95% of Vietnamese hit by inflation
28-AUG-2008 Intellasia | Vietnamnet
Aug 28, 2008 - 7:00:00 AM
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Despite inflation, Vietnamese rank top in the world for using mobile phones, according to a survey by Taylor Nelson Sofres Vietnam released on August 25 in HCM City.
95% of Vietnamese consumers recently interviewed by Taylor Nelson Sofres Vietnam, a market research company, reported that inflation had significantly affected their lives. Only one-third of workers had had their salaries increase while the prices of all kinds of commodities surged, forcing 75% of consumers to change their shopping habits, according to the survey.
The survey revealed that consumers in Hanoi were loyal to familiar brands and only 8% of them changed to use cheaper brands, while 33% of consumers in Da Nang and 32% in HCM City changed to buy cheaper products.
Low-income earners (less than 3.5 million dong or US$210/month) reduced shopping expenses by 17.2%. Food was the top priority in shopping for 75.5% of surveyed people. 71% of interviewees said price is the decisive factor in shopping. 63.5% said they only purchased food that they already knew the prices of. 70% always compared the prices of brands of similar products.
The survey also showed that Vietnam has 89 banks but they don't have much capital. 15% of borrowers invest their loans in real estate, transport, etc., with average loan of 200 million dong (US$12,000).
5% of urban people invest in the stock market and 4% of them are satisfied by their investments in the market.
Notably, despite inflation, Vietnam is named in the top ten countries for using mobile phones, with around 60%, compared to 8% in Thailand, 25% in the US, 39% in India. Of Vietnamese mobile phone users, 80% sent messages often and over 24% used their cell phones to enjoy music. "This is the world's highest rate," said Ralf Matthaes, Managing director of Taylor Nelson Sofres Vietnam.
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