How uses and gratifications of social media impact on informal online shopping in Hochiminh city

Informal online shopping has become an emerging social phenomenon for many Vietnamese people. Similar to online shopping, informal online shopping functions as a Business-to-Consumer selling platform. Understanding the benefits and gratifications that social media shopping could bring to our lives, online individual sellers promote their products on their personal page to attract and entice many potential online shoppers. These online individual sellers are considered as spontaneous sellers without business licences and business registration certificates. To assess opinions, attitudes, behaviours, and other defined variables across a substantial sample, quantitative research methodology was employed. This investigation endeavours to discern the motivations driving Vietnamese individuals residing in Ho Chi Minh City to engage in informal online shopping. The research findings illuminate a pronounced interest among this demographic in informal online shopping, a proclivity attributed to the myriad benefits it affords, encompassing time efficiency, convenience, product diversity, favourable deals, and discounts. These discerned preferences align with the principles of the Uses and Gratifications Theory. Moreover, the affable experience derived from informal online shopping prompts Vietnamese consumers to manifest purchase intentions and sustained commitment to this mode of commerce