Vietnam’s e-Commerce growth reached 32 percent last year and averaged about 30 percent annually since 2016, according to a report by the Vietnam e-Commerce Association (VECOM).

The governments that quickly move forward will be ahead of those that hesitate and proceed slowly in applying digital technologies.

The 2020 white book on e-commerce released last month by the Department of e-Commerce and Digital Economy under the Ministry of Industry and Trade provides some legal updates relevant to e-commerce, the focus of which is the 2019 Tax Management Law

Grab and MoMo are veterans in their core business fields, but they are the newcomers in the e-commerce market.

The total number of visits to online shopping apps in Vietnam reached 12.7 billion in the first six months of the year, the highest ever figure.

While cashback is considered a strong method to encourage cashless payments, numerous websites and apps are taking advantage of uninformed consumers with untransparent and illegal multi-level marketing models.

The number of Vietnamese using ride-haling services has increased rapidly in recent years, signalling the potential for the development of the sharing economy in the country.

The Vietnam Competition and Consumer Protection Authority (VCCA) has issued a warning over cashback apps which lack transparency and showed signs of illegal multi-level marketing.

The COVID-19 pandemic has become a golden opportunity for e-commerce trading floors, as well as social networks such as Facebook. However, the country has lost billions of dong in tax revenue due to e-commerce

Vietnam’s e-commerce saw a 30 percent growth rate from 2016 to 2020, according to the Ministry of Investment and Planning. The country aims to have 55 percent of population shopping online by 2025.

The COVID-19 pandemic was accelerating Vietnam’s shift towards omni-channel purchasing behaviours and retailers should capitalise on this momentum to drive expansion and increase penetration rates in the post-COVID period, 

Director of Viet Nam e-Commerce and Digital Economy Agency (iDEA) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said that Zalo Shop has not registered with the ministry.

“Covid-19 has given e-commerce a push,” said Nguyen Thuy Anh from the Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy.

The ‘e-commerce wave’ has opened a new consumption trend in which anyone can create a platform of their own to start a business.

Criteo recently unveiled the results of its research analysing the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the e-commerce landscape.    

After Tiki and Sendo complete their merger, the e-commerce market will be controlled by three big players – Tiki-Sendo, Lazada and Shopee.

The e-commerce market is expected to witness competition between Tiki-Sendo, Shopee and Lazada, after Tiki and Sendo join under the same roof, slated for this year.

Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the retail market in Vietnam in the first quarter of this year still recorded positive results from e-commerce, online shopping and delivery services.

The e-commerce market is looking at two high-calibre developments with the merger of Tiki and Sendo and the entry of heavyweight competitor Facebook. 

Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the retail market in Vietnam in the first quarter of this year still recorded positive results from e-commerce, online shopping and delivery services.