Although e-commerce has been booming, many businesses still focus on developing traditional trade channels that they have long considered to be sustainable.

The booming development along with many new forms of e-commerce in recent years has posed new challenges for tax management authorities.

Vietnamese have splashed tens of billions of đồng to purchase áo dài (traditional long dresses), the national costume, via e-commerce platforms to dress up for the coming Tết (Lunar New Year) holiday.

Total revenue of the five largest e-commerce platforms in Vietnam is expected to continue to rise sharply, reaching $310 trillion in 2024, a growth rate of 35 percent over 2023.

The five e-commerce platforms in Vietnam - Shopee, Lazada, Tiki, TikTok Shop and Sendo - have reported total revenue of $232.2 trillion in 2023, an increase of 53.4 percent over 2022.

The Industry and Trade Ministry shared that e-commerce activities in Vietnam last year effectively exploited the purchase power of the market, resulting in a significant rise compared to the overall growth rate of the national economy.

Online shopping and hunting for promotional items has become a habit of many people, especially Gen Z, or individuals born in the mid-90s.

Director of the Vietnam Directorate of Market Surveillance Tran Huu Linh said that smugglers have taken advantage of e-commerce platforms to sell fake commodities.

Revenue from e-commerce for domestic organisations and individuals reached 536.5 billion VND (over 22 million USD) this year, reported the General Department of Taxation (GDT).

E-commerce has greatly boosted consumption in Vietnam lately, and the wise management of tax in this sector can bring back a large amount of budget revenue and ensure a healthy business environment for economic growth.

Amazon’s Vice President Eric Broussard said global retail e-commerce has opened up many opportunities and created a new movement for sellers from many countries, including Vietnam.

Shoppers are facing potential risks of online shopping including the purchase of counterfeit goods, poor quality goods, smuggled goods, and goods of unknown origin being sold widely on cyberspace and e-commerce platforms.

Scores of Vietnamese-branded products have been displayed on popular e-commerce platforms in the world contributing to the promotion of Vietnamese products.

Many people are practicing thrift by shopping online, but 84 percent of online buyers in Vietnam worry about product quality.

Vietnam’s e-commerce services have grown considerably at between 16% and 30% annually over the past few years, with market size likely to hit US$20.5 billion this year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

The 2023 E-commerce Week and Online Friday, Vietnam's largest online shopping programmes of the year, are slated to begin later this month, heard a press conference held by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) on November 16.

The turnover from farm exports via e-commerce platforms remains modest, though Vietnam has high-quality farm products, especially tea and coffee.

Up to 500 brands, 3,000 businesses, e-marketplaces, and sale supporting platforms will take part in the Vietnam Online Shopping Day - Online Friday 2023 in early December.

Trans-border e-commerce has made great contributions to Vietnam’s export revenue, with a value of over 80 trillion VND (3.28 billion USD) in 2022.