Vietnam's digital economy projected to grow by 31% in 2021

The country’s digital economy could reach $220 billion in gross merchandise volume (GMV) by 2030, ranking second after Indonesia. If this growth is maintained, Vietnam's GMV is expected to reach $57 billion by 2025.

The Southeast Asian region’s digital economy is on track to become a GMV worth $1 trillion by 2030. The primary driver is more than 440 million internet users, including 350 million of the region's digital consumers, the report noted.

Since COVID-19 infections reappeared in the first half of this year, the country has added 8 million digital consumers, of which more than half come from non-metro areas, the report said.

Ninety nine per cent of these new consumers expressed their intention to continue using online services following the pandemic, showing a very high level of adoption of digital services and products of users in our country. Thirty per cent of digital merchants believe that they would not have survived the pandemic if not for digital platforms.

Digital financial services are also becoming critical enablers, with 99 per cent of digital merchants now accepting digital payments and 72 per cent having adopted digital lending solutions. Many are also embracing digital tools to engage with their customers, with 72 per cent expecting to increase usage of digital marketing tools in the next five years.

The report also assesses that Vietnam remains an attractive innovation hub as global capital continues to pour in.

Investments and deals soared in the first half of 2021 to a record high of $1.37 billion, surpassing full-year investments in recent years, fuelled by investment interest in digital start-ups in the fields of e-commerce, fintech, healthtech and edutech.

Since the start of the pandemic, Southeast Asia has added 60 million new digital consumers, of which 20 million joined in the first half of this year. Driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, Southeast Asian digital consumers have spent more on online services.

As a result, Southeast Asia's GMV is estimated to reach $174 billion by the end of the year, expected to surpass $360 billion by 2025, higher than the previous forecast at $300 billion.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)