Amazon, Goldman, JD.com Target Vietnam’s Growing eCommerce Market

Amazon, JD.com and Goldman Sachs are among the big names honing in on a burgeoning Vietnamese market for eCommerce, Bloomberg reported.

Vietnam’s digital economy is forecasted to grow to $52 billion by 2025, which would represent an annual 29 percent increase from 2020, according to Bloomberg.

Many Vietnamese residents are only just now trying online shopping due to the pandemic, and the country has long been reliant on cash. Less than 5 percent of Vietnamese consumers own credit cards, and only around one-third have bank accounts, Bloomberg reported.

But the aforementioned big companies are now targeting Vietnam’s growing middle class. Investors funneled $1.9 billion into Vietnam’s online sector between 2016 and the first half of 2020, according to Bloomberg.

Online sales are likely to account for 10 percent of Vietnam’s retail sales by 2025, and as much as 50 percent in areas like Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, Bloomberg reported.

Officials are looking at reducing cash payments and making way for a more transparent, digital-friendly and modern economy, according to Bloomberg. That includes boosting cashless payments for public services and improving the regulatory framework for ePayments.

But there are still some issues to contend with, including the fact that shoppers are wary of fraud and online stores that usually don’t allow returns. Hanoi-based economist Nguyen Tri Hieu said, per Bloomberg, Vietnamese people don’t trust what they can’t see. That has led to some sites offering promotions, price cuts and more.

The pandemic did give a boost to eCommerce, though, with a 30 percent jump in everything from food to electronics in 2020 as people were staying inside to avoid the coronavirus, Bloomberg reported.

PYMNTS reported that women could be a big economic driver in Southeast Asia, potentially contributing around $280 billion to the eCommerce market between 2025 and 2030. A report from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) found that boosting the amount of women selling online could increase sales volume.