Over 206,000 tablets flew off the shelves in Vietnam in the first half of this year, an extensive 233 percent increment compared to the same timeframe a year ago, according to an international market research company.

In terms of value, the overall worth of the local tablet market has expanded by 160 percent during this same comparison period, translating to consumers having spent a total of $94 million on tablet purchases in the last six months, said GfK.

Demand for tablets has been consecutively trending up at a considerable pace in the last four quarters to reach a total of 294,000 units sold in the last twelve months.

“The tablet craze that is currently taking the world by storm has also infected the developing country of Vietnam to a large extent with consumers here eagerly snapping up the increasingly popular smart device,” said GfK.

“Although the market in Vietnam is relatively smaller and less technologically advanced when compared to the other countries in Southeast Asia, tablets have already started appealing to the mass with sales picking up and growing at a rapid pace,” said Van Tran Khoa, Managing Director for GfK Vietnam.

“The rising prevalence of this device in recent times is largely driven by its lowering prices over the recent years, which make it more and more affordable.”

GfK’s retail audit tracking reveals an apparent steady downtrend in the average price of tablets, since the commencement of this service in Vietnam at the beginning of 2012.

While the highest point of $512 was reported in December 2012, average selling price of tablets have subsequently dropped 25 percent in the latest June 2013 report to hover around $385.

Similar to trends elsewhere around the region, consumers are exhibiting their preference for tablets running on the Android operating system.

Sales volume of Android tablets occupied 59 percent of total tablets sold in the country last year, but has expanded to take up 64 percent of the pie this year.

Two worldwide tablet brands have been and still continue to dominate the market in both the value and volume sales aspects.

GfK findings reveal intensifying competition within the marketplace as more brands enter and become widely accepted by consumers out shopping for tablets.

For instance, while a high proportion of sales in the first half of 2012 came from less than 10 main brands; Vietnamese consumers this year have expanded their repertoire, buying mainly from around 16 key tablet manufacturers.

 “As one of the least developed market in Southeast Asia, we anticipate the tablet market in Vietnam to continue its brisk uptrend, with take up rate mirroring that of our developed counterparts around the region in time to come,” said Van Tran Khoa.

“It will be increasingly competitive and no doubt, interesting to see how the competition plays out as the adoption continues to surge and the marketplace continues to develop,” he added.