Expanding Market Opportunities for Export Businesses
In the context of Vietnamese exports facing the need to expand markets, increase value, and enhance competitiveness, e-commerce is emerging as an important tool, not only for domestic consumption but also for export activities. Mr. Pham Tan Dat - Head of Logistics Department, Vietnam E-commerce Association - said that e-commerce still has much room for growth in supporting businesses to bring Vietnamese goods to the world market.
According to Mr. Pham Tan Dat, when mentioning e-commerce, many people still think of B2C retail platforms like Shopee or Lazada, where goods are sold directly to consumers. This is an area where e-commerce has been doing very well. However, behind that lies a larger, less-noticed but strategically significant space for exports: B2B e-commerce and cross-border e-commerce.
From perspective of Vietnam E-commerce Association, Mr. Pham Tan Dat stated that since 2015, the association has collaborated with Ministry of Industry and Trade, localities and the banking system to leverage e-commerce channels to support export of Vietnamese goods. Over the years, potential and advantages of e-commerce in exports have become increasingly clear.
Accordingly, e-commerce not only helps increase the number of orders, but more importantly, opens up access to new markets – markets that would require significant time, resources and costs if pursued through traditional channels. With digital platforms, Vietnamese goods can reach international buyers faster and more flexibly, especially suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises.
E-commerce is not just a sales channel; it also helps businesses tell story of Vietnamese products and brands. Industries such as coffee, cocoa and processed agricultural products can leverage digital platforms to convey value, origin and story of their products, thereby enhancing export value instead of just competing on price.
Cross-border e-commerce: A comprehensive solution for exports
Mr. Pham Tan Dat emphasized that cross-border e-commerce has now reached a very high level of development. Large platforms like Amazon, Alibaba and Shopee not only provide a marketplace for transactions but also integrate many tools and solutions to support businesses, from marketing, sales, payment to logistics.
Vietnam is a market that cross-border e-commerce platforms are particularly interested in. Not only focusing on selling goods in the domestic market, these platforms are concentrating on supporting Vietnamese goods exported to the world. This is a significant advantage if businesses and management agencies know how to utilize it properly. From his business experience, Mr. Dat shared his collaboration with parent company in China to export agricultural products through livestream sales. This approach demonstrates that e-commerce is not just a transaction channel, but also a new, flexible and modern way to access the market.
From a broader perspective, he believes that active support of Vietnamese businesses by international e-commerce platforms is a reciprocal relationship in trade. When Vietnamese businesses are supported to operate effectively on digital platforms, those platforms also have more motivation to commit to and invest long-term in the Vietnamese market.
A key point in Mr. Pham Tan Dat's speech was his perspective on trade promotion. According to Mr. Dat, e-commerce is not just a sales tool but also an effective method of trade promotion.
Compared to traditional promotional activities such as trade fairs and exhibitions – which only last a few days – e-commerce promotion has the potential to spread year-round, cover a wider area, and reach a more diverse audience. In particular, digital promotion costs are often lower, more effective and clearly measurable.
E-commerce helps to closely connect online and in-person promotional activities, creating a synergistic effect rather than a separation. This is why Mr. Pham Tan Dat views cross-border e-commerce as an inevitable trend, a crucial pillar and a relatively comprehensive solution for Vietnamese goods exports in the coming period.
In context of increasingly clear demands for increased added value, market expansion and national brand building, e-commerce is no longer a supplementary option but is gradually becoming an indispensable component in Vietnam's export strategy. The remaining issue is how to better utilize this tool and create closer links between businesses, platforms and supporting policies so that Vietnamese goods can go further on the global trade map.

Source: Vitic/ congthuong.vn