Vietnamese SMEs decide to “play big”

“Google’s Singapore office has a gym where employees can work out, and I often go there after work. One day I saw the Yes4All brand there. I Googled it and realized it was a Vietnamese brand.

“Then the brand appeared in other Google offices around the world. I asked myself how a Vietnamese company could do this. By connecting with Yes4All, I found the answer: the company has been exporting its products through the Amazon e-commerce platform for the past many years,” says Brandon Thanh Do, responsible for customer development in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand at Google.

While working with Yes4All, Brandon realized the difficulties Vietnamese businesses faced after achieving success in online exporting: limited resources for investment and market expansion.

“We then proposed to Amazon and Yes4All that Google could support them in terms of platform, warehouse and logistics, as well as payments. In fact, on Google Search, YouTube and other Google-owned platforms, many users have a demand to buy products on Amazon. We worked with the Yes4All marketing team on solutions that would lead Google and YouTube users to the Yes4All booth on Amazon,” he continued.

“With this solution, Yes4All does not need to create a new website, launch a payment channel or a new warehouse, but can still reach more customers,” he said, explaining that cooperation between different parties can help Vietnamese businesses better approach the international market.

Just one week after Brandon and his team trialed the first five Yes4All products, the company’s Amazon sales skyrocketed and its return on ad spend (ROAS) was 340 percent.

Vietnamese SMEs like Yes4All now have many online export opportunities. With new technologies, they can quickly and easily access international markets and customers through online channels.

According to Brandon, international consumers have become open to imports. Five years ago, Australian consumers were not interested in imports, including US-made products, because they preferred domestic products. However, in recent years, their habits have changed, and Vietnamese-made art products have become more popular in the country.

Google recently launched useful tools for businesses to export Vietnamese products for free. Google Trend helps find potential markets, while Market Finder helps find markets where there is demand for the products available on the websites.

5th largest export industry

Analysts say Vietnamese businesses currently have a big advantage in the global cross-border e-commerce market, ranking fifth among the 10 countries with the highest e-commerce turnover growth in 2022, according to data provided by eMarketer (Brazil 22.2%, Indonesia 23%, India 25.5%, Philippines 25.9% and Vietnam 19%).

Access Partnership recently unveiled a scenario for the development of cross-border e-commerce in Vietnam with encouraging numbers. SME participation is expected to help boost B2 e-commerce exports by 2.4 times the trajectory of conventional businesses by 2027, reaching $12 billion (VND296.3 trillion), helping to boost the trade surplus.

Meanwhile, AlphaBeta forecasts that Vietnam’s average annual cross-border trade could reach 20 percent between 2021 and 2026, with the value expected to reach $10 billion (VND256.1 trillion) by 2026.

“The amount of $10 billion is truly significant. By then, B2C cross-border retail will become the fifth largest export industry in Vietnam among the top 10 business areas with an export turnover of trillions of dong,” said Trinh Khac Toan of Amazon Global Selling Vietnam.

Amazon said the number of products exported through Amazon has increased by 300 percent over the past five years. In 2023 alone, more than 17 million Vietnamese products were sold through Amazon, and the value of exports by Vietnamese companies through Amazon increased by 50 percent compared with the same period in 2022.

Toan, who has been supporting thousands of Vietnamese businesses in cross-border e-commerce for four years, recommends that Vietnamese people join cross-border e-commerce now, otherwise they will be left behind in two to three years.

He emphasized that this model can bring three benefits to companies. First, they can control the flow of goods and get responses from target markets. Second, they can better control the flow of cash. Third, they can build global brands, which is an important asset for companies.

Binh Minh