In recent years, the state of e-commerce in Vietnam has seen positive changes, especially since the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, e-commerce has increasingly leveraged the advantages of a smart, convenient online shopping platform.

Vietnam is a country with a young population, so its ability to grasp information technology is quite high. Therefore, the Vietnamese market adapts very quickly and strongly to the e-commerce sector.

Positive aspects

E-commerce in Vietnam has an average growth rate of 25% per year. This is a fairly high figure and is predicted to continue increasing further in the new economic context.

According to a report by the Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam's e-commerce market accounts for about 5.5% of the total retail sales of consumer goods nationwide.

Currently, over 70% of the population nationwide uses the internet, and over 50% have used e-wallets and made online purchases. This figure, with 70% concentrated in the two largest cities, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, demonstrates the strong appeal of e-commerce to urban residents with a high quality of life.

The state of e-commerce in Vietnam has shown a positive change in people's living and shopping habits. Therefore, Vietnamese retail businesses have also joined this race and reported certain developments since participating in sales on e-commerce platforms.

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As a result, Vietnam is ranked as the 3rd largest retail growth country in Southeast Asia. E-commerce indeed has the ability to encourage people to shop more by saving time. Now, no matter where we are, we can shop without spending time searching and going to a physical store to choose the item we need. This is truly suitable for those with needs and financial means but who are often busy.

Difficulties and challenges

Despite achieving certain successes, the state of e-commerce in Vietnam still faces many difficulties and challenges, hindering its development for various reasons, mainly due to weak technological infrastructure and service quality.

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E-commerce in Vietnam has not yet built strong customer trust. Over 80% of e-commerce orders choose COD (Cash on Delivery) as the payment method, meaning payment after receiving the goods. This phenomenon has become common because many customers have been scammed, leading to a fear of buying products of lower quality than advertised. This situation is very dangerous as it reduces the success rate of orders, causing waste of human resources and shipping costs.

The state of e-commerce in Vietnam is facing competition from major e-commerce platforms such as Shopee, Lazada... These are all platforms with foreign capital. Domestic e-commerce platforms like FPT, Tiki, The Gioi Di Dong... only account for about 20% of traffic. This situation indicates that Vietnamese e-commerce businesses need to strive much harder.

Weak technological infrastructure affects user experience. The reality shows that many people have changed their minds about purchasing because the online shopping process on some e-commerce platforms is still quite complicated, and the interface is unprofessional.

Shipping and delivery services in Vietnam are still unprofessional. Many orders are missed or returned without reason, causing frustration for buyers and significantly affecting order outcomes. Delivery times are not optimized; for some providers, provincial orders have a delivery time of 3-5 days.

Poor customer service is also a factor that causes many customers to hesitate when making purchases. Delays in answering questions or a lack of concern for the customer's experience after receiving the goods make customers feel a lack of credibility and professionalism, making them unwilling to return for future purchases.

Above is the current state of e-commerce in Vietnam. We hope that the insights from ECOMCX will help you find the best e-commerce competitive solution for your business. Please contact us for more details and support on solutions to improve quality and optimize user experience for your business's e-commerce platform.