Online Friday: Promoting the breakthrough of Vietnamese e-commerce

The National E-commerce Week and Vietnam Online Friday have been held for 10 years, contributing to the breakthrough of e-commerce in Vietnam.

To help readers better understand the changes in e-commerce over the past decade, Mr. Le Duc Anh - Director of the Center for Information Technology and Digital Technology, Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy ( Ministry of Industry and Trade ) - shared his insights on this issue with readers of the Industry and Trade Newspaper.

Online Friday is driving a breakthrough in Vietnam's e-commerce industry.

As someone deeply involved with e-commerce and the "National E-commerce Week and Vietnam Online Shopping Day" (Online Friday), could you share some of the outstanding results this sector has achieved in impacting Vietnam's digital economy in general and the development of Vietnamese goods in particular?

The "National E-commerce Week and Vietnam Online Shopping Day" (Online Friday) program has been held annually since 2014. The program has completed its first 10 years and is now entering its 11th year. Over time, it has achieved several objectives set by the Government .

Mr. Le Duc Anh - Director of the Center for Information Technology and Digital Technology, Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy (Ministry of Industry and Trade)

First of all, Vietnam Online Shopping Day, and now the National E-commerce Week, has built a model for promoting sustainable e-commerce. We often call it a festival for e-commerce professionals. It's also an opportunity for e-commerce professionals, businesses, organizations, and infrastructure providers to come together to develop plans and strategies for e-commerce growth, while simultaneously offering consumers attractive shopping opportunities.

Over the past 10 years, we have created a platform connecting businesses. This includes connecting manufacturing businesses with infrastructure providers, connecting retailers with e-commerce platforms, and creating an environment for businesses from the central government and major cities to connect with individual businesses and local communities. These are two major goals that the program has achieved.

Furthermore, the program also aims to promote and develop Vietnamese brands and products. While Vietnam possesses many unique products, the reality is that people may not be fully aware of all of them. We hope the program will become a destination for Vietnamese goods.

Some argue that, in the development of e-commerce, Vietnamese goods seem to have not fully taken advantage of the opportunities. What are your comments on this?

The concept of opportunity can be understood from many perspectives; however, at different times, different groups of businesses will be able to take advantage of different opportunities. Throughout the 20-year history of e-commerce, there have always been many opportunities, and each wave of e-commerce presents different challenges.

In the past, many Vietnamese businesses have taken advantage of the e-commerce wave to develop. Specifically, many Vietnamese businesses have been able to access export markets through e-commerce. For example, foreign markets through social media, network systems, LinkedIn, etc.

Through this, many Vietnamese businesses have foreign customer partners and they receive many orders following B2B (business-to-business) models, and we have also observed continuous growth of e-commerce in Vietnam over the past 20 years.

This period marks a new phase, a new era, in which many large Vietnamese businesses are showing interest in the e-commerce market following the B2C (business-to-consumer) model.

Previously, businesses targeted B2B, with large clients and partners placing large orders before distribution. However, the current situation offers much easier opportunities to directly reach customers. Traditional businesses previously needed a retail system to directly reach customers; however, with e-commerce platforms and social media, any business can now easily reach its target customers. Therefore, we see that large Vietnamese manufacturing businesses are now developing plans and strategies to directly reach customers.

Based on this strategy, over the past two years we have seen many large Vietnamese businesses such as KIDO Group, Thien Long, Bitis… Many well-known businesses from 20-30 years ago are now starting to approach the online market with a very trendy and modern approach. This is what we call a new opportunity in a new era.

Building on the success of previous years, what new features will Online Friday 2024, taking place from November 25th to December 1st, 2024, have, sir?

First, we have 60 hours of exciting shopping. During these 60 hours, we have many activities such as a voucher festival, where many businesses will release valuable vouchers for customers to use in their shopping activities.

The second activity, within the framework of the 60-hour shopping event, will feature Vietnamese businesses. Vietnamese goods have potential and good quality; we must create opportunities for Vietnamese goods to compete with goods from around the world. In particular, our domestic market has a vibrant e-commerce sector.

This year, alongside imported products and products from foreign companies, we will create a brand identity and image for Vietnamese products, making them more accessible to customers during online shopping days and showcasing that Vietnamese businesses can compete with products from around the world.

Furthermore, the program also includes an Online Shopping Day. This is also a gathering of e-commerce businesses, so we will have a festival in Hanoi, bringing together over 50 brands and businesses. We aim to build, connect, and create an alliance to protect and develop Vietnamese goods in the online environment. This group will include many businesses, infrastructure businesses such as delivery companies, payment organizations, e-commerce platforms, and businesses that support Vietnamese goods on these platforms.

We are looking forward to 2025, marking the end of the 2021-2025 period of the national trade development plan, and looking ahead to 2026-2030, we consider this the official time to promote activities supporting Vietnamese goods in the online environment.

I would also like to add that the "Vietnamese People Prioritize Using Vietnamese Goods" program is meaningful and has been organized for 15 years now, with the message "Proud of Vietnamese Goods". Currently, we have many high-quality Vietnamese products. We hope that from next year onwards, the message will be "Vietnamese people prioritize using Vietnamese goods online", along with the hashtag #tuhaohangviet.

To adapt to the era of digital transformation, could you please outline future solutions to expand the trade of Vietnamese goods on e-commerce platforms, thereby helping businesses achieve sustainable development?

I believe the first solution, coming from Vietnamese businesses themselves, is to boldly embrace innovation. Because, inevitably, moving to e-commerce will present differences from traditional methods. As shared by the large KIOD Group, even they felt disappointed during the first 3-4 months of professional testing. Therefore, other businesses cannot expect immediate success on their first try. So, in innovating and expanding into e-commerce, businesses must try and experiment, gradually finding the right path, because each model requires different adaptations.

Furthermore, we are promoting the "Vietnamese people prioritize using Vietnamese goods" campaign. Therefore, in addition to using Vietnamese products, we also expect Vietnamese businesses to use Vietnamese service providers, creating a unified bloc, sharing pride in Vietnamese goods, and promoting Vietnamese products and services.

Furthermore, going back to the core principle of Vietnamese goods, it's crucial that they are of high quality. We might be able to sell to a large customer base, but if they find the product unsatisfactory after their experience, they won't buy again. Therefore, Vietnamese products must remain high-quality and valuable.

From the perspective of government agencies and infrastructure providers, we have also prepared solutions, starting with a general model. We are designing and building ecosystems to support the development of Vietnamese products. We will create a unique identifier for Vietnamese goods in the online environment, which will also be a way to verify origin and ensure that products sold online meet quality standards.

In addition, we continue to support businesses with infrastructure to facilitate their operations, helping Vietnamese businesses not only in the domestic market but also in exports, creating what we call "highways" to bring Vietnamese goods to the international market.

Thank you, sir!

Source: https://congthuong.vn/online-friday-thuc-day-su-but-pha-cua-thuong-mai-dien-tu-viet-nam-360751.html