| Promoting Vietnamese agricultural products on Chinese e-commerce platforms Need to improve policies and laws to promote cross-border e-commerce development |
Shoppers on e-commerce platforms are paying more for shipping domestic orders than for orders directly from China. This seemingly paradoxical situation has existed for many years while Vietnamese transportation and delivery units have yet to find a solution to reverse the situation.
"Free shipping" advantage
Ms. Minh Nhien - residing in District 8, Ho Chi Minh City - has just bought some kitchen utensils on a domestic e-commerce platform. The total value of the products is only 202,000 VND but she had to pay a total of 265,000 VND because the 3 items were delivered from 3 different suppliers, the shipping fee for each order is from 14,000 - 25,000 VND. Previously, she ordered an item from China on Shopee for 380,000 VND and got free shipping.
" They offer free shipping for orders from 150,000 VND or more and deliver very quickly. Meanwhile, most sellers in Vietnam only offer free shipping when there is a promotion or free shipping for orders over 400,000 - 500,000 VND, and the delivery time is... sometimes fast, sometimes slow " - said Ms. Minh Nhien.
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| Online shoppers always like fast delivery and low shipping costs. Photo: Hoang Trieu |
Mr. Manh Hung - residing in Binh Chanh, Ho Chi Minh City - also regularly buys electronic and household goods online from shops in China because buying goods from China on Lazada is often delivered to your home very quickly, with free shipping or a fee of only 14,000 - 20,000 VND.
" For the same items, if purchased domestically, the shipping fee is up to 22,800 - 45,000 VND or higher. With such a clear difference in cost, buyers will definitely have the most economical choice ," Mr. Hung analyzed.
Nowadays, buying goods online from abroad, especially from China to Vietnam through channels such as Lazada, Shopee, TikTok... is very easy. Diverse goods, fast delivery with cheap shipping fees are the plus points that make customers, especially young people, prioritize choosing to buy goods from China.
Struggling to find a solution
Explaining this phenomenon, the founder and operator of a small-scale e-commerce platform said that currently many domestic e-commerce sites are directly linked with fashion stores, household appliances... abroad. Goods from abroad are transported to Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi in large quantities and without going through intermediaries. Depending on the customer's address, foreign sellers can coordinate goods to the nearest destination to reduce shipping costs to a minimum. The shipping amount is divided into many separate orders with small costs.
In addition, because it does not go through an intermediary, an importer in Vietnam, the goods reach the buyer at a price that is always lower than the selling price of Vietnamese distributors and traders.
Sharing the same view, Mr. Le Thanh Dung, founder of the e-commerce platform Mua Express, said that the Chinese are very good at selling. "They produce on a large scale and sell large orders to Vietnam, so when they calculate enough profit, they reduce shipping costs or offer free shipping to attract customers.
Besides, they also have great advantages due to good government support, modern and very strong logistics, almost complete automation and multi-channel sales organization, many warehouses near the Vietnam border... so the route of goods to Vietnam is very fast and very cheap" - Mr. Dung said.
According to freight forwarding businesses, shipping costs are affected by many factors, the most important of which is logistics costs. Domestic transportation in our country is mainly by road, and the dense toll station system stretching from North to South is currently one of the reasons for the increase in freight costs.
Mr. Pham Van Hoang, founder and director of Fastship (which owns nearly 200 franchised post offices nationwide), said that currently, Vietnamese logistics companies are accelerating the delivery process, but the source of goods is still scattered, lacking warehouses or sorting centers. Therefore, delivery times are prolonged, pushing up costs.
"Domestic logistics enterprises that want to increase competitiveness and speed up delivery must link together in the form of "sharing" and consolidating goods to save costs for the enterprise, transport faster, thereby reducing costs for customers" - Mr. Hoang proposed a solution.
| Many challenges in managing cross-border e-commerce At the seminar "Customs reform, promoting cross-border e-commerce development" organized by Customs Magazine on August 11 in Ho Chi Minh City, many opinions from state management agencies and experts in the field of e-commerce and logistics said that cross-border e-commerce management is facing many challenges. According to experts, the emergence of many new business models and methods in many different regions and industries in e-commerce is posing significant challenges in terms of the adaptability of the legal corridor. In recent times, the National Assembly, the Government, and the Ministry of Industry and Trade have made great efforts in developing, amending, and supplementing documents to unify the legal system for e-commerce. However, the management of cross-border e-commerce activities still faces some difficulties and problems. "It is necessary to innovate management policies and customs procedures for import and export goods traded via e-commerce. The Prime Minister has approved the project on managing e-commerce activities for import and export goods. The draft project has been submitted by the Ministry of Finance to the Government for signing and promulgation," said Mr. Nguyen Bac Hai, Deputy Director of the Department of Customs Supervision and Management (General Department of Customs). |
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