Half of population use Internet, only 20% of Vietnamese firms have websites

Only 20% of small and medium-sized enterprises "go online," according to Tammy Phan, Strategic Partnership and Sales Channel Manager in Vietnam of Google at a recent workshop on digital technology for small and medium enterprises.

The Google representative said as Vietnam leads mobile growth, online business will grow 40%.

According to Google’s forecast, by 2020, of 10 Vietnamese, 8 will use mobile phones. With estimated number of more than 140,000 new jobs in 2020, for every 1% of mobile users increased, Vietnam’s GDP will rise by US$100 million.

Google's statistics also show that online shopping, especially through mobile phones, is increasing in Vietnam.

Before deciding to purchase something, 70% of internet users search for information and shopping address. 66% makes research about a day before going to shops to see products directly and 82% of users search on the phone to decide what to buy while in the store.

According to current statistics, 45 million Vietnamese people (about half of Vietnam's population) have access to the Internet and the need to search for product information before shopping is increasing but local businesses seem to neglect this trend.

Tammy Phan said that only 20% of small and medium companies "go online" and have websites supporting online purchase. About 70% of respondents said having problems accessing the sites on mobile phones.

Tran Huu Linh, Director of the the E-commerce & Information Technology Department of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, previously said that about 30% of the Vietnamese population shop online in 2020. 

The annual turnover for this type of business can reach US$350 per person on average. In addition, the revenues from the form of B2C (business to consumers – direct sales) will increase by 20%, reaching US$10 billion, accounting for 5% of total retail sales.

Small and medium enterprises, according to the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), account for 97% of the business community. VCCI' survey of more than 10,000 businesses across the country also showed that the ability to apply technology was not high.

Dau Anh Tuan, Head of the Legal Department of VCCI, said the level of connectivity for small and medium enterprises with the world market was low.

"Of the 10,000 enterprises participating in the survey, the number of firms doing business with foreign partners is small. The firms involving in import-export activities are mainly foreign-invested ones,” Tuan said.

The proportion of foreign-invested firms in the total export turnover of Vietnam has increased rapidly, reaching more than 70% form only 50% five years ago.