E-commerce helps Vietnam leap forward in global race

Nguyen Thi Minh Huyen - Deputy Director of the Vietnam E-commerce and Digital Economy Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) - said that as Vietnam's economy continues to grow and recover and e-commerce is a modern trading method chosen by businesses and consumers.

Businesses have been advised to pay more attention to narrow the gap in exporting Vietnamese goods to the world through digital platforms.

The emergence of e-commerce platforms has significantly contributed to the rapid development of e-commerce, particularly by driving the strong growth of cross-border e-commerce.

Total sales on the five largest online retail platforms in Vietnam - Shopee, Lazada, Tiki, Sendo, and TikTokshop – reached an estimated 156 trillion VND (over 6.25 billion USD) in the first half of 2024, up 78% year-on-year, according to the e-commerce data platform Metric.

In its latest report on Vietnamese consumer shopping behaviour, NielsenIQ Vietnam indicates that consumers are now shopping online twice as often as in 2023, with four times per month each. This is nearly double the monthly frequency of Vietnamese people going to the supermarket.

On average, consumers buy 6.5 different product types online, with food, beverages, and personal care products topping the list, followed by fashion, sports equipment, home care, and technology. This shows that habits have changed and Vietnamese consumers now regularly do online shopping for daily necessities.

Seizing opportunities created by the change, many businesses have caught up with the business trend on technology platforms. The emergence of online export channels and e-commerce is considered a catalyst to help businesses access the market, becoming the fastest way to bring Vietnamese goods to the world.

E-commerce is currently outpacing the growth of the overall retail market. According to the General Statistics Office, total retail sales of goods and consumer service revenue in the first half of 2024 increased by 5.7%, against the 8.8% recorded in the same period in 2023.

Statistics from the MoIT’s Export and Import Department show that 32% of the small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have established business relationships with foreign partners through online platforms. This enables them to persify sale channels and directly access global buyers without spatial or temporal constraints, thus reducing costs for building supply chains and establishing representative offices in target markets.

Some market research units expect that Vietnam's cross-border export turnover will reach 11.1 billion USD next year and 12.5 billion USD a year later.

Many commitments in new-generation free trade agreements (FTAs) have facilitated trade, and the improvement of legal policies and transparent business environment have created favourable conditions for businesses to promote smooth and safe online exports.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan stated that recently, the Government issued many policies and regulations to support businesses in digital transformation as well as accompany them in applying e-commerce and reaching out to the international market.

In order to promote sustainable e-commerce development, the ministry will research and perfect policies, and provide guidance to traders, organisations, and inpiduals on legal regulations on e-commerce, he said.

It will also strengthen the management and supervision of goods on the Internet environment, develop e-commerce on payment, and support export enterprises and improve national e-commerce forecasting capacity./.