Second-hand products becoming more popular in Vietnam

Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)

HCM City - The consumption habits of Vietnamese people are changing after the COVID-19 pandemic, with many using second-hand products to save money and promote sustainability.

In fact, this habit has been developed among Vietnamese people for many years with many markets selling second-hand products in big cities such as Hanoi, Hai Phong and HCM City.

Second-hand clothing lovers all know the famous second-hand markets in Hanoi such as Dong Tac or Hoang Hoa Tham, Ba Chieu and Nguyen Tri Phuong in HCM City. In Hai Phong, the familiar names for second-hand lovers are Me Linh, Hai Ba Trung and Cat Cut.

In recent times, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, the habit of using second-hand products has become more popular as people prefer a more sustainable lifestyle.

In addition to physical markets and shops selling second-hand products, many e-commerce platforms have put their feet in the market.

Cho Tot, part of Carousell Group, a multi-category platform for second-hand products in Greater Southeast Asia, reports having more than 50 million visits per month.

A report from the group said that over the past decade, their users have extended the life cycle of millions of items, including 76.8 million fashion items; 33.9 million electronic products; 26.6 million hobby items and toys; 11.1 million home items and furniture; and 10.6 million babies and kids items.

To further illustrate the impact, the amount of used clothing could provide outfits for 70 per cent of the Vietnamese population. Additionally, assuming all used electronics listed are iPhone Xs, the height when stacked together is the equivalent of over 10,000 Landmark 81 buildings.

Hoang Thi Minh Ngoc, CGO of Cho Tot - Carousell in Vietnam, said: “Launched in Vietnam in 2013, Cho Tot is the leading re-commerce platform in Vietnam with more than 10 million monthly users buying and selling in 60 categories. Every month, with more than 1 million used-items listed for reselling, Cho Tot users help reduce hundreds of thousands of tonnes of CO2 released into the environment by limiting the exploitation of new production."

"To make second-hand shopping the first choice in Vietnam, Cho Tot has been constantly striving to provide a convenient re-commerce shopping experience for Vietnamese and inspire them to actively buy and sell their pre-loved items as a responsible lifestyle towards sustainable development.”

The three most popular categories to sell second-hand items are electronics, home and furniture and motorcycles. Meanwhile, the top three most popular second-hand categories to browse are motorcycles, electronics, home and furniture.

The all-time top three most searched keywords for second-hand items are speaker, laptop and TV, the company said.

Explaining the trend, experts said that the consumers in Vietnam are now younger and have a concern about the environment and sustainable development. That’s why many of them prefer second-hand products.

In terms of fashion, the vintage trend has become popular among young people so that many of them seek second-hand clothing to follow the trend.

Yen Nhi, an owner of a second-hand shop in HCM City, said that young people prefer second-hand things more than new ones not because of the cheap price, but rather, they buy old things to avoid resource waste.

Catching the trend, many online sellers collect old products, including luxury ones, to livestream on social media and have attracted many consumers.

Carousell Group and Cho Tot reveals impact of secondhand market Carousell Group users from eight countries, including Cho Tot in Vietnam, extended the life cycle of over 33.9 million used electronics.