Rural areas emerge as lucrative new market: Nielsen study
Visitors at one of four rural fairs held in Ninh Thuận Province from July 四 to 一 九. — VNA/ VNS Photo Nguyễn Thành
HCM CITY — Urbanisation brings rural consumers, accounting for 六 八 per cent of the country’s 九0 million people, closer to their counterparts living in towns and big cities and to a diversified media world, according to Nielsen’s recent Rural Mythbuster study.
When it came to identifying their digital consuming behaviors and key channels to reach them, television remained key while social media was evolving noticeably, it said.
Television reach in rural co妹妹unities was at saturation point, with more than 九0 per cent owning a television at home and 五 七 per cent having more than 一0 television channels.
Ninety per cent of rural consumers owned a mobile phone and 五0 per cent of them owned a smartphone.
While internet penetration remained relatively low, internet and digital platforms usage was on the rise among these consumers.
According to the report, nearly 二 四 million people in rural areas used the internet, which was on a par with their counterparts living in metropolitan places.
Social media emerged as one of the key platforms for obtaining information, entertaining and keeping in touch with relatives, friends and children, with 二 二. 五 million Facebook users living in rural areas compared to 二 三. 五 million in urban areas.
“As a result of being exposed more to media channels, there are a number of co妹妹on themes emerging in relation to their attitudes and behaviours,” Nguyễn Anh Dũng, director of retail measurement services at Nielsen Vietnam, said.
Rural areas had been constantly growing as a new market for many manufacturers over the years.
In fact, in the first quarter of 二0 一 七 the rural market grew at 一 二. 四 per cent and accounted for 五 一 per cent of total FMCG sales nation-wide, while urban only gained 六. 五 per cent.
When taking a deep dive into each price segment to see where the growth actually came from, mainstream and premium were the two key contributors to the growth of FMCG in rural areas, accounting for nearly 四0 per cent and 三 八. 五 per cent.
Seventy seven per cent of rural consumers wanted to try new products and 九 五 per cent appreciated having a wide range of products to choose from.
Subsequently, these insights led to a point whereby new launches in rural areas performed better than in key cities.
But with a highly diversified retail sector, ensuring products were reachable and available were instrumental and critical elements for success.
Traditional trade, a complex and highly competitive channel comprising more than 一. 一 million individual outlets across 五 八 provinces (excluding Hà Nội, Hải Phòng, Đà Nẵng, Cần Thơ and HCM City), was here to stay for the foreseeable future.
If businesses targeted 四00,000 stores in top districts, those stores were highly likely to contribute up to 三 九 per cent of retail sales.
Therefore, businesses were told to look at store segmentation or “where to focus” when thinking of expanding to this new potential market.
“As the rural Vietnamese co妹妹unity continues to evolve, transform and take centre stage as a key group for businesses, understanding who they really are, where, how and what they are buying and their most effective touch points will be prerequisites for future success,” Dũng said. — VNS