A new report has found that Saigoneers spend an average of US$12 each month to eat out.
According to Tuoi Tre, Kantar Worldpanel, a market research firm, held a panel in Saigon on December 12, 2018 to look into the behavior of Vietnamese who consume food outside of their homes. These items include snacks like ice cream, instant noodles and bread and beverages like coffee and milk tea.
The panel introduced a new ‘live’ data research method that allows Kantar Worldpanel to measure major food and beverages that Vietnamese individuals purchase on a daily basis for out-of-home (OOH) consumption. Specifically, a smartphone-based data collection method was used via an app which was designed to track actual payments made in real time.
The report shows that locals spend an average of US$1.4 on ready-to-drink beverages, ice-cream and snacks for OOH consumption per payment, which is equivalent to a maximum monthly expense of US$11.6 (VND270,000) from am average of eight or nine trips to the store.
According to statistics for OOH consumption in Saigon from September to November, around 98% of consumers purchased non-alcoholic beverages, 60% of whom bought nutritional drinks. A further 57% chose sweet and savory snacks, while 37% spent money on light meals. Hence, non-alcoholic beverages are the most-often purchased goods of all, with a frequency of seven times a month.
While tea made up around 50% of the total spending for beverages among females and young consumers in the same three-month period, coffee was favored by male and senior buyers, accounting for 30% of their spending on drinks. This also explains why milk tea and coffee shops were the most visited out-of-home places for millennials, accounting for 45% of such choices in Saigon. On the other hand, biscuits made up 24%, instant noodles and rice soup represented 23%, whereas snacks and nuts accounted for 20% for OOH food consumption.
The number of convenience stores and minimarkets in the country’s major cities nearly quadrupled in the 2012-16 period. Although this rapid growth has created tough competition for traditional shops in Saigon, they still co-exist and remain important among those born in the 1980s and 1990s, as well as Generation Z, when it comes to buying food & beverages for OOH consumption.
Pham Quynh Trang, insight director at Kantar Worldpanel, told the news source that the panel is part of the company’s efforts to bring the best and most accurate information to Vietnamese consumers. “This OOH panel will help us add clarity to today’s complex and rapidly changing markets to help brands and retailers to quantify their performance and, more importantly, spot opportunities to grow,” she said.
[Photo via Vietnam Investment Review]
