The revenue of products sold through online business-to-consumer (B2C) retail model is forecast to surge in the coming time and reach VND650 trillion (US$26.31 billion) in 2024, according to the E-Commerce and Digital Economy Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

Commenting on e-commerce growth in recent years, the agency noted that in 2018, B2C revenue reached US$10.8 billion, which was raised to US$11.8 billion in 2020 and US$16.4 billion in 2022.

In 2023, the figure hit US$20.5 billion, accounting for 7.8-8% of the country’s total retail sales of goods and revenue from consumer services in the year.

A report on online retail market in 2023 released by e-commerce data platform Metric showed that 2.2 billion products were successfully delivered through five major e-commerce platforms in Vietnam, namely Shopee, Lazada, Tiki, Sendo and Tiktok Shop, a surge of 52.3% over 2022.

The e-Conomy SEA 2022 report by Google, Temasek, and Brain & Company, Vietnam was one of the countries recording highest e-commerce growth. The B2C revenue and sales volume in Vietnam are predicted to continue uptrend, with the five leading e-commerce platforms expecting to earn VND310 trillion in 2024, representing a year-on-year growth of 35%.

However, experts held that e-commerce activities in Vietnam have still faced many challenges.

Do Huu Hung, CEO of Accesstrade Vietnam, said that the e-commerce market in Vietnam has formed systems of service supply to the market, including basic technologies assisting e-commerce transactions, safe e-payment systems, marketing services, online marketing, and delivery services.

The connections and sharing of the services have helped optimise the linkage between manufacturers and consumers. The establishment of a sustainable ecosystem will be a foundation for e-commerce to continue expanding in 2024.

However, Hung said that issues related to origin of products, private information safety, logistics infrastructure serving e-commerce activities yet to catch up with the growth of the market, as well as customers’ confidence are still challenges that Vietnam need to address in order to promote the development of e-commerce in the future.

Experts underlined the need for the joint efforts of ministries and sectors in designing strategies and measures to boost e-commerce, including protecting customers’ interests, promoting green and sustainable development, and narrowing gaps among localities and regions through digital platforms.