Young people surf the Internet at Yahoo! Coffee Shop which opened three years ago in HCMC. Internet access at coffee shops is replaced by home Internet access when it has grown from 66% in 2008 to 71% last year to become the dominant access point - Photo: Courtesy of Yahoo!

HCMC – The proportion of Internet users reading news online in Vietnam jumped to 97% in 2009 as compared to 89% in 2008. Most people said that they like to access the Internet at home more than at a cybercafé, according to a study of Vietnamese Internet usage trend released in HCMC on Thursday.

The study is co-conducted by Yahoo! and Kantar Media, a media analysis and market researcher, to provide useful information to marketers and media planners on the opportunities and challenges in how to approach Internet users effectively.

The study was implemented by directly interviewing 1,500 Internet users who are living in Hanoi, Danang, HCMC and Can Tho.

The results show that home Internet access has grown from 66% in 2008 to 71% last year to become the dominant access point.

During the same period, online access through Internet coffee shops declined from 53% to 42% in 2009.

The reason is simple Internet installation formalities and lower Internet subscriber fees.

Along with the trend of home Internet access, Internet access through mobile devices also increases.

The percentage of Internet access via mobile devices jumped from 9% in 2008 to 16% in 2009 due to reasonable fees. In addition, the appearance of 3G technology is a key factor to promote Internet access via mobile devices.
The study also reveals what Vietnamese Internet users do when surfing the Internet.

According to the study, reading news online is the most preferred online activity.

Interestingly, reading news online is universally popular across demographic groups. Online gaming is the next most popular Internet activity when 50% surveyed said they play online games. The profile of gamers is skewed towards young males.

Along with online games, Internet users purchasing products online grew from 4% in 2008 to 11% in 2009.

Vietnamese Internet users mainly participate in social networking, online forums, email sending, writing personal blogs, music listening and downloading as well as information searching and sharing.

Huynh To Linh, research manager of Kantar Media Vietnam, said at the study announcement on Thursday that digital media is more

than a buzzword and it changes rapidly. Thus, enterprises should keep up with the trend and map out a comprehensive marketing plan to approach customers effectively.

Kantar and Yahoo! said that Vietnam currently has 23.2 million Internet users and it will develop strongly. Thus, in the future, digital media will play a key role in advertising and marketing activities.

Hien Nguyen – The Saigon Times Daily