Cross-border e-commerce: From a sales channel to a new pillar of exports.

Viet Nam maintains its position in the Top 10 countries with the fastest e-commerce growth rate in the world and ranks 3rd in terms of market size in ASEAN.

Viet Nam's e-commerce market is projected to reach $31 billion by 2025.

According to data from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, by 2025, e-commerce is expected to become one of the fastest-growing sectors of the economy , with a projected growth rate of over 25%. The e-commerce market is projected to reach $31 billion and account for approximately 10% of total retail sales of goods and consumer services.

Viet Nam maintains its position in the Top 10 countries with the fastest e-commerce growth rate in the world and ranks 3rd in terms of market size in ASEAN (after Indonesia and Thailand).

Notably, specifically for cross-border e-commerce, according to calculations by the Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy in collaboration with the Viet Nam E-commerce Association, online exports are expected to increase by approximately 18% in 2025, while total online import and export turnover is projected to increase by nearly 10%, from around $4.1 billion to $4.45 billion.

 In her opening remarks at the Cross-Border E-commerce Forum 2025, Ms. Lai Viet Anh, Deputy Director of the Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy (Ministry of Industry and Trade), stated that cross-border e-commerce is emerging as an effective market expansion channel for Vietnamese businesses, especially micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises.

Sharing the same view, Mr. Bui Trung Kien, Vice Chairman of VECOM, commented that Viet Nam's e-commerce, including online exports, is entering a take-off phase.

According to Mr. Kien, if supported by synchronized policies and implemented systematically, cross-border e-commerce will strongly play a role in the national digital economy development strategy, especially opening up great opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises to directly access international markets, reduce costs and shorten the intermediary chain.

According to Mr. Bui Trung Kien, for online exports to truly become a bright spot, close cooperation between the State, associations, and businesses is necessary. In this collaboration, the State plays the role of creating institutions and legal frameworks; associations act as a bridge for information, training, and promotion; and businesses are the central actors, directly innovating business models and conquering international markets.

Business operations are no longer dependent on physical borders.

Regarding this issue, Ms. Nguyen Thuy Anh, Deputy Head of the Digital Transformation Department, E-commerce and Digital Economy Bureau (Ministry of Industry and Trade), stated that the rapid growth of cross-border e-commerce has opened up significant opportunities for Vietnamese businesses to access the global market, while also creating an urgent need to improve the legal framework for effective management, consumer protection, and a fair competitive environment.

 Thương mại điện tử xuyên biên giới: Từ kênh bán hàng đến trụ cột xuất khẩu mới - Ảnh 2.
Business operations are no longer dependent on physical borders.

Representatives from the Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy stated that the new E-commerce Law, recently passed by the National Assembly, includes a separate chapter regulating e-commerce with foreign elements.

According to the new regulations, determining whether a foreign e-commerce platform operates in Vietnam is not based solely on server location, but on the extent of its actual participation in the Vietnamese market. Identifying factors include whether the platform displays Vietnamese text, uses a “.vn” domain name, or reaches a certain transaction threshold with Vietnamese consumers.

"This approach accurately reflects the nature of e-commerce in the digital age, where business operations are no longer dependent on physical borders," affirmed Ms. Nguyen Thuy Anh.

Another important aspect of the Law is the increased accountability of platforms towards foreign sellers. According to the new regulations, representatives of foreign e-commerce platforms must act on behalf of foreign sellers to receive, process complaints, and resolve disputes with buyers in Viet Nam. At the same time, foreign sellers will bear the same responsibilities as domestic sellers.

This is considered a major step forward in protecting the rights of Vietnamese consumers, especially in the context of an increasing number of transactions being conducted with foreign sellers and platforms.

Integrating cross-border e-commerce into national strategy.

By placing cross-border e-commerce within the overall import-export development strategy, Mr. Tran Thanh Hai, Deputy Director of the Import-Export Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade), believes that Viet Nam is entering a crucial transitional phase in its development thinking.

In 2025, Viet Nam's total import and export turnover is projected to reach approximately $920 billion – a record high. However, according to Mr. Hai, the import and export strategy cannot focus solely on scale, but must also aim for sustainability, market balance, and resilience against external shocks.

Currently, the US accounts for about one-third of Viet Nam's exports, while approximately 40% of imports come from China. This dependence poses significant risks in the context of geopolitical instability and global trade policies.

In this context, cross-border e-commerce is seen as an important tool for businesses to shift from outsourcing to direct selling, from OEM to D2C, and gradually build Vietnamese brands in the international market.

According to Mr. Hai, online import and export currently mainly takes place under the B2B model, but there is a trend towards expanding to D2C, especially with consumer products, fashion, cosmetics, and highly personalized goods. Globally, cross-border e-commerce is projected to reach a scale of approximately 800 billion USD, with a growth rate of 25-30% per year.

Source: VTV