Millennials in Vietnam, aged 18-44, exhibit different purchase behaviors than older consumers. They prioritize brand experience, personalization, convenience, health, and eco-friendliness over price. They also spend more outside the home. FMCG companies are adapting by increasing their digital presence, using gamification and mobile apps, promoting online deals, and ensuring product customization to attract Millennial customers in Vietnam.

1. CARTERING TO
VIETNAMESE
MILLENNIALS
by: Ralf Matthaes
Managing Director
Ralf has lived and researched Vietnam for over 25
years.

2. Vietnam’s Millennials are changing the landscape of
consumerism. These 18-44 year old’s exhibit different
purchase behavior and require different marketing
strategies to harness their interest in your products and
services and above all their ever growing disposable
incomes.
FMCG GROWTH
2018 witnessed the first year in over 25 years that Fast
Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) volumes experienced
decline in urban Vietnam, at 0.1 percent negative growth
and only a mild 2.4% value growth, driven mostly by
Inflation. FMCG growth in Rural Vietnam was more positive
with a 5.5% value growth and 3.2% volume growth.
9.55
3.77
2.74
5.2
6.7
2.4
4.86
1.2 1.78 2.36 2.3
-0.12013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Urban Value / Volume Growth %
Value % Volume %

3. However, FMCG marketers need not panic just yet, as there
are several growing trends which shed a healthier picture in
the FMCG Millennial market.
FMCG purchases are typically measured by what is
purchased and consumed inside the home and does not
include out of home consumption, where Millennials are
flexing their economic muscle.
Infocus Mekong Research’s 2019 Consumer Confidence
Index is still very positive at 91 points out of an index on 120
points, only 1 point below 2018, meaning that consumers
are still upbeat and willing to spend, but are spending their
hard earned Dong differently than their non Millennial
contemporaries.
Millennial consumers shop very differently and look more
for Brand experience than other consumers and place a high
value on the entire experience and convenience of spending
money, than non-millennials, whose key focus has been on
best vale for money and bands that are “good enough”.

4. Millennials, are the demographic cohort
that directly follows Generation X,
consisting of individuals born between
1982 and 2004. Millennials grew up in an
electronics-filled and increasingly online
and socially-networked world. They are the
generation that has received the most
marketing attention. Having been raised
under the mantra "follow your dreams"
and being told they were special, they tend
to be confident.
Though similar to Global Millennials, they
are typically older and defined by
Vietnam’s turbulent history and the arrival
of the internet and mass media. Thus, a
typical Millennial in Vietnam was born
after the war (1975) and defined by the
arrival of the internet in 1997, making
Vietnam’s Millennials aged 18 to 44 years
of age, but with very similar traits as their
Global brethren.
WHAT IS A MILLENNIAL?

5. The major difference between millennials and older consumers can best be summed up as; Consumers who care more about
personalization of goods and services, with a keen eye on brand experience and enhancement, convenience and health who are
all digital natives and are much more brand astute and savvy than older consumers.
Millennials almost always research their purchases on-line before any purchase. They compare, research on-line, visits stores, to
try, then ultimately buy on-line to save money and gain convenience.
PREVAILING TRENDS

6. INDEPENDENCE OF CHOICE
These consumers enjoy and want
their freedom and independence,
and hence tend to go out much
more in terms of dining and eating
out, stepping out of the yoke of
parental control.
This is partially what is driving the
reduction of FMCG in-home volume
consumption, as they buy less to
consume at home and more as they
are on the go.
Just visit any of Vietnam’s coffee
shops, fast food outlets and
convenience stores, to see the high-
volume traffic. Circle K, as way of
example, experienced double digit
growth in 2018, and outlets such as
Jollibee are also seeing phenomenal
growth due to this trend of out of
home consumption.

7. DIGITALLY DRIVEN
Millennials are the drivers of everything Digital. 90% own a
smartphone and over 60% own laptops, desktops, tablets etc.
78% made at least one purchase on-line in the last
30 days, highlighting a mega Millennial trend, on-line
shopping. Most on-line platforms are thriving in terms of
growth, but still hindered by supply chain issues and the
limited use of electronic payment, but growth for some is in
the triple digits. This further adds to the reduction of the
traditional FMCG market growth as digital purchases are
impacting both Modern trade and Traditional trade growth.
Ironically, of the US $3 Billion plus e-commerce market, some
categories are already outselling modern and traditional trade.
88% 81%
76%
61% 55%
83%
65% 62%
44% 37%
80% 83% 73%
41% 46%
Retail Beauty Healthcare Electronics Books
Ever purchased at stores
Purchased at stores in P3M
Purchased online in P3M
Product purchases

8. Banks and insurance companies in Vietnam have realized this
digital trend explosion and are all offering Omni-Channel payment
and purchase options, further catering to these tech savvy
consumers.
In terms of product and service brand selection, Millennials choose
brands and services that offer; personalization, such as being able
to design your own running shoes, Apps, which you can program
with your preferred content and all must offer, convenience, such
as free delivery, have a health platform and are eco-friendly. These
are the new parameters of Brand selection and should evolve even
further in the next few years.
Another key trend is switching from local Vietnamese brands to
International brands. This especially holds true for the Food and
Beverage Categories, due to recent food safety and hygiene issues
of some local brands. This is further exacerbated by the perception
that Vietnamese brands should be cheaper to produce, creating
the perception that Vietnamese brands should be cheaper than
International brands and hence consumers select International
brands, as they are perceived to have better quality and
assurances, even at a slightly higher price.

9. TREND REVERSALS
Technology has now fully saturated Vietnam. As children with
new toys, they play with it for a few weeks and tend to move
onto other activities. This reaction will also occur with
Vietnam’s technology obsessed, partially due to saturation and
partially due to more choice and more income. When asked
which entertainment activities Millennials will engage in more in
the future, outside of Smartphone usage, not a single digital
activity, from Gaming to Watching You Tube, saw an increase. In
contract, non-digital activities saw a substantial spike in future
use, led by travel.
9%
14%
17%
23%15% 16%
36%
48%
Go to bars /
restaurants
Read (physical)
books
Exercise Travel
ENTERTAINMENT ACTIVITY GROWTH
Today in Future

10. Many FMCG companies have been quick to realize these changes. Nowhere can
this been seen more prominently than the growth of digital advertising spend,
which in a short 5 years has growth from about US $30 Million to an estimated US
$300 Million in 2018. Though only accounting for some 17% of total advertising
spend, it does bare witness that FMCG’s are fishing where the fish are, on-line.
FMCG COMPANY TACTICS AND STRATEGIES
Almost all major FMCG’s advertise on Facebook, Google and even have their own fan pages and blogs for consumers to
add and share experiences. This is one area where proper targeting and knowing exactly who your Millennial digital
native is, becomes crucial, to ensure you are measuring the impact of your digital campaigns to better understand your
R.o.I, which Infocus can help with via our partner Miaozhen systems.
Many FMCG’s have embraced gaming to bring their messages to these young consumers. As all are digital and grew up
with Gaming, many companies are attracting consumers by gamifying their messages to generate brand awareness and
consideration.
As Vietnam’s tech boom continues, many companies are reaching consumer with Digital promotions, using QR codes to
deliver discounts and vouchers to drive business. This again allows for immediate access and reduces cost, as paper and
procedures are minimalized.

11. 74
51
24
27
2
22
18 - 44
44 plus
LAST ON-LINE PURCHASE
Last month Less frequentlyy Never
The usage of Social media has skyrocketed, from the obvious (Facebook, Google, Zalo, etc) to the new, Instagram, Viber,
Facetime. FMCG’s are placing themselves at the forefront of where Millennials spend most of their time, on-line and via
their smartphones. This allows for continuous brand building in an ever more fragmented media market.
Finally, many FMCG’s have brought technology to the retail environment, where smartphone targeted ad campaigns
tell a consumer where the best deals are and what discounts can be had.
Considering that smart technology has only been in Vietnam for 7 years or so, it is amazing how fast the digital
advertising age has transformed the FMCG landscape and will continue to do so.

12. WINNING MILLENNIALS
So, to ensure the continued growth of FMCG from Millennials, it is critical to offer; a strong on-line presence, Apps,
gamification, smart tech retail messaging, on-line promotions, and most importantly content and products or
services which meet these consumers expectations which are; personalization, convenience, a healthy platform,
eco-friendliness and a sense of belonging and an ability to share.
If these can be achieved, the last challenge for success is to ensure you know how to specifically target these
millennials, which is all about; knowing your target audience and their preferred medial channels and which
categories they prefer for which media channels, and what time to engage them.

13. www.ifmresearch.com 13
Ralf Matthaes | Managing Director
Tel: +84-8 2262-7627
Mobile: +84-903-949-531
Website: www.ifmresearch.com
ifmpanel website: www.ifmpanel.com
Email: Ralf.matthaes@infocusmekong.com
4th Floor, 21 Phung Khac Khoan Street, D.1
HCMC, Vietnam
Advanced - Agile - Accurate - Actionable