Next era of e-commerce: Digital transformation with sustainable development

Dang Anh Dung, deputy general director of the e-commerce platform Lazada

Vietnam's e-commerce topped the region in terms of growth rate in 2022, according to the latest report from Google, Temasek, and Bain & Company. Vietnam's compound annual growth rate was 28 per cent, higher than Singapore (17 per cent) and Thailand (15 per cent).

The scale of Vietnam's digital economy has now reached $23 billion and could hit nearly $50 billion in three years if the current growth rate is maintained, according to the report.

With rapid growth and far-reaching impacts on people's lives, the e-commerce industry is transforming in pursuit of sustainable growth based on technology and rapid digital transformation.

At the Forum Digital Transformation: Faster - Smarter - Greener, organised by VIR for the second year, Dang Anh Dung, deputy general director of Lazada Vietnam said that over the first ten years of the industry, players have been investing in infrastructure, services, and technologies. In the next era, e-commerce must develop, accelerating digital transformation and sustainable growth.

"After the pandemic, shopping behaviour has changed, with e-commerce becoming increasingly popular. More than 60 per cent of Vietnam's population shopped online in 2022. In particular, up to 96 per cent of users in big cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City use online shopping," said Dung. "This trend will grow even more in the near future, with 90 per cent of users saying they will maintain their current level of usage or increase it."

According to the Lazada's Consumer Behaviour and Research Report, in 2022, about 27 per cent of new businesses joined the e-commerce platform. Lazada's e-commerce ecosystem currently has more than 1 million sellers and brands, and in the fourth quarter of 2022, 75 per cent reported a positive outcome on Lazada.

Some local businesses that have successfully digitalised and grown sharply on the Lazada e-commerce platform in 2022 are Foodmap and Lep.

The Foodmap brand and Lazada carried out a number of agricultural product consumption campaigns, such as consuming three tonnes of lychees in a day and 20 tonnes of dragon fruit in a week. The Lep brand – a very hot fashion business – has grown 10-fold after two years of operating on Lazada, achieving the highest revenue in this industry on the platform.

"Businesses should develop their sustainable e-commerce ecosystem to enhance its core service capabilities, while expanding key areas such as supply chains and digital payments. They need to sustainably manage their finances to optimise and protect the assets of the business," said a Lazada representative.

Dung concluded, "Lazada sees factors like sustainable business and infrastructure development and high-quality human resources as essential. Companies need to constantly update their knowledge and digital training, focusing on those with specific skills in the e-commerce industry."

Digital transformation: Faster - Smarter - Greener VIR's forum on Digital Transformation: Faster - Smarter - Greener on March 21 opened up new and practical information flows about dual transformation trends – digital and green – in the fields of manufacturing, finance and banking, and e-commerce and logistics.

Powering smarter and greener industries Along with the deployment of 5G technology as a digitisation foundation, Vietnam has been setting up its infrastructure and human resources for a faster and greener digital transformation.

Digital transformation needs private and public sector support International organisations and investors hope to work closely with the authorities and business community to foster digital transformation, raising demand for public-private partnerships, according to experts and representatives of firms at VIR's forum on Tuesday.