Việt Nam's e-commerce sector gained an average growth rate of 14 per cent in the first three quarters of this year. — Photo nld.com.vn

HÀ NỘI — Businesses need to develop specific business plans to succeed in e-commerce activities that are seeing strong development in Việt Nam, according to experts.

Trần Xuân Thủy, head of of Amazon Global Selling Việt Nam, said cross-border e-commerce is an effective channel for businesses, including small- and medium-sized export enterprises, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, there are many things the businesses must learn and apply to be able to gain success in export via e-commerce platforms, because traditional business is different from business on e-commerce channels, he said.

Entering a new market, the business must develop a specific business plan for targeted products that are accepted by consumers, Thủy said. In addition, many companies have not really invested in developing their image.

Nguyễn Minh Huyền, deputy director of the Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said Việt Nam still achieved economic growth in the first 10 months, although it was the lowest growth rate in the past 10 years. This was thanks to the great efforts of the Government in implementing dual tasks of fighting against COVID-19 and ensuring economic growth.

Especially, e-commerce has been a bright spot in the country’s development, with an average growth rate of 14 per cent in the first three quarters of this year. Bolstering the application of e-commerce and the digital economy is vital amid the global spread of COVID-19, according to Huyền.

Therefore, domestic enterprises need to recognise advantages of e-commerce and also the digital economy in developing their business, she said.

In recent years, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has implemented many solutions to promote exports on online platforms, including Amazon, the world's leading e-commerce company, she said. At the Amazon e-commerce site, local businesses can approach partners and customers in big and strict markets such as North America, Japan and the EU, so they need to know about this site.

Trần Thị Lan Phương, deputy director of the Hà Nội Department of Industry and Trade, said the pandemic has had negative impacts on exports. Many partners of Vietnamese export enterprises have cancelled their orders while customs clearance has been slow due to measures to control the pandemic for import and export goods.

In the first 10 months, Hà Nội’s goods export value was estimated at US$13.2 million, up 0.1 per cent year on year, which was the lowest growth rate in the past 10 years, reported the Công thương (Industry and Trade) newspaper.

In that situation, e-commerce sites such as Amazon have played an important role in exporting goods and become one of the safest ways for consumers to shop, she said.

To promote e-commerce development, Lan said, Hà Nội will continue to organise seminars and training programmes on exporting goods via e-commerce channels for local enterprises.

It will promote the development of logistics infrastructure for goods exported via e-commerce sites and also coordinate with Google, Alibaba, Amazon and other major e-commerce floors to organise conferences on development of e-commerce activities for local enterprises.

These are practical solutions to create favourable conditions for local businesses in promoting the export of goods through e-commerce platforms and developing export markets for key products of Hà Nội, Lan said.

Đỗ Quang Vinh, CEO of T&T US, a branch of T&T Group in the US, said Vietnamese enterprises have received support from many agencies and partners in exporting from Việt Nam to the US, however when goods have arrived in the US, only companies or branches of companies in the US can support them.

With a long-term operation in the US, T&T US has experience in this market and will support Vietnamese enterprises to increase exports to this key market, Vinh said.

As the first bank working with Amazon Global Selling in Việt Nam, SHB commits to building a long-term cooperation strategy with Amazon and T&T Group for Vietnamese businesses increasing exports to other markets.

Of which, SHB will have a VNĐ3 trillion credit package for customers to borrow capital to promote trading their goods on Amazon. — VNS