Are Vietnamese goods competitive enough on e-commerce platforms?

Young people become the ones spreading the value of Vietnamese goods on e-commerce platforms - Photo: SCREENSHOT

TikTok shop just released a message for 2025 "Vietnamese Goods" "Strengthening oneself" in the digital age, there are many young people participating in selling Vietnamese products on online sales platforms.

Will stories about prices still make Vietnamese goods less attractive compared to cheap products that are everywhere from street markets to online markets?

Agricultural products and sedge mats are selling like hotcakes

Returning to her hometown to start promoting her hometown's agricultural products on digital platforms after the COVID-19 pandemic, Nguyen Thi Tuong Thao (Da Lat City, Lam Dong ) realized that Vietnamese agricultural products are very diverse but cannot reach many customers.

Thao recounted the first day she returned to her hometown with no business experience, except for knowledge about fertilizers, pesticides, etc. (Reporter - Thao majored in chemical engineering).

Through self-made clips, Thao built the Mon La Vuon Nha channel to introduce Da Lat's agricultural products. The difficulty at that time was the method of transportation, many post offices did not accept agricultural products. Secondly, the goods sent for a long time would be damaged, creating a bad experience for customers.

Up to now, the transportation issue has been resolved. Agricultural products that can be sold online are those that can be preserved for a long time and transported within 4-5 days such as carrots, potatoes, bell peppers, etc. Vietnamese agricultural products are well received by customers.

Another product that few people think can sell like hotcakes on e-commerce platforms is traditional sedge mats. Having experience in MMO (making money online), Mr. Nguyen Van Tuan ( Thai Binh ) had no difficulty in bringing his hometown product to the platform.

"The difficulty for farmers is making beautiful products but not being able to sell them at good prices. Products have to go through many bridges to reach consumers. The story of good harvest but low prices, traders buying at low prices is no longer strange.

By the time the mat reaches consumers, the price has tripled, making it difficult for traditional products to compete with cheap goods from China. There was a time when the traditional craft seemed to be fading away," Tuan shared.

From that concern, Mr. Tuan boldly shared the value of the traditional Quynh Phu mat (Thai Binh) with the people in a visual and vivid way through videos . When customers understand how a mat is made, they will understand the value and feel secure about the product.

Khe Sanh specialty coffee will have the opportunity to be sold on the Alibaba e-commerce platform - Photo: HOANG TAO

Are Vietnamese goods competitive?

The story of competition on e-commerce platforms is a fierce race in terms of price, product design, etc. However, according to Vietnamese sales channels, customers are gradually paying more attention to quality, green living, and clean living instead of price.

Perhaps the ones facing the most difficulty in competing on price are Vietnamese agricultural products, according to Tuong Thao - owner of the channel Mon la vuon nha, Chinese agricultural products are highly competitive on price from traditional markets to online stores.

"The price issue is still a "pain" that I cannot solve. But up to now, the price issue is not too important, customers are increasingly concerned about health, so they will look for clean agricultural products to buy.

When you put your heart into your product, you choose the right direction, not selling a lot, not selling cheaply in bulk. Good and nutritious products cannot be cheap, good and nutritious products must go with the value," Thao said.

Competition is based on customer perception, how to build media stories for consumers about clean products, eating for health. Content creators who focus on domestic products and sell domestically are supporting farmers.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Tuan (Than Vui sedge mat maker), if Vietnamese products want to compete, they must change themselves. The first thing is to know how to listen and change according to the needs and preferences of customers.

For example, in the past, the craft village only provided large mats of certain sizes, but now there are also small mats suitable for office workers, students, etc.

Along with that, Vietnamese products need to enhance their value. Traditional products are all associated with Vietnamese culture, which is also our strength to confidently compete with other mass products.

Source: https://baoquangninh.vn/hang-viet-lieu-co-du-suc-canh-tranh-tren-san-thuong-mai-dien-tu-3358857.html