Online shopping and hunting for promotional items has become a habit of many people, especially Gen Z, or individuals born in the mid-90s.

Director of the Vietnam Directorate of Market Surveillance Tran Huu Linh said that smugglers have taken advantage of e-commerce platforms to sell fake commodities.

Revenue from e-commerce for domestic organisations and individuals reached 536.5 billion VND (over 22 million USD) this year, reported the General Department of Taxation (GDT).

E-commerce has greatly boosted consumption in Vietnam lately, and the wise management of tax in this sector can bring back a large amount of budget revenue and ensure a healthy business environment for economic growth.

Amazon’s Vice President Eric Broussard said global retail e-commerce has opened up many opportunities and created a new movement for sellers from many countries, including Vietnam.

Shoppers are facing potential risks of online shopping including the purchase of counterfeit goods, poor quality goods, smuggled goods, and goods of unknown origin being sold widely on cyberspace and e-commerce platforms.

Scores of Vietnamese-branded products have been displayed on popular e-commerce platforms in the world contributing to the promotion of Vietnamese products.

Many people are practicing thrift by shopping online, but 84 percent of online buyers in Vietnam worry about product quality.

Vietnam’s e-commerce services have grown considerably at between 16% and 30% annually over the past few years, with market size likely to hit US$20.5 billion this year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

The 2023 E-commerce Week and Online Friday, Vietnam's largest online shopping programmes of the year, are slated to begin later this month, heard a press conference held by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) on November 16.

The turnover from farm exports via e-commerce platforms remains modest, though Vietnam has high-quality farm products, especially tea and coffee.

Up to 500 brands, 3,000 businesses, e-marketplaces, and sale supporting platforms will take part in the Vietnam Online Shopping Day - Online Friday 2023 in early December.

Trans-border e-commerce has made great contributions to Vietnam’s export revenue, with a value of over 80 trillion VND (3.28 billion USD) in 2022.

Through cross-border e-commerce platforms like Amazon, Vietnam’s products have been selling not only to American but also European and global consumers.

The export value of Vietnamese businesses selling with Amazon increased by 50 per cent, enlarging the contribution to the country’s export economy.

Vietnam has enjoyed an increase in exports via e-commerce in recent years, with many micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) are in a prime position to reap significant benefits from the rapid growth of the e-commerce sector.

Experts have pointed out that there are segments in the digital economy of Vietnam which could see a boom if they can receive appropriate investments.

Vietnam's B2C (Business To Consumer) retail export turnover is estimated at 3.5 billion USD in 2022, showing the great potential of Vietnam's cross-border e-commerce, according to a report from Access Partnership.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has set a target to increase the cashless payment ratio in e-commerce, especially e-payments through payment intermediaries or applications, to 50% by 2025.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the shift towards a digital economy and changing consumer shopping trends have contributed to boosting exports and goods consumption, helping the Vietnamese products reach distant markets.