E-commerce market grows in Vietnam

Vietnam’s e-commerce market expanded by 18 percent last year to $11.8 billion, the only country in Southeast Asia to record double-digit growth amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Besides, payment services were strengthened and the largest companies in the manufacturing sector incorporated e-commerce into their long-term strategies, according to a recent report by the Vietnam e-Commerce and Digital Economy Agency.

The country’s Online Friday e-commerce event in early December last year saw the number of transactions rise by 267 percent from the previous year to 3.7 million, it said.

However, though the number of transactions rose last year, revenues fell because most Covid-19 related items were of low value and people’s incomes were hit, it said.

A report last month by market research company GlobalData’s E-Commerce Analytics said Vietnam’s e-commerce is set to see compounded annual growth of 18.8 percent between 2020 and 2024 to reach $26.1 billion.