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consumer lifestyles in vietnam
CONSUMER LIFESTYLES IN VIETNAM Euromonitor International November 2012 C O N S U M E R L I F E S T Y L E S I N V I E T N A M P a s s p o r t I © E u r o m o n i t o r I n t e r n a t i o n a l LIST OF CONTENTS AND TABLES Consumer Habits in Context . 1 Current Behaviour Within the Broader Economic Climate 1 Consumer Confidence 2 Misery Index . 2 Chart 1 Misery Index 2006-2011 . 3 Learning . 4 School Life 4 University Life . 6 Adult Learning 7 Chart 2 Number of Students in Higher Education and Consumer Expenditure on Education 2006-2011 7 Chart 3 Regional Ranking of Number of University Students 2011 . 8 Working Habits . 8 Working Conditions . 9 Women in the Workplace 9 Commuting . 10 Alternative Work Options 11 Retirement 11 Chart 4 Employed and Unemployed Population and Labour Force Participation Rate 2006-2011 . 12 Chart 5 Population Aged 15-64 Compared with Old-Age Dependency Ratio 2000-2020 12 Chart 6 Regional Ranking of Female Employment Rate 2011 13 Eating Habits 13 Dining in 14 Dining Out . 14 Café Culture . 15 Snacking Habits 16 Attitudes Towards Food Trends 16 Chart 7 Per Capita Expenditure on Consumer Foodservice by Chained and Independent 2011 16 Chart 8 Regional Ranking of Average Supply of Food Calories per Day 2011 . 17 Drinking Habits . 17 Attitudes Towards Drinking . 17 Drinking Inside the Home . 18 Drinking Outside the Home . 19 Chart 9 Per Capita Consumption of Alcoholic Drinks and Soft Drinks by Category 2011 20 Chart 10 Regional Ranking of Alcoholic Drinks Consumption: Off-trade vs On- trade 2011 20 Grooming Habits 21 Attitudes Towards Personal Care . 21 Attitudes Towards Beauty . 22 Male Grooming . 23 C O N S U M E R L I F E S T Y L E S I N V I E T N A M P a s s p o r t II © E u r o m o n i t o r I n t e r n a t i o n a l Use of Hair Care Salons, Spas, Nail and Beauty Parlours . 23 Chart 11 Value Sales of Beauty and Personal Care Key Categories 2006-2011 24 Chart 12 Regional Ranking of Per Capita Sales of Men's Grooming Products 2011 . 24 Fashion Habits . 25 Attitudes Towards Clothing . 25 Attitudes Towards Footwear . 26 Attitudes Towards Personal Adornment . 26 Attitudes Towards Accessories/luxury Goods . 27 Chart 13 Consumer Expenditure on Clothing and Footwear 2006-2011 . 28 Chart 14 Regional Ranking of Consumer Expenditure on Clothing and Footwear as a Proportion of Total Consumer Expenditure 2011 28 Health and Wellness Habits . 29 Public Versus Private Healthcare . 29 Attitudes To Health and Well-being 30 Over-the-counter Versus Prescription-only Medicines (otc Vs Pom) 30 Sport and Fitness 31 Obesity . 31 Chart 15 Growth in OTC Expenditure on Pharmaceuticals Compared with Healthy Life Expectancy at Birth 2006-2011 32 Chart 16 Regional Ranking of Obese and Overweight Population 2011 . 32 Smoking Habits 33 Smoking Prevalence . 33 Attitudes To Smoking 33 Chart 17 Smoking Prevalence amongst Men and Women 2006-2011 . 34 Chart 18 Regional Ranking of Smoking Prevalence 2011 34 Shopping Habits . 35 Attitudes To Shopping 35 Main Household Food and Non-food Consumables Shop 36 Top-up Food Shopping . 36 Shopping for Big-ticket Items 37 Personal Shopping . 38 E-commerce and M-commerce 38 Chart 19 Importance of Hypermarkets, Supermarkets and Discounters within Grocery Retailing 2011 39 Chart 20 Regional Ranking of Internet Users 2011 . 40 Leisure Habits 41 Staying in 41 Going Out . 42 Public Holidays, Celebrations and Gift-giving . 42 Culture 43 Chart 21 Regional Ranking of Consumer Expenditure on Leisure and Recreation as a Proportion of Total Consumer Expenditure 2011 . 44 DIY and Gardening Habits 44 Attitudes To DIY 44 Attitudes To Gardening . 45 Chart 22 Number of Home Owners 2006-2011 . 45 C O N S U M E R L I F E S T Y L E S I N V I E T N A M P a s s p o r t III © E u r o m o n i t o r I n t e r n a t i o n a l Chart 23 Regional Ranking of Home Owners as a Proportion of Total Households 2011 . 46 Pet Ownership Habits . 46 Attitudes To Pet Ownership 46 Chart 24 Pet Population and Sales of Pet Food 2006-2011 . 47 Chart 25 Chart 25: Regional Ranking of Pet Ownership 2011 48 Travel Habits 49 Getting Around . 49 Use of Public Transport 50 Air Travel 51 Chart 26 Kilometres Travelled by Rail and Air Compared with Road Network, Number of Scheduled Airline Passengers Carried and Consumer Expenditure on Transport Services 2006-2011 51 Chart 27 Regional Ranking of Passenger Cars in Use 2011 52 Vacation Habits 53 Attitudes To Taking Holidays 53 Main Holiday-taking Trends 54 Domestic Versus Foreign Holidays . 55 Preferred Travel Methods . 56 Chart 28 Domestic and Outgoing Tourist Expenditure by Sector 2006-2011 56 Chart 29 Regional Ranking of Holiday Departures 2011 57 Financial Habits 58 Attitudes Toward Payment Methods . 58 Savings . 59 Loans and Mortgages . 60 Chart 30 Consumer Lending Compared with Savings and Savings Ratio 2006- 2011 . 61 Chart 31 Regional Ranking of Financial Cards in Circulation 2011 . 62 C O N S U M E R L I F E S T Y L E S I N V I E T N A M P a s s p o r t 1 © E u r o m o n i t o r I n t e r n a t i o n a l CONSUMER LIFESTYLES IN VIETNAM CONSUMER HABITS IN CONTEXT Current Behaviour Within the Broader Economic Climate Over the past 20 years, Vietnam has made the transition, in the words of the World Bank, ―from a centrally planned economy to a market economy and from an extremely poor country to a lower-middle-income country‖. Indeed, this significant shift has been reflected in recent statistics measuring the country‘s continued (albeit recently slow) economic growth. In 2011, GDP in Vietnam reached VND2.54 trillion, up from VND2.39 trillion in 2010 and VND2.24 trillion in 2009. However, this growth has masked a wide range of fundamental issues that, if not addressed soon, could stall the country‘s continued growth. Again according to the latest review by the World Bank, ―The country has experienced bouts of macroeconomic turbulence in recent years—double-digit inflation, depreciating currency, capital flight, and loss of international reserves—eroding investor confidence. Rapid growth has revealed new structural problems. The quality and sustainability of growth remain a source of concern, given the resource- intensive pattern of growth, high levels of environmental degradation, lack of diversification and value addition in exports, and the declining contribution of productivity to growth. Vietnam‘s competitiveness is under threat because power generation has not kept pace with demand, logistical costs and real estate prices have climbed, and skill shortages are becoming more widespread‖. At the same time, the country‘s housing and property bubble has burst, leaving a trail of unfinished apartment buildings and other development projects as well as a large number of construction workers looking for jobs. As well, the growing number of bankruptcies—49,000 in 2011 and an estimated 106,000 in 2012, according to the General Statistics Office—has added to the growing pessimism. Clearly, the government‘s stated goal of achieving an industrialised and modern economy by 2020 has been derailed, at least for a time, and much work needs to be done to get the economic train back on track. The recent fluctuations seen in the country‘s economy have been reflected in consumers‘ income and expenditure levels and have had a significant impact on their attitudes towards spending. In 2011, annual disposable income per capita reached VND18,996,268, up slightly from VND18,421,117 in 2010. Similarly, consumer spending increased but only slightly, going from VND17,122,309 in 2010 to VND17,687,065 in 2011. In addition to struggling with slow growth, consumers have also had to struggle with volatile inflation rates. In 2008, the average inflation rate stood at more than 22% before dropping to 7% in 2009 and then before increasing slightly to 9.2% in 2010. By 2011, however, the inflation rate had jumped to a worrying average of 18.6%. For the most part, this roller-coaster ride has rattled consumers and dampened their willingness to spend on anything more than those items they deem as necessary. Many observers have pointed to controls exercised by the government and the powerful Communist Party (state enterprises reportedly account for two-fifths of the country‘s output) as the primary reason the country now finds itself in a precarious economic position. A recent article in the New York Times noted ―The awkward marriage between a secretive Communist Party leadership and a capitalist economy is clouding recovery prospects for the country of 91 million people. Investors are sceptical of the government‘s economic management and question the reliability of statistics. The country‘s central bank says borrowers have stopped paying back one out of every 10 loans in the banking system .The government has battled the country‘s problems with classic macroeconomic tools: tightening the supply of money to choke off double- digit inflation and then slashing interest rates [in 2012] to energize the economy. Yet banks C O N S U M E R L I F E S T Y L E S I N V I E T N A M P a s s p o r t 2 © E u r o m o n i t o r I n t e r n a t i o n a l remain very cautious, partly because of the growing number of customers unable to pay back their loans‖. The latest analysis from the World Bank presented in its Vietnam Development Report 2012 agreed, noting that state-owned enterprises in Vietnam own too much of the country‘s fixed capital and that they are less efficient at using this capital than private enterprises, a situation that the Bank believes requires fundamental restructuring as soon as possible if Vietnam is to get back on its growth track. As well, the report said, current central planning has led to ―Vietnam .allocating its public resources in a way that is creating a suboptimal and fragmented infrastructure at the local level that does not always contribute to building an effective infrastructure system at the national level .Finally, the Report finds that the amount and quality of fiscal, financial, and economic information that the Government of Vietnam currently collects and releases to the market is inadequate for the smooth functioning of a middle-income country‖. Addressing these and other fundamental issues would assuage the concerns of foreign investors, boost levels of investment and fuel the country‘s long-term economic growth. In turn, continued economic growth would boost the development of a modern market economy throughout the country and help convince Vietnamese consumers that it was prudent and safe to increase their personal spending, fuelling even further growth. Consumer Confidence Since the heady days after the country joined the World Trade Organisation in 2007, consumers in Vietnam have now come under great pressure as a result of the country's recent economic slowdown, high inflation rates, growing number of bankruptcies and depreciating currency. Adding to the gloom has been the bursting of the property bubble and the high levels of unemployment, particularly among young Vietnamese. Significantly, most consumers have now lost faith in the government‘s ability to guide the nation‘s economy and to resolve the fundamental financial problems it faces. In this climate, consumer confidence has been shaken and a growing number of Vietnamese believe their personal standards of living are eroding. In response, cautious households have turned to saving rather than spending. In particular, spending on discretionary products and services and big-ticket items such as consumer electronics, appliances and cars has been significantly curtailed. A recent report from the Ministry of Planning and Investment summed up the attitudes of consumers: ―Vietnamese consumers, who have been amongst the most optimistic bunch globally for many, many years .are feeling the decline of the once-roaring Tiger called Vietnam‖, adding that ―From abandoned construction sites and apartments, to the state-owned enterprises‘ incredible bad debts and the recent run on certain banking stocks, the average Vietnamese consumer has taken note and consumer sentiment is plummeting‖. The report added that slumping consumer confidence is reminiscent of what happened in 2009 as a result of the global economic downturn, but that in this case ―the culprit is not the global financial system but rather the poor performance of Vietnam‘s economy‖. As a result of declining confidence many consumers, according to the Ministry, are turning to ‗DIY‘ (―Instead of going out for lunch, many urban Vietnamese are now making lunch and bringing it with them. Thus, Vietnamese are saving money by increasing their own time doing many of the services they would otherwise have someone else do‖) and ‗trading down‘ to less expensive products. Misery Index In 2011, the average reading on the Misery Index (calculated by adding the inflation rate to the unemployment rate) reached 20%, up significantly from the 10.7% recorded in 2010 and the C O N S U M E R L I F E S T Y L E S I N V I E T N A M P a s s p o r t 3 © E u r o m o n i t o r I n t e r n a t i o n a l 8.7% recorded in 2009. The steep increase was the result of a staggering rise in inflation, which averaged 18.6% in 2011 after rates of 9.2% in 2010 and 7% in 2009. Over the same period, the unemployment rate declined, albeit slightly, falling from 1.7% in 2009 to 1.5% in 2010 before reaching 1.4% in 2011. In response to rising inflation in 2011, the government hiked interest rates several times in an attempt to keep the economy from overheating, as a result holding down prices but introducing factors that could slow economic growth. Indeed, the government reversed course its course in 2012, cutting rates five times to spur flagging growth and, as the year went on, inflation had again become a formidable foe. Indeed, according to Bloomberg News, ―Vietnam faces ‗high risks‘ that inflation will accelerate toward the end of [2012] as the government strives to spur lending and help businesses, according to a central bank official. ‗The central bank will manage its monetary policies in a manner that can bring down lending interest rates to help businesses,‘ Do Thi Nhung, deputy head of the monetary policy department at the central bank, told a conference in Hanoi‖. Compared to other countries in the region, unemployment rates in Vietnam have remained relatively low. But the recent domestic economic downturn has led to many companies going out of business or going bankrupt and this has driven growth in joblessness, a trend that is expected to last through at least in the short term. A recent article in Thanh Nien News noted ―Unemployment in Vietnam is rising rapidly due to the stagnant economy, which has caused more firms to shut down or decrease production. Le Quang Trung, deputy director of the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs Employment Department, said more businesses have been closing down or cutting back on operations, especially in construction, real estate and food processing‖. Trung also added that Vietnam‘s labour market is experiencing ―a paradox‖ of rising unemployment combined with many firms, particularly small and medium- sized businesses, finding it difficult to recruit workers. ―Many firms with large demands for labour are not able to employ enough workers because the salaries and perks they offer are too low,‖ said Trung. ―Many firms have announced that they are recruiting large numbers of labourers. However, it is not for production expansion, but for the labour shortage, as many workers may quit their jobs,‖ he said. ―The labour market is now in a difficult stage, so it is not easy for labourers to find decent jobs.‖ The rising number of benefit claims by out-of-work Vietnamese has confirmed the concerns of many observers of the country‘s job market. The Saigon Times recently reported that between January and August 2012 the government had already paid out unemployment insurance of VND1.41 trillion, more than the total of VND1.07 trillion paid out for all of 2011. Chart 1 Misery Index 2006-2011 C O N S U M E R L I F E S T Y L E S I N V I E T N A M P a s s p o r t 4 © E u r o m o n i t o r I n t e r n a t i o n a l Source: Euromonitor International Note: Calculated by adding the country‘s unemployment rate to its inflation rate. LEARNING School Life The education system in Vietnam consists of early childhood education (nurseries for infants from the age of three months up to three years and kindergarten for children aged three to six), principle education (including primary school – age six to 11; secondary school – age 11 to 15; high school – age 15 to 18) and tertiary education (colleges or universities, where undergraduate courses usually lasts four years). Additionally, there are professional secondary schools and vocational schools that offer professional training for children from age 13. Courses in these schools usually last from a few months to two years. Educational establishments can be public (established, funded and monitored by the State), people-founded (established, funded and monitored by communities) or private (established, funded and run by organizations or individuals). The latter two are sometimes collectively referred to as non-public schools. Schools C O N S U M E R L I F E S T Y L E S I N V I E T N A M P a s s p o r t 5 © E u r o m o n i t o r I n t e r n a t i o n a l in urban areas and big cities are noted for having higher educational quality than those in rural areas as they have better facilities and teaching staffs. These also carry higher tuition fees and other fees for extra classes and infrastructure maintenance. As such, while the government tries to make principle education accessible to as many children as possible, those coming from low- income households cannot afford well-known and well-facilitated schools unless they have scholarships. Disparity between boys and girls in principle education is minor, with female pupils making up 49% of total pupils in the school year 2010-2011, according to statistics published by the Ministry of Education and Training in June 2011. Primary, secondary and high schools have two semesters per school year, with two big breaks for the Tet holiday and for summer holidays. The first semester starts in September and ends in January, and this is followed by the Tet holiday. The start and end of Tet varies every year depending on the Lunar calendar as well as direction from the Ministry of Education and Training. According to an article published in TienPhong Online in January 2012, Tet breaks last for 14 days. After Tet comes the second semester, which usually runs from the beginning of February to the end of May or beginning of June. Summer breaks last for three months from June to August. September 5 is the official start date for the new school year, but many schools summon their students back to school early, in some cases as early as July. This is a common practice among special schools with heavier and more extended syllabuses. Aside from Tet and the summer break, pupils are entitled to other public holidays such as New Year (January 1), Hung King Commemorations (10th day of the third lunar month), Liberation Day (April 30), International Workers‘ Day (May 1) and National Day (September 2). The main subjects in primary schools are mathematics, Vietnamese, composition, ethics and science. Fourth and fifth grades replace science with history and geography. Music, art and physical education are also on the syllabus. Primary school pupils do not have a foreign language as a compulsory subject, although many schools do provide extra language courses, mostly English. In secondary schools, English become a mandatory subject along with mathematics, literature, physics, chemistry, biology, history and geography. Other subjects include music, art, physical education and computing. Although English is the main foreign language taught in Vietnam, some schools, such as the Colette secondary school, offer classes in other foreign languages such as French. According to an article published in Tin Moi in August 2010, the heads of Hanoi Department of Education and Training instructed that primary pupils who go to school for a full day should not be given any homework. Regardless, teachers and even parents think pupils should do homework, even just a little, to revise what they have been taught. According to an article published on the Hanoi Department of Education and Training website in November 2009, the average pupil spends three hours a day doing homework. A typical day for school children starts around six o‘clock in the morning when they wake up and dress up for school. They have breakfast, either at home or on the way to school, and parents take them to school or they go by themselves if they are old enough. Typical breakfasts are noodles, sandwiches, broken rice or sticky rice. The morning session starts around seven to seven thirty and ends around eleven. There is break time in the middle of session when the children can relax and refresh themselves with snacks and drinks they bring from home or buy from the school canteen. Children do not usually bring snacks (these they can buy at school), but they do bring breakfast, usually sandwiches or boxed meals, if they have not had breakfast yet. Most schools provide distilled water for their pupils. After the morning session, the children have a lunch break. Some stay at school and some go home. The afternoon session starts around one thirty and ends around four thirty. Similar to the morning session, there is break in the middle of session. After school, children go home for dinner, which is a typical Vietnamese meal consisting of rice, thin soup, a savoury dish and a vegetable dish. Some prepare for C O N S U M E R L I F E S T Y L E S I N V I E T N A M P a s s p o r t 6 © E u r o m o n i t o r I n t e r n a t i o n a l evening cramming schools or language classes. After getting home from extra classes, children do their homework and go to sleep. All school students wear uniforms. A typical uniform consists of a white shirt and dark blue bottoms, usually pants for boys and skirts for girls, although some schools, such as Le Van Tam secondary school in Ho Chi Minh City, have a white shirt and dark blue pants as the uniform for both boys and girls. High-school female students wear ao dai (a tight-fitting silk tunic worn over pantaloons), as uniform. Recently, more and more schools have replaced these with the regular shirt and pants uniform due to the inconvenience of ao dai, although female students are still required to wear them once a week or once a month. Some schools are beginning to design their own uniforms. Sport shoes are required for physical education and some schools require students to wear closed shoes (as opposed to sandals) on Monday for saluting the colours. Day boarding schools provide school lunches to pupils, with the cost for one meal being approximately VND15,000, according to an article published in Phap Luat newspaper in April 2011. While some people take packed lunches to school, they are not a popular option. As the school day starts early and at the same time as the work day for adults, parents generally do not have time to prepare lunch boxes. School lunches are perceived as a more convenient option. However, the quality of school lunches has been controversial since many parents complain that the meals do not meet food safety standards and do not have enough nutrition for their children. According to an article published in Sai Gon Giai Phong Online in November 2011, lunches at Trang Tan Khuong primary school in Ho Chi Minh City were not cooked thoroughly, resulting in the pupils having diarrhoea. Sometimes meals just consisted of rice and clear soup without any meat or fish. The new school year starts on September 5, although many students start coming back to school earlier. The beginning of August is when parents begin preparing for the new school year. According to an article published in Vietnam Plus in August 2011, consumers generally buy text books, reference books, note books, pens, pencils, backpacks and school bags as part of their back-to-school shopping. Favourite shopping places include stationery stores or book stores, where consumers can find most of the necessary items. Stationery outlets in markets are another alternative as the prices here are slightly lower compared to prices in bigger stores. Supermarkets and hypermarkets like Big C also carry school stationery with attractive promotions to meet the rising demands when the new school year is about the start. Aside from school uniforms, consumers might have to purchase sport pants for physical education (some schools only sell the top of the sport uniform) and footwear, including sport shoes and daily footwear like sandals. University Life Upon graduation from high school, students have the choice to start working or continue studying in universities, colleges or vocational schools. University is the most popular choice as graduating from universities is perceived to ensure a better chance of getting a good job and decent salary. To secure a place in universities, colleges or vocational schools, students have to attend the annual national exam, which usually takes place in July. Test subjects in the national exam come in different groups, categorised by the Ministry of Education. Each group consists of three subjects, and students choose their group based on the school they select. Funding-wise, there are three types of universities in Vietnam: public, private and international. Public universities are founded and funded by the government. Public universities are the most favoured due to their teaching quality and affordable tuition fees (around VND40,000 – VND200,000 monthly), although some public universities pose issues such as rigid studying programmes and obsolescent teaching materials. Private universities are established and operated by private organisations or individuals. Their tuition fees are higher than public schools (around VND500,000 – VND700,000 monthly) but they require a lower . unemployment rate declined, albeit slightly, falling from 1.7% in 2009 to 1.5% in 2010 before reaching 1.4% in 2011. In response to rising inflation in 2011, the. time working part-time, studying at home, dating, socialising, partying, online gaming and playing sports. Dating is popular among students and since they