Hanoi (VNA) 𒀰– Vietnam’s digital economy may take the lead in Southeast Asia with average growth of 31% a year and reach 49 billion USD by 2025, said a report by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company.

Vietnam’s online retail sales hit 16.4 billion USD in 2022, accounting for 7.5% of the country’s total retail sales of consumer goods and services. The rate is expected to increase to 10% by 2025.  Vietnam was the third largest digital economy in Southeast Asian region with 23 billion USD, after Indonesia and Thailand, said the Department of E-Commerce and Digital Economy under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, citing data from the report. A survey conducted by the department showed that around 78% of Vietnamese internet users purchased goods through e-commerce platforms in 2022. Moreover, the logistics market serving the country’s digital economy maintained its growth momentum, placing among the top 10 fastest growing countries in the world. The sector is expected to have a value of 4.88 billion USD by 2030 with a growth rate of 24.1% during 2022-2030. Vietnam’s retail e-commerce only reached 5 billion VND in 2015, an increase of 23% compared to 2014. However, the figure climbed to 8.06 billion USD in 2018, up 30% compared to 2017. In 2019, Vietnam's e-commerce officially surpassed 10 billion USD, and increased to 13.7 billion USD in 2021 and 16.4 billion USD in 2022, with a growth rate of 20% in 2022. The rate is forecasted to continue to be maintained from 2022-2025 thanks to the growth momentum from the second wave of e-commerce. Vietnam was officially hooked up to the internet in 1997. Over the past 20 years, the internet has expanded rapidly in the country and has become an important shopping channel for consumers. According to a report of the Vietnam E-commerce Association (VECOM), business activities on e-commerce platforms and social networks were highlights of the industry in 2022 and the first quarter in 2023. The report also showed that up to 65% of businesses have joined business activities on social networks.   In addition, the number of employees in enterprises who regularly use online applications such as Zalo, WhatsApp, Viber or Facebook Messenger has also continuously increased year by year. Social selling has been considered to bring the most effective result, surpassing other forms such as website or application of businesses as well as e-commerce platforms. Notably, the birth and strong growth of Tiktok application is considered a phenomenon in social selling, creating a great attraction for a large number of traders across the country. Business activities on e-commerce platforms continue to grow steadily. According to VECOM, in 2022, 23% of businesses sold their products on e-commerce platforms. According to the White Book on Vietnamese E-Business 2022, up to 74.8% of Vietnamese internet users purchased goods and services online, with the most consumed commodities named apparel and cosmetics, household items, and technological and electronic devices./.