Vietnamese retailers accelerate digital transformation

Vietnam's retail sector is rapidly advancing in terms of digital transformation, with retailers embracing data-driven strategies and diversified sales channels to cut costs and streamline operations.

The positive assessment was announced at the launch of Zebra Technologies Corporation, a global leader in digitizing and automating frontline workflows 17th Annual Global Shopper Study on Tuesday.

In Vietnam, the total retail sales of consumer goods and services saw a year-on-year increase of 8.5%, reaching over VND5.2 trillion ($207.5 billion) from January to October 2024, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO). The Ministry of Industry and Trade has also forecast that Vietnam’s retail market to reach $350 billion by 2025, underscoring the sector’s robust trajectory.

“Many retailers in Vietnam are laying the groundwork to build a modern store experience,” said Christanto Suryadarma, sales vice president for Southeast Asia (SEA), South Korea and Channel APJeC, Zebra Technologies.

However, the study also shows shoppers are not the only ones who are worried about the impact of theft and crime on the in-store experience.

The majority of retail associates (84% globally, 72% in Asia Pacific (APAC) are concerned about the lack of technology deployed to spot safety threats or criminal activity.

With most retailers (78% globally, 80% in APAC) under high pressure to minimize theft and loss, they are now investing in technology tools that can help frontline workers and those watching operations from behind the scenes.

Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are currently viewed as the most helpful with loss prevention, closely followed by cameras, sensors, and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID).

While only three in 10 retailers (38% globally and in APAC) currently use AI-based prescriptive analytics for loss prevention, more than half surveyed (50% globally, 52% in APAC) plan to use it in within the next one to three years.

Over three in 10 retailers say they also plan to use self-checkout cameras and sensors, computer vision and RFID tags and readers within the next three years, specifically for loss prevention.

Nearly 90% of retail associates believe they can provide better customer experience when they have mobile technology tools to help simplify real-time communication and prioritize tasks as well as check prices and inventory.

Most retailers agree technology enables associates to do their jobs better, and as a result, 75% of global retailers (79% in APAC) say they plan to increase their technology investments in 2025.