Vietnam is one of the fastest growing economies in Asia, and according to Business Monitor International’s (BMI) data findings, from 2000 to 2012 Vietnam’s GDP grew at a yearly rate of approximately 7.1%. Furthermore, increases in revenue have driven demand for smartphones in Vietnam.

IEK Communications Systems Research Department fellow Wang Shu-yan states that according to data provided by Euromonitor, the cellphone market in Vietnam is experiencing a rapid metamorphosis. In 2013, 10.6 million of the 14 million cellphones were feature phones, and by 2014 the entire cellphone market is expected to grow by over 15 million phones, and an estimated 11 million of those phones will be feature phones.

“In 2015 the entire cellphone market in Vietnam is expected to grow by more than 16 million phones; however, feature phones sales will slide down to 10.8 million. Nevertheless, in 2017 smartphone sales will surpass feature phone sales in Vietnam’s cellphone market.

IEK Lifestyle and Biomedical Research Group fellow Chi Huan-de stated that young people and white-collar urban workers comprise the primary consumer group in Vietnam’s smartphone market.

According to findings from IEK interviews of white-collar professionals in Vietnam’s Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in June of this year, for many of the interviewees smartphones have already become indispensable tools in daily life.

In addition to being used for communication, interviewees rely on smartphone functions to go online. The most obvious difference from Taiwanese consumers is that Vietnamese interviewees almost all owned both feature phones and smartphones at the same time.

Chi Huan-de also stated that overall the people of Vietnam’s incomes are increasing, and they now have greater purchasing power. Smartphones are gradually becoming the primary communication tool for local people; however, Vietnamese people still consider smartphones to be high-priced commodities.