It also accounted for about 2.8 percent of total retail sales and consumption services revenue nationwide. The report also showed that the country's e-commerce had entered a strong growth phase. The shopping value of a shopper in the year is estimated at 160 USD, the figures of this report showed.
Vecita carried out a survey on an e-commerce application last year with the participation of nearly 1,000 people.
Of these, goods which were most purchased online include clothes, shoes and cosmetics (64 percent), followed by technology and electronic products, household appliances, books, stationery, flowers and gifts.
Most online shoppers chose cash payment, with 91 percent of respondents saying they used this method, followed by 48 percent using bank transfers.
Twenty percent of survey participants said that they has used payment cards. The report also revealed that both sales of websites and e-commerce trading floors increased sharply last year.
Accordingly, the total revenue in the first 10 months of 839 e-commerce enterprises last year was estimated at 11.6 trillion VND. Meanwhile, the total revenue of 875 e-commerce websites in the first 10 months in 2014 was estimated at 8 trillion VND.
According to the report, e-commerce sites of enterprises with large revenues mostly traded in airplane tickets, refrigeration, furniture, household appliances, electronic and digital products, and audio equipment. Thirty seven percent of website owners said that goods and services that were most purchased on e-commerce websites had prices ranging from 100,000 VND to 500,000 VND.
The ten e-commerce websites that lead in revenue included vietnamairlines.com, thegioididong.com, esale.zing.vn, lazada.vn, fptshop.com.vn, nguyenkim.com, pico.vn, dienmaycholon.vn, hc.com.vn and phucanh.vn.
It is estimated that there are about 100,000 e-commerce orders in Vietnam every day.
To achieve strong growth, Vecita said that in the past year businesses recognised the importance and trends of e-commerce, therefore, they had invested more in e-commerce websites with total expenses increasing by an average of 30 percent compared
to 2014.
Big players such as Lazada, Tiki and Zalora, with funding from foreign ventures, are expected to expand their business even more through mobile apps. Since last year they have diversified their portfolios through collaboration. Lazada, for instance, is working with group buying site Nhommua and mobile retailer FPT Shop to boost sales. More e-commerce businesses are also set to launch supplementary services such as delivery and payment to complete their ecosystems.
VC Corporation, which owns Muachung and Rongbay, and HoaBinh-Peacesoft, which owns Chodientu and Nganluong, are among a few businesses on track to have ecosystems of their own. The participation of new businesses, including Adayroi and SILdeal, is also expected to fuel the competition.
Businesses must achieve a minimum growth of 25-30 percent a year, or they will fall behind in a sector that grows 25 percent every year, according to Ms. Nguyen ThiHanh, a senior official with the trade ministry's e-commerce department. However, in order to be stay in business for a long term, companies must target an annual growth of at least 50 percent, she said.
Three popular e-commerce businesses, namely food ordering Food Panda, baby foods and accessories seller Beyeu, and clothes and cosmetics seller Deca, have reportedly shut down in Vietnam last year.
