerce for children’s fashion in Vietnam. Rabity is now present on all eCommerce channels and has its own eCommerce website.
Overall, fashion businesses are achieving several successes after developing their own eCommerce websites. However, the fashion eCommerce industry needs careful consideration of tactics to take the most successful actions in the short term and in the long run. Of course, to do that challenging task, fashion companies must find a well-known or build skilled IT team.
eCommerce has become an essential business model that fashion brands must utilize not only to survive during the COVID-19 pandemic but also to assist companies in adapting to changing customer behavior, providing competitive advantages for future breakthroughs. As a result, fashion eCommerce has become a crucial business trend for many fashion businesses today, from start-ups to “giant” corporations.
Fashion eCommerce 2022 Potential, Advantages & Case studies
1. The potential of eCommerce in the fashion industry
According to Statista, the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of the fashion eCommerce market is predicted to be 14.2% from 2017 to 2025. The CAGR is forecast to reach a value of USD 1 trillion by 2025, in which the US market accounts for about 20%, equivalent to 204.9 billion USD.
In the Vietnamese market, fashion eCommerce is the second most important sector, just after eGrocery (The Vietnam eCommerce White Paper in 2021).
Types of goods/services that are bought online (Source: The Vietnam eCommerce White Paper in 2021)
2. The advantages of implementing eCommerce in the fashion industry
2.1. Increase the breadth of your business
The use of eCommerce will provide fashion firms with a new sales channel, along with offline commercial activity in showrooms. For geographical factors, eCommerce transcends place and time to allow customers to purchase whenever and wherever they choose.
Increase the breadth of your business
Simultaneously, eCommerce is a prominent avenue for reaching customers, particularly in the sphere of fast fashion for women. Marketing activities such as Livestream, Shoppertainment (Shopping with entertainment), Affiliate, and so on are more effectively carried out, leading to the extension of the commercial scope for enterprises.
2.2. Adapting to changing customer behavior
Following the COVID-19 epidemic and the social distancing order, consumer behavior has shifted dramatically, with the transition from physical to online buying rising over time in all categories. In the fashion business alone, the percentage of online customers climbed from 18% to 48% in 2020–2021. As a result, it is critical for fashion businesses to implement eCommerce.
Adapting to changing customer behavior
After the epidemic, consumer behavior altered drastically, such as waiting until D-Day to purchase items. Furthermore, by utilizing eCommerce technologies, organizations can follow, analyze, and synthesize the consumption behavior of each target group, something offline purchasing cannot accomplish. This ensures that businesses always have enough aggregated and forecasted data to implement business plans.
2.3. Improve the user experience
When technologies that improve user experience in e-commerce are used, customer purchases will be made faster.
Visual experiences such as photos, movies, virtual reality experiences, and so on provide customers with full product information and expertise, enabling a speedier purchasing process. VR / AR technology enables people to shop for garments, accessories, and shoes online in the same way they would in a store.
For example, the American Apparel company has used AR to show shoppers more product information, like detailed descriptions, availability, colors, and buyer reviews.
Improve the user experience
eCommerce allows businesses to tailor the experience for consumers by collecting, evaluating easily, and summarizing the consumption habits of each target group, often with the following features: Recommend products, Products seen, and so on.
eCommerce provides a seamless experience for customers across many channels such as social media (Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, Zalo, etc), eCommerce marketplace (Shopee, Lazada, Tiki, Sendo, etc), eCommerce website, and mobile app.
3. Case study
3.1. Shein – The unicorn of the fashion eCommerce industry
Shein is a Chinese eCommerce site created in 2008 that specializes in apparel and accessories. With the motto “everyone can enjoy the beauty of fashion,” the company pushes to give consumers a diverse selection of product options. Shein is currently regarded as a fashion “empire” with a valuation of $ 100 billion – more than Zara ($ 69 billion) and H&M (23 billion) combined.
Shein – The unicorn of the fashion eCommerce industry
Shein focuses on the youthful client sector of Gen Y and Gen Z, who use the Internet often. As a result, this brand has used technical components to reach more consumers in an appropriate and exact manner.
Shein created an eCommerce system that included a website and a mobile app to target overseas markets such as Europe, America, Australia, and the Middle East. Shein then advocated Social Commerce, Ecommerce Marketing, Affiliate Marketing, KOC, and other tactics to improve brand awareness and engagement.
In 2021, Shein’s mobile app exceeded 7 million monthly active users in the US alone (Airnow Data), and the hashtag #Shein garnered more than 10 billion views on TikTok (Jing Daily). Revenue reached $15.7 billion in 2021, up 60% from 2020 ($9.8 billion). It can be seen that Shein is a clear example of the effective application of eCommerce to capture market share in the fashion industry.
3.2. Coolmate – The missiles in the realm of fashion eCommerce in Vietnam
Coolmate is a menswear startup that was established in 2019. Coolmate is a mix of the words “cool” and “mate,” which means that the brand’s major purpose is to be a fashion buddy for customers. After barely two years of operation, this company received a $500,000 funding call from Sharktank Vietnam.
Coolmate – The missiles in the realm of fashion eCommerce in Vietnam
Coolmate utilizes the Direct to Customer Ecommerce (D2C eCommerce) model and concentrates on developing its own fashion website to provide a quick and cost-effective buying experience. At the same time, this brand prioritizes product quality, which is 100% made in Vietnam and meets export standards at low costs. Furthermore, to implement e-commerce faster, Coolmate advocates thoroughly apply the strategy of Ecommerce Marketing, Affiliate Marketing, Email Marketing, etc.
Aside from the $500,000 agreement for a 12.5% interest, 2.5% of the consultancy shares pledged, this fledgling business has other noteworthy statistics.Coolmate’s sales will reach VND 139 billion in 2021, up 3.5 times from 2020, with revenue expected to reach VND 440 billion in 2022 and an IPO (Initial Public Offering) by 2025. In general, eCommerce has considerably contributed to Coolmate’s development, as well as providing the groundwork for fashion businesses to follow to grow by market trends.
3.3. Yody – The behemoth chose to compete in the fashion eCommerce race
Yody (previously Hi5) is a family apparel label that was founded in 2014. To provide Vietnamese fashion goods made of high-quality materials to customers in various regions of Vietnam and throughout the world. Yody now employs over 700 people and has 90 outlets around Vietnam.
Yody – The behemoth chose to compete in the fashion eCommerce race
This fashion brand prioritizes the “tripod” of human resource development, product quality, and technology investment. Yody focuses on talent recruiting and culture training to engage employees in human resource development. In terms of products, Yody designs for comfort and convenience, and can be utilized in various situations, such as going to work, going out, attending meetings, and so on.
Regarding technology, Yody focuses on implementing an online sales strategy across Omni-channel such as eCommerce marketplaces, an eCommerce website, Facebook, Livestream, and so on to compete in the eCommerce race, as well as adapting to changing consumer behavior.
In 2016, Yody was selected as one of the ten outstanding young start-ups in Vietnam. By 2021, Yody’s physical sales will have dropped by 65%, but the internet segment has increased by more than 10%. Therefore, the company continues to aim to increase online revenue by 20% in the next year.
In a nutshell, how to apply fashion e-commerce will depend on the size and strategy of each company, but eCommerce is a prerequisite for successful business in this industry.
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