Despite Vietnam’s economic growth being hampered by the pandemic, the Covid crisis has driven a considerable rise in e-commerce over the last two years.

Indeed, e-commerce grew 16% to $13.7 billion in retail revenue last year, as per findings from the White Book on Vietnamese E-business 2022.

In 2021, the country’s economic growth hit its lowest level in three decades, at 2.58%, with major services sub-sectors reporting a downturn, Vietnam Plus reports.

General Statistics Office data revealed retailing and wholesaling fell 0.21% year-on-year, leading the economy to decline 0.02%. In addition, warehouse and logistics plummeted 5.02%, whilst lodging and catering services fell 20.81%, resulting in 0.3% and 0.51% declines respectively to GDP growth.

Furthermore, the share of turnover from e-retailing to 2021’s total retail sales of goods and services was 7%, a year-on-year increase of 27% from the year before.

In 2022, e-retailing is predicted to rise 20% to $16.4 billion, compared to $5 billion back in 2015, the report goes on to add. According to the findings from a study carried out this year by big data analysis firm Metric.vn, Vietnam is becoming the second largest e-commerce market in Southeast Asia, after Indonesia.

In addition, businesses in Vietnam are increasing investment on their presence in online marketplaces, according to the White Book on Vietnamese E-business 2022, as they are now considered a crucial distribution channel during the digital era.

The so-called White Book is built from the results of surveys of close to 5,000 consumers and around 10,000 businesses, as well as aggregate data from a number of reputable organisations across the globe.