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In Vietnam, parents message teachers on Zalo. Your landlord will likely text you on Zalo, and even your elderly relatives who live far away will prefer Zalo over Facebook Messenger.
Zalo is very compatible with Vietnamese-speaking users. The app also suggests some cool stickers that will pop up while you’re chatting in the language. That isn’t the case with Viber or Facebook Messenger.
Here’s a Zalo sticker designed to encourage the nation in the fight against Covid-19:
Zalo has been around for nearly a decade. With 52 million users, it’s arguably the most popular homegrown platform. It’s one of the few Vietnamese apps that I have installed on my iPhone, and I use it frequently.
This is notable because in most other sectors of Vietnam’s digital economy, local platforms have been outpaced by international rivals.
Can this trend be reversed? Zalo is popular but that’s not enough. Instead, the company needs to build on its existing 52 million users. Integration with payment app ZaloPay is just one step forward in the right direction.
— Thu Huong Le, Tech in Asia journalist
1️. Zalo beat WhatsApp in Vietnam. It now wants to be the country’s top super app
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