Viet Nam has the highest number of people shopping on e-commerce platforms in the Southeast Asia region with some 49.3 million people, according to the E-commerce White Book 2021 released by the Viet Nam E-Commerce and Digital Economy Agency (IDEA).

According to IDEA, the country’s e-commerce market, in 2020, reached US$11.8 billion. In the past two years, Viet Nam has seen positive changes in online purchasing with both consumers and firms moving online. The growth rate of e-commerce retail last year was 18 per cent.

Another report from Google, Temasek va Bain & Company announced in the beginning of the year also showed that Viet Nam has been one of the most dynamic e-commerce markets in Southeast Asia.

The report also revealed that internet users in Viet Nam account for 41 per cent of the population, the highest in the region. Up to 94 per cent of new users plan to continue to use the digital services they used during social distancing after the pandemic ceases to be an issue.

This could form a firm foundation for the development of e-commerce in the country, the IDEA added.

Statistics from the E-commerce White Book showed that the rate of new internet users shopping online had also increased from 77 per cent in 2019 to 88 per cent in 2020.

The value of goods purchased online also increased from $229 in 2019 to $240 in 2020 per person. Business-to-customer (B2C) e-commerce revenue now accounts for 5.5 per cent of the country’s total retail sales.

Essential items such as food and household appliances account for an increasing proportion of online sales. The data showed that 53 per cent of users shop for food online; 43 per cent shop for shoes, clothes, and cosmetics; and 33 per cent shop for household appliances.

Specifically, in 2020, 74 per cent of people were shopping on websites and e-commerce platforms. Alternatively, online shoppers buying on forums and social networks reached 33 per cent. This was a significant increase from the previous year with 52 per cent buying on e-commerce channels and 57 per cent on social networks in 2019.

E-commerce platforms continued to see high growth in terms of revenue, users and sellers and sites like Shopee, Lazada, Tiki and Sendo have increased their offering of food and essential goods to meet user demands.

Online e-commerce platform, Lazada, has seen these outcomes first hand. In the second quarter of 2020, they reported the number of people accessing their platform everyday doubled while the number of orders tripled.

In addition, the number of sellers on the platform doubled too and revenue on all products on Lazada has seen growth from the second quarter of last year.

Big brand names have also started to join e-commerce platforms. In the first three months of the year, the number of big brands joining special promotion programmes on Lazada was double that of the same period last year.

However, the IDEA said there are still many challenges for users participating in online shopping.

Up to 44 per cent of respondents said they think that price held them back from making a purchase, 42 per cent said they were concerned about the quality compared to how they were advertised, and 33 per cent said they were concerned about their personal information being disclosed.

In addition, poor shipping, delivery and customer care services were also listed as reasons many consumers were not open to this form of shopping. — VNS