The first online shopping day, locally known as Black Friday of Vietnam, generated 154 billion VND (7.3 million USD) in revenue, up 2.48 times compared to normal days, reported the Vietnam E-commerce and Information Technology Agency (VEITA).

Held on the first Friday of December, the online shopping day attracted 1,000 businesses offering 3,226 discounted items, mostly hi-tech gadgets (41 percent), apparel (24 percent), and household appliances (17 percent), and Vietjet Air and Jetstar airline fares (4 percent), head of VEITA Tran Huu Linh reported at a ceremony reviewing the result of the event.

Its website www.onlinefriday.vn counted over 1.99 million hits, according to the VEITA.

Nguyen Thanh Hung, General Secretary of the Vietnam E-commerce Association, said payment methods such as cash-on-delivery and banking transfer were favoured, corresponding to 72 percent and 13 percent of approval. E-payment system like e-wallet and internet banking made up 11 percent while mobile banking accounted for a paltry 2 percent.

As for the quality of shipping service, Hung said a half of participating sellers were unsatisfied, with 9 percent rating it poor.

However, payment service fared well with 62 percent responding positively. Twenty-seven percent rated it average and only 1 percent saying poorly.-VNA