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COVER STORY

with many benefits from the digital economy,
such as e-commerce, will boost the customer Thanks to good
experience by offering access to many prod- product quality,
ucts and services,” he said. a transparent commission
E-commerce platforms are also con-
sidered a bridge introducing Vietnamese rate, and suitable policies,
products to the world, and startups in the we have secured the trust
field aim to fulfil this role. “With a manu- of consumers.”
facturing market like Vietnam, we expect
to be able to make and export Vietnamese Mr. Thong Le Anh Tuan,
products of international standard,” said CEO and Co-Founder of Selly
Ms. Anh. “I hope that in the near future,
local e-commerce startups will have an
open development environment, promoting “We also provide tools that enable partners
Vietnamese technology, products, and serv- to approach new customers and seize
ices in the international market.” growth opportunities,” the ShopeeFood
representative said.
NAVIGATING OBSTACLES
Despite seeing promising growth, Viet- MOVING AHEAD
namese e-commerce startups must still In addition to generating profits for
grapple with a host of challenges in asserting themselves, these startups also focus on
their market position. When starting out providing benefits to customers and part-
in e-commerce, securing the trust of cus- ners. “For the OCG team, it is important
tomers is the top priority of every business. that the solution we build has an impact
Mr. Tuan said that the first difficulty faced and brings value to the community,” said
on e-commerce platforms is that such Ms. Anh. “OCG wants to continue to
models and services are quite new and develop this segment to help vendors from
unfamiliar among consumers, so it takes manufacturing countries easily sell overseas
time for them to become familiar with and increase their earnings, and we will
what is on offer. Selly’s users are mostly help a lot businesses reach out to interna-
from small cities, so technology or trend tional markets.”
sensitivity is an issue. “But thanks to good Developing new products and services
product quality, a transparent commission is the next step for e-commerce startups.
rate, and suitable policies, we have secured “We understand there are lot of things we
the trust of consumers,” he added. must do better, because our competitors
Competing with major players that have have existed for a long time but we are
PHOTO: VIET TUAN
Vietnam’s e-commerce market is con- been in business for a long period is also a only at the starting point after three years,”
sidered to hold significant potential. Fig- major challenge for startups to overcome. Ms. Anh said. “With experienced staff that
ures from the Ministry of Industry and “As a latecomer in the market compared work according to common ideals and
Trade (MoIT) show that the country’s e- to the big players, there were times when with a passion for development goals, we
commerce revenue in 2021 was an esti- we went back to the beginning and started have been bringing other products into
mated $13.7 billion, an increase of 16 all over again,” said Ms. Anh. Moreover, the OCG ecosystem.”
per cent against 2020, and that the country like many other industries, Covid-19 posed In regard to food delivery, the
is one of three posting the highest growth challenges for e-commerce in general and ShopeeFood representative said it will try
in online retail market share in Southeast cross-border e-commerce in particular, to better understand user needs and con-
Asia. According to Mr. Tuan, each Viet- especially for ShopBase’s Dropshipping stantly innovate to ensure it offers the
namese person spends an average of four and Print-on-Demand models. best value as these needs change. “We
and a half hours a day on social network- Mr. Tuan also noted that the company aim to focus on building a sustainable
ing platforms, with nearly 19 per cent of continues to encounter certain issues when ecosystem that will drive the long-term
the population spending up to seven cooperating with suppliers on e-commerce growth of food delivery in Vietnam and
hours a day checking social networks. platforms. There are many large players also continue to improve our platform
“Such figures promote the development that are used to operating on e-commerce and services to meet the requirements of
of social commerce in Vietnam, creating platforms, but there are also others, like merchants, users, and driver-partners,”
major opportunities for startups like Selly traditional factories and suppliers, that the representative said.
to grow,” he said. may have good products but lack proficiency With the goal of continuing to develop
The development of Vietnam’s e-com- in completing orders, packaging, and con- and acquire 2 million sales companions in
merce market has encouraged startups in ducting competitive strategies on e-com- 2022 while boosting incomes and improving
the field to not only expand their business merce platforms. Such problems have cre- lives, Selly is also investing in training
models but also compete with other e-com- ated many difficulties for Selly in providing partners through programs to help them
merce platforms. According to a represen- customers with the best solutions. drive sales on e-commerce platforms. “While
tative from ShopeeFood, the market wit- In order to help customers and partners addressing the difficulties, Selly aims to
nessed substantial change in customers’ overcome the difficulties in doing business expand further and is building a fulfillment
consumption habits during Covid-19, with on e-commerce platforms, ShopeeFood system to help manufacturers produce
more users shifting to digital services, includ- has developed a range of support pro- goods, and also offers trade marketing
ing online shopping and online food delivery. grams, policies, and monthly promotional strategies to support our partners’ sales,”
“We therefore believe that an ecosystem campaigns to help them increase sales. Mr. Tuan said. %

www.en.vneconomy.vn JUNE 2022 | VIETNAM ECONOMIC TIMES | 21