Vietnamese businesses earn $ 1 million/year through Amazon

On May 24, in Ho Chi Minh City, the Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy (Ministry of Industry and Trade) and Amazon Global Selling Vietnam organized the Amazon 2024 cross-border e-commerce conference with the theme "Vietnamese Excellence - Global Takeoff".

According to the report "Local Sellers, Global Consumers 2022: Direct Export Opportunities through E-commerce in Vietnam" by Access Partnership, Vietnam's retail e-commerce exports are estimated to reach VND 296.3 trillion by 2027.

Despite many challenges, Vietnam's e-commerce exports continue to show strong growth potential.

Over the past five years, health & personal care, home & kitchen, apparel, and beauty products have consistently been among the top-performing categories from Vietnam on Amazon.

The constantly changing global consumer demand opens doors for several Made-in-Vietnam product categories to capitalize on new consumer trends and capture international buyers.

From these prominent industry trends, if leveraged correctly and efficiently, Vietnamese businesses can accelerate their global expansion through cross-border e-commerce and increase their market share internationally.

Mrs Nguyen Thi Minh Huyen, Deputy Director of the E-commerce and Digital Economy Agency, Ministry of Industry and Trade (iDEA), stated that to enhance the cross-border e-commerce capabilities of Vietnamese businesses, iDEA and Amazon Global Selling are collaborating on the second phase of the "Cross-border E-commerce: The Era of Breakthrough" initiative.

In phase 2, the focus is on supporting key Vietnamese industry associations such as the Vietnam Timber and Forest Products Association (VIFOREST), the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of Ho Chi Minh City (HAWA), along other industry associations and organizations. The goal is to help them access digital skills, knowledge, and resources, and connect with networks of service providers and domestic manufacturers to support online production and export.

"In the past two years, this initiative has marked tireless efforts to support thousands of Vietnamese businesses on their journey to global commerce.

In phase 2, we will continue to deepen our collaboration with Amazon Global Selling to develop training resources, and update market trends, thereby equipping businesses with practical skills to overcome barriers when expanding business operations, aiming for the common goal of enhancing the global presence of Vietnamese brands”, shared Ms Huyen.

Mr Phung Quoc Man, Vice Chairman of the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of Ho Chi Minh City (HAWA), noted that in 2023, the impact of the economic downturn in key export markets for the Vietnamese wood industry caused a sharp decline in the demand for wood products. As a result, Vietnam's export value of wood and wood products decreased by 15.9% compared to 2022, reaching only $ 13.18 billion. Traditional export market segments are facing numerous challenges due to low global economic growth, weak consumer demand, increased protectionist barriers, and many countries continuing to maintain tight monetary policies. Meanwhile, e-commerce sales of furniture and handicrafts are still growing significantly.

However, the level of participation in e-commerce exports by Vietnamese businesses remains limited, with most businesses mainly doing outsourcing based on orders and designs from foreign distributors.

Most businesses are small in scale and lack the capacity to build brands; they are poorly resistant to unexpected and continuous market fluctuations.

"To promote Vietnamese interior wood products to the global market through e-commerce, businesses must constantly strive in researching products that fit consumer tastes, especially investing in enhancing operational capacity when participating in cross-border e-commerce to meet technical standards and international market regulations," Mr. Man emphasized.

According to Mr Gijae Seong, Managing Director of Amazon Global Selling Vietnam, with the advantages of production experience, abundant natural resources, and many impressively growing export sectors, Vietnam continuously brings quality and unique products, contributing to expanding product choices for Amazon customers worldwide. Among them, Vietnam's strong sectors such as processed agricultural products, furniture, coffee, kitchen decor, and cosmetics made from indigenous materials like coffee, tea, ginger, and turmeric are popular with consumers on Amazon.

Representatives of Amazon Global Selling Vietnam committed to collaborating with government agencies and industry associations to help propel cross-border e-commerce as a driving force for businesses and the digital economy of Vietnam.

As one of the businesses participating in cross-border e-commerce, Ms Nguyen Huynh Thu Truc, CEO of Organic Viet Food (OVF), stated that to bring higher economic value to Binh Phuoc cashews instead of just exporting raw products, the company has invested in packaging, design, and branding to export under a recognizable brand.

As a result, in November 2022, Newbam exported its first shipment to the US. In June 2023, it launched new products with various flavours, continuing to be available on Amazon in the US and Canada. According to Ms Nguyen Huynh Thu Truc, in the digital age, businesses need to adopt new business models, new technologies, and specific strategies to enhance their business efficiency on international platforms. The fastest way to achieve this is to leverage the international sales technology platforms of giants.

Mr Tran Xuan Thuy, Director of Amazon Global Selling Vietnam, noted that many Vietnamese businesses are now confident in bringing their products to the global market through e-commerce, with some achieving revenues of over $ 1 million/year. The number of such businesses has increased tenfold in the past five years and could increase by 20-30 times in the near future as more companies proactively participate in e-commerce by investing in product quality, e-commerce resources, and understanding international market trends...