Right place, right time: The key to retail success
1. Timing is everything
In the context of stagnant FMCG volume growth, it's more important than ever for brands to be top-of-mind at the right time and place to capture as many shoppers as possible during the holiday season.
The three weeks leading up to Tet are prime time for brands to maximise their presence, as this is when shopping activity begins to peak. However, there are notable differences in the duration of these shopping peaks between urban and rural areas.
In rural areas, where migrants from the city often return to their hometowns, shoppers typically spend more during Tet than their urban counterparts compared to their spending in a normal week. Additionally, the peak shopping period in rural areas tends to last longer, extending even one week after Tet as rural residents often take more extended time off than urban dwellers. Brands must recognize these differences and maintain their presence at the right touchpoints to maximise their relevance to consumers in various regions.
2. Tech-savvy Tet: Online reshapes festive shopping
Vietnamese consumers are not only changing what categories they consume, they are also changing where they purchase their festive necessities.
Online shopping has dramatically reshaped the festive consumer journey, offering unparallel convenience, attractive deals, and a vast product selection. During Tet 2024, online channels emerged as a popular choice for Tet shopping, gaining significant short-term share in four key urban cities with a 34% increase in value compared to the same period last year.
This form of shopping is increasingly chosen by multi-channel shoppers because of convenient logistics, attractive discounts and offers, free delivery fees and same-day delivery features, as well abundance in product availability. By saving consumers time and effort, these factors make online platforms the ideal choice for those seeking to maximise their resources.
The shift towards online shopping underscores the growing importance of online, specifically e-commerce and social commerce in the FMCG sector, particularly during festive seasons. While online shopping is more prevalent in urban areas, rural consumers still primarily rely on traditional trade channels for their Tet shopping needs. However, online FMCG shopping in rural regions has been steadily gaining traction, reaching rural shoppers at a faster rate than their urban counterparts. It's essential for brands to attract shoppers in rural areas throughout the year, not just during peak seasons like Tet.
3. Maximise reach across channels
The importance of being present across consumer touchpoints at the right time and place cannot be overstated, especially during traditional holidays when traditional categories are in high demand, and originally often purchase from traditional trade channels.
Understanding when consumers begin engaging with emerging channels like Online for their Tet preparations is crucial.
Our data reveals that peak shopping times for online channels often precede those of physical stores. For instance, in the Tet 2023 season when online shopping peaked in December, while the new year occurred in January. Similarly, in Tet 2024, the online shopping peak was in January, leading up to the later February festivities. This pattern suggests that consumers tend to initiate their holiday shopping earlier online and may complete last-minute purchases at physical stores when time is limited.
By comprehending the Tet shopping journey across different channels, brands and manufacturers can effectively target consumers with relevant products at the optimal time and place, capturing both early planning and last-minute shopping trips.
