National e-commerce forums will be launched on February 24 in Ha Noi and March 3 in HCM City, according to the events’ organizer - the Viet Nam E-commerce Association.

VOBF 2017, the largest of its kind to be organized in the country, will be a good opportunity for agencies, organizations, enterprises and individuals to discuss new trends in online business, outstanding technology and innovative business ideas, the association’s chairman Nguyen Thanh Hung said at a press conference in the capital on Thursday.

In addition, the forums will also introduce the newest e-commerce research, which will help enterprises revise their business strategies, he said.

Tran Trong Tuyen, Secretary General of the association, said these forthcoming forums will focus on four topics: the impact of cloud and mobile technology on e-commerce, Omni channel marketing (a multi-channel sales approach that provides the customer with an integrated shopping experience), cross-border e-commerceand start-ups in online business.

According to a master plan to develop e-commerce from 2016-20, around 50 per cent of businesses should soon have an internet presence to update their business information and popularise their products. Meanwhile, 80 per cent of enterprises will order or receive orders through e-commerce applications on the internet or on mobile platforms.

All supermarkets, shopping malls and distribution facilities will install point-of-sale (POS) systems that enable non-cash payment for purchases. In addition, non-cash payment will also be encouraged in roughly 50 per cent of households in big cities and 70 per cent of providers of power, water, communication and media services.

Regarding e-commerce market scale, about 30 per cent of the population is expected to partake in online shopping by 2020, with the average value of purchased commodities reaching US$350 per buyer.

The association noted that the country’s e-commerce had been developing at a growth rate of 30 percent a year in recent years. — VNS