1. Discover the difference between information and insight
Prepared by InsightAsia Research Group (Vietnam)
Consumer Update
November
2014
Singapore Indonesia Malaysia Thailand
China Philippines Vietnam
Overview
In the 20 years or so since Vietnam opened its doors to a market-based economy, the way that Vietnamese
Consumers live and work has dramatically changed. This is a far reaching transformation that has affected every
area of the economy including personal and commercial banking, saving and borrowing. The number of financial
institutions has skyrocketed giving its population of 90 million
people access to a range of financial and banking services
which is at the heart of a modern and integrated economy.
While commercial banks are very visible (especially in
Vietnam’s cities), they are yet to connect with the majority of
low and the emerging middle-income Vietnamese. It is
estimated that only about a third of the population uses or
has contact with banking services. This is an interesting
paradox because while many Vietnamese consumers have
little contact with banking institutions they are all the same
actively borrowing and saving.
Our Consumer Survey indicates that about 60% of
respondents have savings (our survey was conducted in HCM
and Hanoi), yet it is important to remember that for those
people without a bank, they keep their savings at home, or
they send it back to their families in their home town . So as
Vietnam continues to grow its financial institutions have the
opportunity to expand and develop and reach out to the low
and emerging middle income groups in urban and rural areas.
In this edition of our Consumer Update we also explore the
employment landscape in terms of the current sentiment
among consumers about the availability of jobs in the market
at the moment
THE TAKE AWAY
 Vietnamese Consumers are concerned about
the number of current jobs available, with
29% saying there are more jobs and the same
percentage saying there are less jobs
compared to 12 months ago.
 42% of respondents mentioned that they
don’t have any savings. That percentage
increases to 55% among households with an
income of 7.5 million or less per month.
 Vietnamese Consumers care about their skin
with 28% buying shower gel products at least
on a monthly basis.
 The most popular brand of shower gel in the
market is Dove with 85% of consumers aware
of the brand.
CONTENTS
Overview 1
The Take Away 1
Employment 1
Savings and Investments 2
Consumer Profile 3
Market Focus – Shower Gel 3
Brand Health Funnel (Top 4 Brands) 4
Employment
Similar to other countries, Vietnam measures its unemployment rate in terms of the number of people who
are actively looking for a job as a percentage of the labour force. Vietnam’s unemployment rate is very low
compared to other markets, reported to be 2.14% in December 2014. Official figures also show that another
3% of the working population experience underemployment. Many are in part time jobs, or in jobs where they
are underutilized, and some have simply left formal jobs in industry and services and have joined the country’s
growing ranks of casual labour.
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
Decreased
Strongly
Decreased
Somewhat
Same/
Don't know
Increased
Somewhat
Increased
Strongly
9%
20%
42%
26%
3%
Jobs Available Compared to 12 Months Ago
40
42
44
46
48
50
52
54
Jan-05 Jan-07 Jan-09 Jan-11 Jan-13
41.6
42.8
44.0
45.2
46.5
47.7
49.0
50.4
51.7
52.2
Vietnam Employed Persons (in millions)
Source: General Statistics Office

2. We are small enough to care, big enough to trust
Prepared by InsightAsia Research Group (Vietnam)
HCM
Hanoi
52%
24%
40%
42%
8%
34%
Increase Same Decrease
Job Expectations x Location
27%
73%
HCM
Yes No
Thinking of Changing Jobs x Location
8%
92%
Hanoi
> 15 Million
7.5-15 Million
< 7.5 Million
30%
26%
23%
35%
22%
18%
10%
14%
4%
25%
38%
55%
Increase Same Decrease No Saving
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
Decrease
Strongly
Decrease
Somewhat
Same/
Don't know
Increase
Somewhat
Increase
Strongly
2%
20%
40%
36%
2%
Jobs Available in 12 Months from Now
Up to
Secondary
Tertiary
45%
61%
42%
31%
13%
8%
Increase Same Decrease
Income Expectations x Education
Savings and Investments
In this month’s survey we asked respondents to tell us about their savings and investment practices, especially
compared to 12 months ago. Interestingly 42% of respondents mentioned that they don’t have savings at all
and understandably that was predominantly among households with a lower income. Also more males
mentioned having savings compared to females but that is expected as a third more male respondents were
employed full time compared to females.
20%
22%
13%
45%
Female
Increased
Same
Decreased
No savings
Savings x Gender
30%
23%5%
42%
Male
Savings x Income
6
11
6
Increased
Same
Decreased
Changes in Investments (n=23)
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
No
Savings
Decrease
Strongly
Decrease
Somewhat
Same Increase
Somewhat
Increase
Strongly
42%
2%
7%
23%
25%
1%
Savings

3. Delivering actionable insights to add value to your business
Prepared by InsightAsia Research Group (Vietnam)
Consumer Profile
Our Consumer Profile for November is 27 years old Nguyen Thi Mai Trang from Binh Thanh District in Ho
Chi Minh city. Trang was born in Binh Thuan province and she moved to Ho Chi Minh to study and work.
After graduating with a Financial Accounting Degree from Saigon University, Trang took a job as an
accountant for a printing and advertising company where and she has for the last 4 years. She is happy
with her job where she gets about $450 a month, so she is not thinking of changing employment any time
soon “my job suits me well, I believe that working in this company can help me grow professionally and I
have the opportunity to be promoted.” Indeed Trang thinks that in the current economic conditions it
would be difficult to find a job with a similar salary.
Trang is very confident about her job ”my salary will increased in the next 12 months because my company already announced
employee salaries for the next year, so I will continue in my job and try to do a Masters degree, having higher education will help
me get a higher salary and better opportunities for my career. Trang tries to save money to do a Masters degree abroad, “is not
much, but my savings have increased a bit in the last 12 months.”
Trang likes to buy shower gel “I use it everyday, it is very important to me and I am very satisfied with the quality of the shower
gel I am using at the moment” She is currently using Dove and about every two months she buys a 520ml bottle for which she
pays about 99.900 VND. The qualities that Trang looks for when choosing a brand of shower gel include: “I look for the right
scent which should not be too strong but still be able to last long on my skin and clothes. Also after showering the right shower
gel has to moisturize my skin, it needs to be for sensitive skin and if it causes any irritation I stop using it.” Trang only started
using Dove in the last 12 months, “Before I used to often change the brand of shower gel I was using, but now I have been using
Dove for almost one year and will keep using it for a long time.”
Across Asia the beauty and personal care industry continues to grow across all categories with skin care, men’s
grooming and fragrances being the main movers in terms of growth. Bath and shower gel products also
continue to grow with increasing interest in men’s bath and shower products among manufacturers and
consumers. This growth in male grooming products is across the region where nearly 80 per cent of men claim
they care about their looks, yet the value share of the ‘for men’ segment in the personal care category is just 4
per cent. This highlights an opportunity for personal care brands to launch new variants specially designed for
male users.
Market Focus – Shower Gel
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
Less often Every 3
months
Every 2
months
At least
monthly
17%
22%
33%
28%
Shopping Frequency of Shower Gel
20%
22%
13%
45%
Female
Increased
Same
Decreased
No savings
Shower Gel Shopping Frequency x Gender
30%
23%5%
42%
Male
Price
Brand
Long Lasting Scent
Preferred Scent
Promotion
Natural
Moisturising
Comes with scrub
Less irritation
56%
48%
43%
41%
22%
22%
21%
19%
16%
Top Qualities Considered When Buying Shower Gel
The Vietnamese cosmetic and personal care
industry is estimated to be worth only about USD
$150 million per year, but it has been enjoying a
growth rate of about 30% for the past few years.
This represents an attractive market for the
personal care industry; the country has a
population of over 90 million with over half aged
30 and below. Vietnamese males in large cities are
increasingly paying more attention to their
personal grooming and appearance, in line with
higher living standards and rising levels of
disposable income.

4. 85
50
20
13
Conversion
Rate 59%
Adoption
Rate 65%
Retention
Rate 40%
Average price
paid - 100,000 VND
Awareness
Ever tried
Purchased P3M
Last Purchased
79
42
22
17
Conversion
Rate 53%
Adoption
Rate 77%
Retention
Rate 52%
75
35
19
16
Conversion
Rate 47%
Adoption
Rate 84%
Retention
Rate 54%
Top 4 Brands Health Funnel – From Awareness to Last Purchase
Average price
paid – 80,000 VND
Average price
paid - 85,000 VND
73
36
20
12
Conversion
Rate 49%
Adoption
Rate 60%
Retention
Rate 56%
Average price
paid - 75,000 VND
21%
79%
Gender Distribution
Per Brand
58%
42%
97%
3%
100%
0%
Ben Tre
Ho Chi Minh
Can Tho
Thai Nguyen
Bien Hoa
Da Lat
Da Nang
Hue
Binh Dinh
Nha Trang
Vung Tau
Ha Noi
Hai Phong
Vinh
Nghệ An
The InsightAsia Minibus
A survey designed to collect the data you need, with a sample size you
can afford. Our minibus runs every month with data and charts for
your questions delivered on the 1st Monday of each month:
• Excellent coverage
• Representative sample
• Fast turnaround
• Best price in the market
• Just data or full report
• Full support available
Cost for 3 questions
n=200 – (Hanoi and HCM) $330
n=500 – (4 main cities) $800
n=1,000 – (National) $1,500
*Contacts us for more information
Anubha Gupta - Qualitative Director with more than
20 years living and working across South and South East
Asian countries. Anubha has deep knowledge of these
markets, maintaining brands and developing businesses
with strategic insights.
email: anubha.gupta@insightasia.com
mob: +84 (0) 909 266-563
Patrick Meza - Research Director with 20 years’
experience in the design and execution of Research
projects across Australia and Vietnam. Patrick
values are; ‘Quality, Integrity and Personal Service’
to all clients.
email: patrick.meza@insightasia.com
mob: +84 (0) 903 650-588
Male
Female
Reasons Not to Change Brands of Shower Gel
This is the Brand I like 62%
I like this scent/Aroma 44%
The one I use is good for my skin 33%
The price is ok 10%
Other 5%
Reasons to Change Brands of Shower Gel
I like to try different scents 61%
I like to buy different Brands 43%
I want something better for my skin 36%
The price is better 13%
Other 7%
Change of Shower Gel Brand Frequency
58%
42%
Never Changes
Male
Female
46%
54%
Changes
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
Never Every time Every 2nd
time
Less often
41%
27%
17% 15%