In Vietnam, according to a report by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company, the scale of e-commerce is currently worth 21 billion USD and is expected to increase to 57 billion USD by 2025.
The report also records up to 8 million new digital consumers since the outbreak of the pandemic. This is a positive sign that people are gradually getting used to shopping activities on the Internet.
At the seminar “E-commerce paved the way for businesses in the new normal” recently organized by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Department of Enterprise Development (Ministry of Planning and Investment), Chief Policy Department, Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy, Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ms. Le Thi Ha shared that recently, Covid-19 has caused us to face many serious challenges. E-commerce is no exception to this impact. However, there is still a unique opportunity for businesses that apply digital transformation.
During Covid-19, e-commerce still grew, a survey of 47 countries spanning from January 2018 to September 2021 showed that the share of online spending in total global spending increased sharply, the most is the peak of the epidemic, about 14.9%, before that time (2019) it was only 10.3%.
“These numbers show that the epidemic has had a big impact on the economy in general, but e-commerce is still an optimistic picture from the reality we saw at the peak of the epidemic,” Ms. Ha said.
Regarding Vietnam’s e-commerce during the epidemic, the Ministry of Industry and Trade also conducted an investigation of more than 10,000 domestic enterprises, the survey results showed that in the last two years (2020, 2021), the growth rate of Vietnam’s e-commerce remains steady 17% a year. In 2021, retail sales will reach 13.7 billion USD, estimated average shopping value is 270 USD per person in a year.
According to Mr. Nguyen Duc Trung, Deputy Director of the Enterprise Development Department, Ministry of Planning and Investment, Vietnam’s e-commerce has the strongest and most attractive growth rate in Southeast Asia. In particular, in 2020, the growth rate of Vietnam’s e-commerce is 18%, the only country in Southeast Asia with a double-digit growth rate.
To further analyze the usage habits of Vietnamese consumers on e-commerce platforms, Decision Lab’s January 2022 report said that Shopee and Lazada are the two most used e-commerce platforms in 2021. In the fourth quarter of 2021, the proportion of Gen Z users (16-24 years old) participating in the survey selected Shopee as an application for online shopping, accounting for 81%. Meanwhile, this rate is in Gen Y (25-40 years old) and Gen X (41-62 years old) generations, 76% and 58% respectively.
The report also said that Facebook is the most widely used commerce platform in the locality. In particular, the percentage of consumers using commercial platforms from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City is higher than in other localities.
Ms. Tran Nhu An, Competitiveness Advisor and IPSC Project Manager, US Agency for International Development (USAID), said that under the influence of Covid-19, consumption patterns and purchasing capacity have changed a lot. Also in this context, businesses strengthen digital transformation and operations to ensure competition. During the Covid-19 wave, in 2020, the e-commerce field will reach 14 billion USD, there are 61 million smartphone users, this rate promotes the development of e-commerce.
“Vietnam is expected to be the fastest growing e-commerce market in 2026 with sales of 56 billion USD,” said Ms. Tran Nhu An.
However, the expert from USAID said that, despite the great potential, there are still some difficulties. Most businesses, especially small businesses, cannot compete with global competitors and have not met the domestic users’ demand and quality, product design does not make a difference. Therefore, it is necessary to train to improve the capacity of units, invest in systems, warehouse capacity, transportation, payment systems, information security.
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Source: Vietnam Insider