Meals delivered to home healthy

A delivery man on a street in Ho Chi Minh City. (Photo: Hai Dang)

In 2020, major online shopping platforms in Vietnam added games and livestream services.

Tran Tuan Anh, managing director at Shopee Vietnam, said during the time of social distancing, Vietnamese consumers began to switch to online platforms for both essential goods and entertainment purposes.

E-commerce applications, therefore, must integrate many interactive elements such as games and livestream to increase connections with users.

In 2021, Shopee predicts three main development trends in the e-commerce industry, including the development of digital payments, logistic services, and changing of selling methods.

As noted by Shopee, the total number of orders paid through Airpay e-wallet across Southeast Asia grew by four times. In particular, the strongest growth rate was for buyers over 50 years old, which demonstrates the easy accessibility of Airpay wallet.

As the government is moving towards a cashless society, epidemics have become a driving force behind this process in some areas where most consumer transactions are done in cash.

In addition to increasing wallet usage in online shopping, traditional stores are also accepting more payments via e-wallets. The number of stores in Vietnam using AirPay wallet payments doubled in 2020.

In the year 2021, Shopee said, consumers expect more efficient deliveries. Businesses and sellers need to use technology effectively to ensure that goods are delivered quickly and at cost savings. To do this, it is necessary to monitor the entire process from moderation to delivery, including improvement of logistics networks and warehouse capacity.

In 2020, many businesses transported goods from warehouses at a rate that was three times higher.

In Vietnam, goods related to food, health and home transported from Shopee’s warehouse doubled last year.

Delivery is the key to many online shopping platforms so it is incorporated into Tiki’s development strategy in 2021. Chief Financial Officer at Tiki Richard Trieu Pham said that Tiki has invested tens of millions of US dollars in technology and logistics systems each year, and will continue to increase in the future.

Technology and the end-to-end supply chain at Tiki help ensure the shortest order and delivery times at the lowest cost, thanks to the reduction of intermediary steps and optimization of the use of raw materials and identification of the fastest route.

In 2020, Tiki recorded a reduction of more than 25% in logistics costs per order and a return rate of less than 1%.

The Covid-19 pandemic has prompted businesses, from high-end brands to small businesses, to promote online businesses. This has led to the third trend where businesses and sellers have had to adopt an innovative digital strategy to reach customers in the context of social distancing.

For example, last year Shopee combined with Pond to integrate AI into shopping consulting and skin care consulting for customers.

According to the Department of E-Commerce and Digital Economy under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam’s e-commerce in 2020 increased by 18% – the highest level in the region.

Market size reached $11.8 billion, accounting for about 5.5% of total retail sales of consumer goods and services nationwide.

Vietnam was also the only country in Southeast Asia with double-digit e-commerce growth rate last year. Although the number of transactions increased over the same period, due to the epidemic, people mainly bought low-value goods, leading to a decrease in revenue.

Hai Dang

Nguyen Thanh Binh, chairman of the Mekong Delta province’s People’s Committee, on Wednesday said the decision stemmed from mobile karaoke services posing a high risk of coronavirus infection, local media reported.

Singing karaoke means many people would use the same mic, which may be an infection source if not properly disinfected, he explained. Those who organize or engage with such services would be dealt with in accordance with existing Covid-19 prevention protocols, he added.

Previously on Monday, Binh said the province-wide mobile karaoke ban was also based on the recent coronavirus outbreak in Cambodia, which borders An Giang.

Due to the complex situation in Cambodia, there is a high chance more Vietnamese would return home, said Binh. As such, border guards need to be more vigilant to keep out illegal entrants, he stressed.

Mobile karaoke often takes place at street restaurants or cafes, operated by a pair, of whom one member would be singing songs and the other trying to sell snacks among diners or drinkers, who sometimes partake in the performance.

But such services have garnered criticism as they could result in noise pollution. Fights have been sparked by such disputes, resulting in injuries or even death.

Last October, a man in southern Dong Nai Province was stabbed to death by his neighbor for singing karaoke loudly until near midnight, reacting aggressively when asked to stop. Similar incidents have been reported often.

Vietnam has recorded 2,475 Covid-19 cases so far, with 538 still active.

The index went sideways in the 1,180 range throughout the day before climbing up in the last hour of trading to end with a 0.34-point gain. It has stayed in the 1,180 range for three sessions in a row.

Trading value on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the index is based, rose 0.5 percent to VND15.3 trillion ($667 million). The bourse saw 270 tickers gain and 168 lose.

The VN30 basket, comprising the 30 largest capped stocks on the HoSE, saw 11 tickers in the green, dominated by real estate and banking stocks.

NVL of Novaland Group led with a 2.6 percent growth, followed by VRE of retail real estate company Vincom Retail, up 2.3 percent.

Two banking tickers followed, with VPB of private lender VPBank up 2.1 percent to the highest price since 2018, and CTG of state-owned lender VietinBank up 1.6 percent.

TCH of real estate company Hoang Huy Investment Financial Services Jsc rose 1.1 percent, while HDB of HDBank was up 0.9 percent.

Speaking at the congress, PM Phuc urged the association to continue its work in building up the Vietnamese intellectual circle in order to serve national development.

The Government leader spoke highly of VUSTA’s role in gathering and uniting Vietnamese scientists and technical experts at home and abroad, providing favourable conditions to make contributions to their homeland.

Intellectuals lay the foundation for social progress, and Vietnamese intellectuals play a crucial role in the country’s construction and development, the PM said, asking the union to strengthen its operations to become a strong political and social organisation, acting as the voice of scientists and technicians across the country, while caring for and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of its members.

The union was also assigned to serve as a consultant for the Party and State in gathering the brainpower of intellectuals, while contributing ideas to the Party and State’s policies and major socio-economic projects and programmes.

The congress saw the participation of over 900 delegates representing more than 3 million VUSTA members nationwide.

The participants reviewed the union’s operations in the 2015-2020 period and set out its orientations and tasks for the next five years.

Member of the Party Central Committee and Chairman of the National Assembly’s Committee for Science, Technology and the Environment Phan Xuan Dung was elected as President of the union.