Online marketplace Lazada.vn announced on Tuesday that 30 per cent of its orders this year would be delivered on bicycles.

Vu Duc Thinh, director of Lazada E-logistic Company (LEL Express), said his company has trialled delivery by electric bicycles since 2017.

While he did not reveal the total number of bikes to be used, he said shipping by bicycle would help Lazada save cost by 30 per cent and reduce delivery time by 20 per cent.

The bikes would be used in main districts of major urban hubs like HCM City and Ha Noi.

Thịnh said each bike would have a large box at the back so that delivery people do not have to come back to the store frequently.

“To meet the demand from the strong growth of e-commerce, instead of doubling delivery people we have chosen a vehicle that will help us carry a larger volume of products.”

In recent times Lazada has invested millions of dollars to develop technology and logistics. It has built drop-off places at supermarkets and convenience stores around the country to reduce delivery time.

Lazada, aquired by Chinese behemoth Alibaba a few years ago, is one of the biggest online shopping websites in the region. The six-year-old company has operations in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam.

It partners 100,000 retailers, 2,500 brands and serves 560 million customers in Southeast Asia. — VNS