May 25, 2022 | 13:45 GMT+7

E-commerce up 20% last year amid pandemic

Ngoc Lan -

While Covid-19 affected many sectors of Vietnam’s economy, e-commerce is proving to be one of the rare winners.

Photo: VnEconomy
Photo: VnEconomy

Vietnam’s e-commerce sector is estimated to have posted growth of over 20 per cent in 2021, reaching $16 billion, with growth to continue in 2022, according to the Vietnam E-Business Index (EBI) 2022 Report released by the Vietnam E-commerce Association (VECOM) on May 24.

The report noted that despite the general difficulties in the economy over the past two years due to Covid-19, the e-commerce sector has maintained rapid and stable development. The positive outlook for 2022 is due to sound control over the pandemic and growth drivers from the “second wave”, which took place from June to September last year. During this “wave”, most socio-economic activities were suspended, but a large number of merchants made efforts to go online and capture new opportunities.

“Online consumers increased sharply in both quantity and quality during the third quarter of 2021,” the EBI report noted. “The ‘second wave’ resonates with the first, from February to April 2020, which first promoted e-commerce.”

Notably, the report touches on the emergence and development of platforms supporting buying and selling in the community, or social commerce, which could create a new trend pushing online retail. This also improves the shopping experience and creates jobs.

However, the report also emphasizes that the rapid development of e-commerce in Vietnam depends greatly on the ability to attract investment capital to platforms in the online business ecosystem as well as high-quality human resources.

In particular, although Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi were most affected by last year’s lockdowns, the two continued to lead in e-commerce. Localities in the northern mountainous region, the central highlands, and the Mekong Delta saw a significantly lower level of e-commerce development than the national average.

VECOM therefore proposes that agencies, organizations, and businesses pay greater attention to helping localities narrow the digital divide in general and this e-commerce gap in particular.

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Dung, Chairman of VECOM, said the business environment has changed since Covid-19 and so have consumer habits and trends. “At the same time, the process of digital transformation and digital technology have resulted in significant changes that mean businesses must change to adapt and respond to general development trends, but this is also a positive for promoting recovery and breakthrough economic growth post-pandemic,” he added.

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