HCM City (VNA) - HCM City is gearing up to develop e-commerce infrastructureand make e-commerce an economic spearhead contributing to its economic growth, themunicipal Department of Industry and Trade has said.

E-commerce has developed rapidly in the southern economic hub in recent years, withtotal online spending growing by more than 13.8 percent annually. E-commerce platformshave also become an important sales channel for local businesses.

According to the department’s statistics, about 5 percent of enterprises in thecity sold products on these platforms. 

Meanwhile, shoppers engaged more in e-marketplaces, with people of all agesflocking to e-commerce platforms. Some 62.5 percent of internet users bought productsonline, and nearly 18 percent of local consumers chose online payments.

The department is carrying out a wide range of measures to shape up e-marketspaces,which need State support in planning, land, and finance to build logistics infrastructuresuch as warehouses, access roads, and suitable online payments.

It has proposed developing HCM City into a logistics service hub in the south, byzoning off areas for seven logistics centres, including Cat Lai, Linh Trung, HiepPhuoc, Tan Kien, Cu Chi, Long Binh, and a high-tech zone.

The department will also evaluate local production and exports to determine thecity’s export situation via e-commerce platforms, so as to recommend strategicorientations for the local authorities to build an action plan to expand exportsto 2030.

Optimisation of delivery needed

According to Tiki.vn founder and CEO Tran Thai Son, shopping and transaction demandson e-commerce platforms have shot up in recent times, particularly in HCM City,where they are double and even triple national levels.

As the size of Vietnam’s e-commerce market grows by an average of 20-30 percentannually, one in five vehicles on the road is delivering goods, he said.

More businesses and local people have engaged in e-commerce delivery services,so it is necessary to develop transport infrastructure for e-commerce development,he stressed.

Son said that without improvements, e-commerce will barely be able to flourish.

In the context of complex developments from COVID-19, Business-to-Business electroniccommerce (B2B e-commerce) has been increasingly favoured by enterprises, since itallows them to find suppliers and customers around the clock.

Along with warehouses, planning for transport infrastructure is crucial to optimiseproduct delivery, Son said./.