E-commerce promoting post-pandemic economic recovery: Experts

Illustrative image (Source: businessinsider.com)

HCM City-The Vietnam Online Business Forum (VOBF) 2022 was held by the Vietnam E-Commerce Association (VECOM) in Ho Chi Minh City on May 10, focusing discussions on e-commerce’s role in promoting post-pandemic economic development.

VECOM Chairman Nguyen Ngoc Dung said that along with looking into signs of global recovery, the resumption of global connections, motivation and future technology of e-commerce, participants provided information on new and outstanding technological solutions and trends, market potential, and new populations and regulations.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has fueled the growth of e-commerce in many countries, including Vietnam, said Dung, adding that in the first quarter of 2022, Vietnam saw good signs of GDP growth, which is expected to continue in the time to come.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Tan Vuong, Director of Retail Measurement Services at Nielsen Vietnam, said that decisive factors promoting online shopping is good price, promotion and delivery time. Alongside, comments from users and the prestige of the trademark also among the factors affecting consumers’ shopping decision, he added.

He advised e-commerce platforms to thoroughly understand customers’ demands and trends and held that omni-channel shopping will still dominate the retail market and businesses need to continue to improve their competitiveness to optimise the customer's shopping journey to ensure convenience, selectivity and interaction.

Pham Thi Quynh Trang, trade director of Lazada Vietnam, said that e-commerce is one of the channels that help businesses speed up digital transformation and develop business operation in the current situation.

Some experts held that high market potential will help e-commerce continue to expand and contribute to post-pandemic economic recovery. Meanwhile, the number of enterprises investing in digital transformation, e-commerce and online business is rising, they noted.

According to a global e-commerce report in the first half of 2022 by Metric.vn, Vietnam has become the second largest e-commerce market in Southeast Asia, only after Indonesia. It pointed out that products with the price of 200,000 VND (8.71 USD)-5 million VND (217.83 USD) are the easiest to be sold on e-commerce platforms, while consumers tend to buy products with higher values and long-term warranty directly at shops and showrooms.