Vietnam is a core country in Southeast Asia’s rapidly growing digital economy. For tourists and young consumers, mobile phones have become essential tools for navigation, ride-hailing, payments, social media, and photography. Local tourism, commercial districts, and the night economy are thriving, while public charging infrastructure covers only 18.7% of demand and market penetration remains below 5%, creating a significant gap between supply and demand. Vietnam has therefore become a high-potential blue-ocean market for businesses looking to expand into the Southeast Asian phone charging station sector.

I. What advantages does Vietnam’s phone charging station market offer?

Major cities such as Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and Da Nang are home to large numbers of commercial districts, transportation hubs, popular tourist attractions, and leisure and entertainment venues. These areas attract substantial business and tourist traffic as well as large numbers of young local consumers, creating stable demand for mobile phone charging during outdoor work, travel, and commuting.

Local payment conditions are mature, with both domestic and international payment methods suitable for the small-value transactions commonly used by phone charging stations. The continued growth of Vietnam’s tourism market also gives hotels, shopping malls, bars, nightclubs, and tourist attractions strong potential for equipment deployment.

II. How can a phone charging station business succeed in Southeast Asia? Case analysis

Finding high-quality partners is essential. Litapower, the overseas shared charging brand under Zhongdian Core, has been deeply developing the Southeast Asian market. It has completed local payment integrations and market compliance implementation in Vietnam, including MoMo, ZaloPay, VNPAY, and VietQR. Litapower provides OEM/private-label customization services as well as software and hardware solutions for phone charging stations, helping partners build their own dedicated brands and local markets.

How can a phone charging station business succeed in Southeast Asia?

1. Deployment scale

A phone charging station project does not necessarily become easier to operate with fewer devices. Even with a small deployment, operators still need to bear costs for team management, site maintenance, and marketing, which can result in relatively high operating costs. Therefore, when sufficient site and team resources are available, increasing the number of deployed devices can help spread costs and improve operational efficiency.

2. Mainstream markets

Operators should prioritize Vietnam’s mainstream commercial and tourism markets, such as large shopping malls, transportation hubs, hotels, and popular tourist areas. Entering influential local venues can strengthen brand credibility and make users more willing to accept phone charging station rental services.

3. Professional team

Having a mature local team, site resources, and reliable partners can make it easier to develop a phone charging station project in Vietnam, covering business development, equipment deployment, daily maintenance, and marketing operations.

Customer revenue analysis

Equipment deployed: 200 eight-port machines
Deployment locations: Hotels, chain bars, nightclubs, and tourism and entertainment venues in Vietnam
Average revenue per unit: RMB 80–100/day
Payback period: 4 months

By continuously analyzing order volume, rental duration, and equipment utilization through the backend system, operators can further optimize equipment locations, pricing standards, and marketing strategies, improving the overall operating efficiency of the phone charging station project.