E-commerce Development: Need to Consider Sustainable Development Factors

With an average growth rate of up to 26% per year, e-commerce is forecast to continue to grow strongly in the coming time.

New Opportunity

Vietnam's e-commerce growth is among the top in the world and the region; top 3 in Southeast Asia. It is forecasted that by 2025, the scale of Vietnam's e-commerce will reach about 45 billion USD. Many forecasts say that e-commerce will become the main driving force for digital economic development.

Developing e-commerce, it is necessary to consider the factor of sustainable development. Photo: Hong Hanh

The reason why there is much confidence in this field to develop strongly is because currently, Vietnam has over 1.4 million grocery stores, 9,000 markets, with the strong development trend of e-commerce, especially after the Covid-19 period, wholesale and retail activities are tending to be put on digital commerce platforms. Therefore, the target of e-commerce revenue accounting for 10% of total retail revenue by 2025 is completely feasible.

According to the “Southeast Asia Digital Economy 2024” report released by Google and Temasek in early November 2024, the estimated size of Vietnam’s internet economy will reach 36 billion USD this year, up 16% over last year. Retail e-commerce continues to be a pillar, contributing 22 billion USD, up 18% over the same period and accounting for 61% of the total internet economy.

In addition to price, the convenience of e-commerce with home delivery is an important factor for customers. In addition, the ability to track orders, speed and cost of delivery also impact the customer experience.

Sharing at the Digital Transformation Forum of Industry and Trade, which took place recently, Mr. Tran Minh Tuan - Director of the Department of Digital Economy and Digital Society (Ministry of Information and Communications) gave a surprising number: On average, a Vietnamese consumer buys online up to 4 times/month.

With a market of 100 million people, accounting for 1.23% of the world's population, located next to large markets such as China, India, ASEAN... Vietnam's potential for e-commerce development is still very large.

Notably, recently, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh signed Official Dispatch No. 119/CD-TTg requesting a number of relevant ministries and localities to continue to promote state management of e-commerce. It clearly stated that in recent times, e-commerce has developed strongly, becoming an inevitable trend of the global economy, especially cross-border e-commerce activities...

One of the important contents that the Prime Minister requested the Ministry of Industry and Trade to preside over and coordinate with relevant ministries and agencies to continue reviewing the Law on Commerce and related legal documents to promptly propose the development, amendment and supplementation of legal policies on e-commerce management; proactively develop policies to manage transactions in e-commerce activities for export and import goods; summarize and evaluate the implementation of the National E-commerce Development Master Plan for the period 2021 - 2025, on that basis, research, develop and submit to competent authorities for approval of the plan for the period 2026 - 2030...

Positive outlook for cross-border e-commerce

According to experts, cross-border e-commerce has great development opportunities. Currently, Vietnamese digital technology enterprises have built B2B e-commerce platforms, connecting with the world's major e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, Alibaba, Timo... so that goods on Vietnam's e-commerce platforms will appear on the world's major e-commerce platforms, thereby connecting buyers directly with sellers, as well as manufacturers.

According to statistics from Amazon Global Selling, through the Amazon platform, Vietnamese goods have the opportunity to reach more than 2 billion people online each year in markets in North America, Europe and many other countries such as Australia, Japan, Singapore, India...

From a business perspective, Dr. Yap Kwong Weng - CEO of Vietnam SuperPort - also commented: Vietnam's trade activities are expected to grow in the next 5 years, thanks to Free Trade Agreements, foreign investment and public investments, creating positive prospects for cross-border e-commerce. In particular, China, the United States and South Korea are Vietnam's leading trade partners, playing an important role in expanding trade activities on digital platforms.

South Korea is one of Vietnam’s growing trading partners, mainly in the fields of electronic components, electronic products and home appliances. “ To realize its commitment to sustainable development, Vietnam SuperPort applies advanced solutions such as solar energy for buildings, energy storage systems and electric trucks… All for the goal of achieving zero net emissions by 2040. For customers, working with a logistics port that prioritizes sustainability provides a competitive advantage, helping them achieve their own ESG goals and comply with increasingly stringent global environmental regulations ,” shared Dr. Yap Kwong Weng.

It is undeniable that cross-border e-commerce helps businesses expand export markets, rapidly increase sales, grasp and respond quickly to market demand and escape the limits of the market in terms of scale, seasonality as well as build and enhance brand recognition in foreign markets... However, to be able to effectively utilize this export channel, in addition to having a favorable legal corridor, businesses need to proactively adapt to market regulations.

In particular, green and sustainable consumption is a prominent trend worldwide. Therefore, experts recommend that Vietnamese goods, in order to reach the global market, need to consider the sustainable development factor.

Sharing at the Conference “Potentials and Opportunities of Cross-Border E-Commerce in Vietnam”, which took place recently, Mr. Liu Liang - Chairman of the Yunnan E-Commerce Association of China also mentioned this issue; at the same time, he said that the future cooperation prospects between Vietnam and Yunnan need to focus on promoting green e-commerce, encouraging environmentally friendly packaging and low-carbon logistics, contributing to global sustainable development...

Source: https://congthuong.vn/phat-trien-thuong-mai-dien-tu-can-can-nhac-den-yeu-to-phat-trien-ben-vung-361182.html