Businesses worry about reduced purchasing power and increased transportation costs

Delivery platform Lalamove on November 21 announced the results of the survey "SMEs and transportation needs in 2025" to better understand the perspective of small and medium enterprises on the logistics market.

The survey was conducted by Lalamove from September to October 2025 for nearly 300 small and medium enterprises (SMEs), about their business situation in the next 3 months. The survey was conducted to better understand the perspective of SMEs on the logistics market and how they apply technology to freight transport activities. Accordingly, 80% of SMEs believe that their business situation will continue to improve in 2026.

Cargo safety and cost effectiveness are the two most important factors for distributors when choosing a shipping company.

The results show that more than 60% of SMEs expect transportation and logistics costs to continue to increase. At the same time, 25% of sellers believe that consumer purchasing power is decreasing, signaling a significant challenge. Therefore, SMEs will tend to look for shipping units that meet reasonable costs while still ensuring efficiency and safety of goods.

As evidence of this, 40% of SME customers surveyed said they used Lalamove's delivery service very often (more than 5 orders per week). This data shows that businesses have gradually become familiar with technology-based delivery platforms, which are completely different from the traditional delivery fleet of the past.

Among the 300 SMEs that participated in the survey, there were 10 different industries. This shows the diversity in the business sector, the desire to find better solutions with technology delivery platforms in the Vietnamese market. In which, the highest proportion is the "Wholesale" sector with 40%, followed by the "Online Retail" sector with 15%, the remaining industries are also notable such as "Import-Export Trade", "Packaging", "Packaging",... In particular, a new trend in small and medium enterprises has emerged, about 30% of customers have the need to transport agricultural products and food in large quantities.

Businesses are increasingly demanding more from their logistics partners. They want carriers to not only provide transparent rates, on-time delivery and guaranteed cargo safety – but also without too much intervention from the customer.

“Goods safety” (41%) and “Reasonable cost” (20%) are the two most important factors for distributors when choosing a shipping unit. In addition, “Quick connection with drivers” and “Customer support service” are two factors that users pay attention to when using services from delivery applications.

Mr. Nguyen Hai Dang, CEO of Lalamove Vietnam shared: “The survey shows that many SMEs clearly show their optimism towards the delivery service in Vietnam. However, they still face many challenges in the coming year such as reduced consumer purchasing power, high logistics and space costs… At Lalamove, we understand these difficulties and are focusing on supporting SMEs to save costs through effective delivery solutions."

Nhat Linh

Source: https://doanhnghiepvn.vn/kinh-te/doanh-nghiep-lo-ngai-suc-mua-giam-chi-phi-van-tai-tang/20251121112845988