In recent years, Việt Nam’s e-commerce developed at a growth rate of 30 percent per year. — Photo dantri.vn

HÀ NỘI – The Việt Nam Online Business Forum (VOBF) will be launched on February 24 in Hà Nội and March 3 in HCM City, according to the events’ organiser - the Việt Nam E-commerce Association.
The event, the largest of its kind to be held in the country, would be an opportunity for agencies, organisations, enterprises and individuals to discuss new trends in online business, technology and business ideas, the association’s chairman Nguyễn Thành Hưng said at a press conference in the capital on Thursday.

The forums would also introduce the latest e-commerce research, which would help enterprises revise their business strategies, he said.

Trần Trọng Tuyên, Secretary General of the association, said the forums would focus on four topics: the impact of cloud and mobile technology on e-commerce, Omni channel marketing (a multi-channel sales approach), cross-border e-commerce and start-ups in online business.

Việt Nam’s e-commerce index 2017 would be released at the event to help organisations and individuals assess the use of e-commerce and compare the progress of each locality, said Tuyên.

According to a master plan to develop e-commerce from 2016-20, about 50 per cent of businesses will soon have an internet presence. Meanwhile, 80 per cent of enterprises are hoped to order or receive orders through e-commerce applications. 

All supermarkets, shopping malls and distribution facilities are expected to install point-of-sale (POS) systems that enable non-cash payment. In addition, non-cash payment will be encouraged in roughly 50 per cent of households in big cities and 70 per cent of providers of power, water, communication and media services.

About 30 per cent of the population is expected to partake in online shopping by 2020, with the average value of purchased commodities reaching US$350 per buyer.

The association noted that the country’s e-commerce has developed at a growth rate of 30 per cent a year in recent years.

Hà Nội boosts e-commerce development

The Hà Nội’s Department of Industry and Trade revealed the result of a survey on e-commerce of nearly 1,000 businesses in the city last year.

Nearly 100 per cent of the participants said their businesses were equipped with desktop computers and laptops, while the use of mobile devices to support business activities is also at a high rate (76 per cent).

Sixty-three per cent of businesses surveyed said that they used electronic signatures, while 50 per cent of enterprises used electronic contracts.

Sixty-one per cent of surveyed firms said that their businesses were on social networks.

The use of e-commerce on mobile platforms is also growing. Up to 37 per cent of businesses have mobile version websites and 27 per cent of businesses used sale support applications on mobile platforms.

E-commerce sales from businesses in Hà Nội reached more than VNĐ30.1 trillion (US$1.4 billion) last year, reported the city’s department of industry and trade.

There were a total of 5,259 e-commerce websites of organisations and individuals in the city by the end of December last year.

The department last year also introduced and promoted the website “Hà Nội shopping map" at https://bandomuasam.hanoi.gov.vn, which provides online search solutions for shopping sites in Hà Nội.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade reported the business-to consumer e-commerce revenues last year reached $5 billion, doubling the revenue of 2013 ($2.2 billion) and soaring compared to that of 2012 (under $1 billion). Last year’s revenue also accounted for about three per cent of the nation’s total retail trade and services revenue.

The development of the internet and the penetration of online shopping and the increasing spending of consumers has helped the online retail industry in Việt Nam grow.

– VNS