Vietnam's e-commerce exports in 2023 still have room for growth

Vietnam E-commerce Panorama Forum 2023 - "Smart E-commerce" Technology and artificial intelligence are having a big impact on e-commerce

Vietnam's exports through cross-border e-commerce channels, also known as online exports, in 2022 will have a fairly high growth rate. In your opinion, is this commensurate with Vietnam's current potential?

Xuất khẩu qua thương mại điện tử của Việt Nam năm 2023 còn nhiều dư địa tăng trưởng

Mr. Gijae Seong, CEO of Amazon Global Selling Vietnam: Vietnam's online exports in 2023 still have a lot of room for growth.

E-commerce is gradually becoming an important pillar of the Vietnamese economy. According to the Vietnam E-commerce White Paper published by the Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy (iDEA), under the Ministry of Industry and Trade , Vietnam's retail e-commerce will grow by 20% in 2022. Notably, 82% of surveyed enterprises use e-commerce websites/applications for import and export. The White Paper also stated that the recent boom in e-commerce in Vietnam has promoted the digital transformation process, along with many new policies and updates for the e-commerce industry and cross-border e-commerce.

In addition, according to Alphabeta's report, cross-border e-commerce shows great potential for growth scale in Vietnam in the next 5 years with an expected growth rate of more than 20%/year.

However, despite the very positive growth rate, online export turnover currently accounts for only about 1% of Vietnam's total export turnover. Therefore, Vietnam's online export potential is still very large.

So in the context of many challenges in 2023, what is your forecast for online exports in Vietnam?

Regarding trends, I think online export is a combination of globalization and digitalization, meaning that businesses participate in globalization through digital channels instead of traditional forms. Therefore, online export promises to be a “new normal” for Vietnamese businesses and a strong driving force for the export economy in the coming time.

On the other hand, looking at the fact that Vietnamese businesses sell on Amazon is not simply a channel to increase revenue, but also promotes a strong shift from a manufacturing economy to a brand economy for Vietnamese businesses. Vietnamese sellers will realize the importance of building a brand while still focusing on product quality. When building a cross-border e-commerce model, businesses directly sell to international customers, so in order to have sustainable and long-term growth, they must build their own brand. There are many sellers who are serious about building and developing their brand. Not only how to produce new products, improve product quality, but also how to build a brand so as not to stop at exporting "Made-in-Vietnam" products but also exporting "global brands from Vietnam".

At the same time, digital transformation and continuous digital upgrading to adapt quickly and be resilient to fluctuations. This process not only includes digitalization, smart infrastructure and production equipment, digitalization of management processes, but also flexibility and adaptability in production to promptly meet customer needs as well as digitalize user operations.

What are the opportunities and challenges for Vietnam in the current online export game ? What do Vietnamese businesses need to overcome to succeed in cross-border e-commerce, sir ?

The opportunity for Vietnamese businesses is that after years of pandemic, e-commerce is gradually becoming an important pillar to help businesses recover and develop. If “B2C e-commerce” is considered an export industry, it will be the 5th largest export industry in Vietnam in the next 5 years. Amazon's 2022 Empowering Small and Medium Enterprises (SMBs) in Vietnam report also shows a prosperous year for online export activities in Vietnam on this platform when the export value of Vietnamese sales partners on Amazon increased by more than 45% in 2022.

However, the biggest challenge now is the drastic change in online shopping habits and needs after the global pandemic. Meanwhile, AlphaBeta's report shows that 88% of Vietnamese enterprises surveyed are aware of the importance of e-commerce for their export capacity, but 80% of them also admit that they lack information about relevant regulations in foreign markets such as regulations on product compliance. These regulations are constantly changing over time, according to the market. In addition, there are other challenges when operating online exports such as: logistics, payment, legal, branding...

Therefore, to support Vietnamese small and medium enterprises, Amazon has been and is continuing to introduce and connect service providers for 10 current service categories on Amazon so that businesses can receive advice when needed.

With your experience from Amazon, what advice do you have for Vietnamese businesses that want to boost online exports?

It is necessary to focus on customers because through feedback from buyers, businesses will understand the needs and changes of customers the fastest. Lafooco cashew products and Truong Tho seaweed are specific examples of success on Amazon thanks to understanding customers.

It is necessary to understand the industry, consumer trends, and business capabilities to choose niche products with high demand and suitable for SMEs. Always pay attention to product quality, ensuring compliance with standards and regulations for products in the target market.

Finally, it is necessary to invest in building and protecting a global brand.

Thank you!

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