Items were broken down by category and weight, such as starchy foods (bread, rice); eggs, milk, cheese; meat (chicken, beef); fruits and vegetables; water; alcohol, beer and tobacco.

Singapore has the highest cost for common grocery products at 2.5 million VND ($110), followed by Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines.

According to Numbeo users, the cost for these items in Vietnam is only about 1.2 million VND ($54). Excluding alcohol, beer and tobacco products, the estimated cost in Vietnam is only about 942,000 VND ($41).

This shows that even during the Covid-19 pandemic, buying products to serve basic daily living needs in Vietnam is still easier than in other countries in the region.

According to an e-commerce report from iPrice, online groceries were the only category maintaining steady and consistent growth since the pandemic broke out. This partly explains the strong increase in demand for online stores selling essential products during the months of social distancing.

Google searches related to the keyword “online grocery store” increased 223% in the second quarter of 2021. The number of searches increased 11 times in July compared to May and 3.6 times compared to June when the social distancing order under Directive 16 was implemented in some provinces and cities in Vietnam.

People have bought more fresh food, meat and fish, drinks of all kinds, and packaged foods and vegetables. The growth rates were 99%, 51%, 30% and 11% respectively in the second quarter compared to the first quarter of 2021.

Social distancing has exploded the demand for online department stores and online supermarkets.

The demand for shopping for electronic devices has increased sharply. The previous report of iPrice showed that the percentage of women shopping for electronic products online is equal to that of men. The group of women aged 35-44 and 45-54 increased by 4% compared to the first quarter of 2020. In addition, the older age group, 55-64, also experienced a slight increase of 2%.

According to data from iPrice Group and SimilarWeb, the total number of visits to the top 50 shopping websites in Vietnam in the first six months of the year reached more than 1.3 billion, the highest so far, and that of the second quarter is 10% up compared to the first quarter of 2021.

The annual report of Facebook and Bain & Company in the Southeast Asian market forecasts that Vietnam's e-commerce revenue in 2021 can reach 12 billion USD. This number will increase 4.5 times and reach 56 billion USD by 2026, and Vietnam will become the second largest market in the region after Indonesia.

This shows that Vietnam's e-commerce market has a positive outlook and is expected to continue to boom in the near future. However, the pandemic is still ongoing and there is a high probability that it will continue to create other changes in the future.

Thu Ky

Agriculture Ministry to open new path for farm produce sales

“We have to figure out a new ‘farm produce path’ that allows us to connect fields and markets,” said Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan.