55.7% of the group of sellers with growing revenue are applying the multi-channel model, with revenue mostly in the range of 200 million to 1 billion VND/month. This shows that the multi-channel strategy is an important factor helping retail achieve high growth, reach many customer groups and optimize revenue.
Sapo Technology Joint Stock Company has just announced the results of a survey of 15,000 sellers nationwide, reflecting the retail business picture in 2024 with many bright spots and challenges. The report points out the strong transformation of the retail industry with the trend of multi-channel, cashless payment and advance payment.
33% of sellers reported increased revenue.
The group with growing revenue is concentrated in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (67%), with a staff size of mainly less than 5 people, with a common revenue exceeding 500 million VND/month, thanks to making good use of multi-channel sales and online advertising.
This is a professional multi-channel sales group with a clear business development strategy, focusing on investing in solutions to optimize advertising effectiveness, employee productivity and maximize revenue by encouraging customers to buy more or upgrade products. The fashion , home appliances and food industries contribute the highest growth rate thanks to stable purchasing power and flexible promotion programs.
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| The group with growing revenue is concentrated in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (67%), with a staff size of mainly less than 5 people, and a common revenue level exceeding 500 million VND/month. (Source: Sapo) |
More than 80% of the revenue growth group are optimistic and expect the market to progress well in 2025. Many sellers plan to develop new strategies such as livestreaming to close deals and expanding business on social platforms. Comparing with the survey results in the past 6 years, the percentage of sellers with revenue growth in 2024 is higher than in 2023 but still has not reached the positive number as in 2022. Growth is uneven across the main sales channel group.
66% of sellers believe there will be no growth in 2024, most of whom will see a decrease in revenue of 10% or more. They are mainly individual businesses or businesses using traditional sales channels (selling at stores), the rate of using online or multi-channel channels is lower than the group with revenue growth.
Many sellers in this group have not accessed or used financial support programs. They focus on cost and performance reporting tools rather than automation solutions; limit advertising investment and focus on free or low-cost channels. The group of sellers with no revenue growth tends to be cautious in their 2025 plans; 30% of this group prioritize maintaining operations equivalent to 2024 and are not bold enough to expand their business scale.
Multi-channel selling is still the most effective form of business
55.7% of the group of sellers with growing revenue are applying the multi-channel model, with revenue mostly in the range of 200 million to 1 billion VND/month. This shows that the multi-channel strategy is an important factor helping retail achieve high growth, reach many customer groups and optimize revenue.
When it comes to business support technology expectations, most sellers want to apply features and connect software more effectively to streamline operations, create a consistent experience for shoppers, and increase sustainable revenue. This also shows their desire to consolidate sales channels on a single management system, aiming for comprehensive and professional channel integration, using technology to optimize the experience.
"Sellers need to not only have a multi-channel presence but also deeply integrate between channels, focusing on buyers to create a seamless experience, increase competition and revenue. Multi-channel helps to centralize customer data to build loyalty programs, increase repurchase rates and maximize revenue. Multi-channel sales management is an inevitable trend in the retail industry," said Ms. Le Thi Dung, Growth Director of Sapo.
E-commerce still holds the "throne"
According to the survey results, 77% of sellers are doing business on at least one online sales channel (e-commerce platform/ social network/ website/ affiliate collaborator/ dropship,...), with a common scale of 1-5 stores (accounting for nearly 90%). Sellers with growing revenue are focusing and spending a lot of budget on advertising via social networks such as Instagram, TikTok and Facebook, as well as e-commerce platforms such as Shopee. 100% of 2025 plans mention expanding online sales channels such as TikTok Shop, Shopee, Facebook,... This shows that sellers still consider online channels as the focus, affirming the position of e-commerce in modern retail.
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| 77% of sellers are doing business on at least one online sales channel. (Source: Sapo) |
In 2024, major social networks such as Facebook (Meta) and TikTok (Bytedance) invested heavily in marketing support tools to increase the rate of targeted advertising, advertising on demand, and creative advertising. From AI optimizing Facebook ads to launching message advertising on TikTok, all contributed to making these marketing channels trustworthy.
However, the growth rate of online sales in 2024 has not yet met expectations. Fierce competition from international e-commerce platforms entering the market (Temu, Shein) or directly clearing customs to Vietnam (Taobao Alibaba) has made the pressure on e-commerce sales groups greater than ever.
On the other hand, platform fees for trading on the floor have increased compared to previous years, along with more strictly managed taxes, sellers face the challenge of optimizing operating costs to ensure profits. The fierce price competition is showing signs of cooling down, instead sellers are starting to tend to do sustainable business to ensure profits. The new tax management law passed by the National Assembly requiring e-commerce platforms to pay taxes on behalf of sellers is expected to reduce the burden of procedures, opening up a more transparent and simpler mechanism.
The boom in livestream sales entails some risks.
According to the survey, Facebook Live accounts for 23% and TikTok Live accounts for 18% of the total livestream sessions of sellers who are doing multi-channel business or selling only online. Shopee Live is less popular (10%), mainly used by businesses and business households specializing in selling on e-commerce platforms.
With livestream sales, although slower than TikTok and Shopee, Facebook cannot stay out of the game. In 2024, based on the combination with sales management platforms such as Sapo, Meta officially launched Facebook LiveShopping - a feature that allows sellers to both livestream and attach shopping carts for buyers to choose products and pay quickly right in the live session. This feature is expected to continue to be promoted by Meta in 2025, meeting the strong demand for sales on social networks.
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| Facebook Live accounts for 23% and TikTok Live accounts for 18% of total livestream sessions of sellers who are doing multi-channel business or only selling online. (Source: Sapo) |
Ms. Le Thi Nga, Director of Sapo Social Commerce & Shipping said: “Livestreams with creative content and customer interaction through minigames can increase viewing rates by up to 35% compared to regular product introduction sessions. When combined with fast and accurate shipping services, sellers will create a complete value chain, from approaching customers to home delivery, helping to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty.”
More than 66% of small and medium-sized sellers have not used livestreaming, showing a huge untapped potential. They have not been able to apply livestreaming because they lack knowledge about how to operate or lack resources. On the other hand, sellers need to pay special attention to the origin of products and increasingly strict regulations of the platform when live streaming. Sellers participating in the survey said they encountered a number of problems such as technical errors and poor operational management when livestreaming.
Cashless payments have become inevitable
94.4% of merchants accept at least one cashless payment method, of which transfer via VietQR or bank account number is the most popular (91%) because of its convenience and quick reconciliation. However, the boom in QR payments raises the issue of how to display QR codes and manage cash flow effectively to avoid errors and fraud. Merchants prioritize fast processing speed and payment receipt time to ensure flexible cash flow. Service cost is also an important factor, especially for small and micro-scale stores or stalls.
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| 94.4% of sellers accept at least one cashless payment method, of which transfer via VietQR or bank account number is the most popular. (Source: VnEconomy) |
The trend of displaying dynamic QR codes and using speakers to read payment transactions helps increase security and reduce errors in the payment process. 29.6% of stores use dynamic QR codes integrated into sales software. In particular, payment devices integrated with NFC - contactless payment are expected to stand out in the market in 2025, helping to increase customer experience and enhance security in payment activities.
“Today, the need is not only to choose a payment method but also requires sellers to integrate payment methods into their sales management system to create a seamless shopping experience,” said Ms. Vu Thi Hien, Director of Digital Finance, Sapo Technology Joint Stock Company.
AI has become an indispensable tool in sales in Vietnam.
From analyzing customer data, automated product advice, to optimizing advertising and marketing campaigns, AI helps retailers increase efficiency and increase profits. Sapo customers said that “AI helps in daily work” and they need to “add AI-proficient human resources to reduce operating costs”.
Statista's Tech Trends 2024 report addresses the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) across industries, including retail, requiring retailers to enhance the shopping experience through technology.
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| AI technology not only automates repetitive tasks but also provides deep data analysis capabilities. (Source: Sapo) |
Mr. Nguyen Minh Khoi, Chief Technology Officer (CIO) of Sapo Technology Joint Stock Company, emphasized: "Investing in modern technology solutions, especially AI-integrated sales management software, is a key factor to optimize operational processes and improve business performance.
AI technology not only automates repetitive tasks but also provides deep data analysis, trend prediction and sales strategy optimization. In particular, training sales teams to effectively exploit the benefits of AI will help businesses create business breakthroughs and achieve outstanding success."
2025 Trend Forecast and Recommendations for Sellers
59% of sellers are very optimistic about the business situation in 2025. Therefore, the majority of sellers want to expand their business instead of saving costs: 46% want to open more sales channels, 45.8% plan to diversify products and 30.8% want to expand their scale, add more branches and employees. Expanding sales channels is a key strategy in 2025, including social networks (28%), e-commerce platforms (23%) and TikTok Shop (21%).
To quickly catch up with the market and achieve expected revenue targets. Sellers should prioritize applying technology and customer care within the budget, ensuring profits and costs are not too high.
Apply technology suitable for current business scale: Sellers should consider technology solutions suitable for their scale and financial capacity, and easily expand features when necessary. Investing in technology can help reduce the burden of personnel costs and create higher revenue efficiency. The inevitable need of most sellers is to integrate technology systems into sales management software, from CRM to manage customer information or electronic invoice management to human resource management, timekeeping, and payroll. One tool can solve many problems for many models, from individuals, business households to enterprises.
Focus on customer experience enhancement strategies and loyalty programs to retain customers: Instead of pursuing expensive customer care programs, sellers can implement small promotions such as product combo discounts or low-cost gifts. Simple programs that target customer needs can significantly increase shopping frequency. For small retailers, programs to reduce inner-city shipping costs or golden hour promotions can also be effective without spending too much.
Increase the exploitation of social commerce to reduce tax pressure, create content, and take advantage of low-cost advertising sources: Small retailers can take advantage of livestreams, short videos, or affiliate marketing on Facebook and TikTok to interact directly with customers, build brand reputation, and increase revenue without spending much on paid advertising.
Additionally, incorporating small promotions like giveaways or discounts during your live stream can attract more potential customers, increasing your chances of converting orders effectively.
Source: https://baoquocte.vn/buc-tranh-kinh-doanh-ban-le-nam-2024-ban-hang-da-kenh-len-ngoi-300922.html
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