Cross-border trade
E-commerce in Vietnam is being expanded with many models and players, and supply chains are gradually being modernised with the assistance of digitisation and information technology.
With a young population and high smartphone ownership, Vietnam has seen rapid growth in e-commerce with 35 million users, creating revenue of US$11.8 billion in 2020, accounting for 5.5% of total retail sales and consumer services, compared to 4.9% a year earlier.
A report by Google, Temasek and Brain & Company on e-commerce in Southeast Asia has projected growth of 29% for Vietnam’s e-commerce market during the 2015-2025 period. The size of e-commerce in Vietnam is forecast to reach US$43 billion in 2025, ranking third in ASEAN.
Amid the impacts of Covid-19, the e-commerce market is becoming more dynamic, and the creation of new distribution channels on digital platforms is helping Vietnamese enterprises overcome difficulties and change consumers’ shopping habits - from physical to online stores.
Cross-border e-commerce is also an effective means for Vietnamese enterprises to participate in the global supply chain, helping reduce risk when traditional supply chains are disrupted.
According to Director of the Vietnam E-Commerce and Digital Economy Agency (IDEA) Dang Hoang Hai, despite recognising the benefits of expanding further into the global market through e-commerce, many Vietnamese sellers remain hesitant as they have yet to acquaint themselves with the procedures related to export through e-commerce and display a lack of knowledge in the area.
IDEA has rolled out various programmes to help Vietnamese enterprises adopt this method. Most recently, IDEA collaborated with Amazon Global Selling to provide knowledge on cross-border e-commerce for Vietnamese sellers, support the setup and operation of stores on Amazon and improve competitiveness so as to expand their scope of business to more countries.
Director of Amazon Global Selling in Vietnam Gijae Seong said Vietnam is one of the most dynamic emerging economies in the world and has demonstrated its firm position amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Amazon wishes to make more contributions to the development of cross-border e-commerce in Vietnam and promote Vietnamese enterprises to reach further into the global market, said Seong.
The Amazon official added that the retailer is actively realising that by expanding cooperation with organisations in Vietnam, training small and medium-sized enterprises in cross-border e-commerce skills, fostering changes to the future of Vietnam’s export and digital economy.
Enhancing regulation
The breakneck growth of e-commerce recently has made Vietnam one of the markets with the greatest potential in ASEAN. But besides benefits such as helping enterprises widen their markets, cut costs, increase profits and fast payment, there are several drawbacks of trading online.
Fake and smuggled goods and goods in violation of intellectual property rights are quite commonplace on many digital shopping sites. Social media networks are also emerging as popular e-commerce platforms, but are not properly regulated.
IDEA is proposing a new decree to regulate e-commerce activities, including mandatory requirements on publicising product information in order to make it transparent to consumers, aiding in the prevention of trade fraud. The new decree will also change the regulations on the presence of sellers and foreign organisations engaged in e-commerce in Vietnam.
IDEA is also building an e-commerce credit platform as a tool to evaluate those doing business in the online space and credit ratings will be widely announced to consumers.
