The CEO of Lazada.vn, Alexandre Dardy, said the "potential of e-commerce in Viet Nam is limitless." — VNS Photo

HCM CITY (Biz Hub) — The e-commerce market this year is expected to continue its robust development, especially in the business-to-customer segment.

In an interview with Viet Nam News, the CEO of Lazada.vn, Alexandre Dardy, said the "potential of e-commerce in Viet Nam is limitless."

He attributed the growth to the country's young population and the growth of internet and smartphone penetration.

The country's economic development will also have an impact on the growth of e-commerce, he said, adding that more and more people, including retailers, branding partners and delivery companies, are attracted by online trade.

Dardy said company sales in January, for example, jumped seven times compared to January 2014, and that total sales growth last year were 2.5 times.

The increasing trend was revealed in newly released research conducted by the E-Commerce and Information Technology Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The agency found that 97 per cent of consumers said they would continue to shop online in the future.

Several companies, including Lazada.vn and Sendo.vn, recently announced that more foreign investors had poured money into their firms.

According to a news report in Viet Nam Investment Review, Lazada.vn has received investments from Sweden and Holland, while Sendo.vn has signed co-operation agreements with three Japanese groups.

Foreign-invested companies are expected to continue to dominate the field as they did last year.

Tran Huu Linh, head of the government's e-commerce agency, told Viet Nam Investment Review that although the volume of foreign e-commerce websites was small, the foreign enterprises held 59 per cent of market share, an increase of 15 per cent year-on-year.

Explaining the domination, Dardy said: "The success of these companies is not necessarily linked to their investment, but rather to the fact that they are part of international e-commerce companies."

He told Viet Nam News that his company's strength had been helped by one of its investors, Rocket Internet of Germany.

The investor's information technology tools, infrastructure and expertise on critical aspects of e-commerce had contributed significantly to the company's success, he added.

According to the E-commerce agency's report, revenue from business-to-customer e-commerce in Viet Nam last year totalled US$2.97 billion, accounting for 2.12 per cent of the country's gross retail sales of goods. — VNS