The COVID-19 pandemic may have caused disruptions to start-ups and innovative enterprises, but it had also created opportunities for them to turn into real businesses.
A signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding on the launch of the first interface for Danish brands in Lazada, one of the modern e-commerce platforms in Vietnam, was held on November 19.
As digital transformation was vital for the development of Vietnam’s economy, local businesses had no other choice than joining to benefit from the trend, a top economics journalist has said.
Online shopping traffic in Vietnam so far this year rocketed over 150 percent against a year earlier, with daily visits to e-commerce sites growing to 3.5 million, Nguyen Ngoc Dung, Deputy Chairman of the Vietnam e-Commerce Association (VECOM), told a workshop on November 10.
The number of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) using online platforms for their business in Indonesia has risen to around 10.2 million as the COVID-19 pandemic speeds up digitalisation, a minister has said.
Consumers can now buy almost anything from the comfort of their homes with just a few simple steps on a smartphone. With its undeniable advantage in convenience, online shopping is gaining in popularity even now that COVID-19 has been largely brought under control.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a test for Vietnamese businesses as many have been and will be struggling to recover for the foreseeable future. Those who emerge from the crisis will have proven their mettle by overcoming an unprecedented and difficult time, said business leaders.
The Medical Hub Board of Thailand is to propose that the government allow direct international flights to quarantine spa and resort locations in facilitation of medical tourists, adding to Special Tourist VISA (STV) visitors being allowed into the country to stimulate its economy.
COVID-19 pandemic has changed the habit and thought of tourists around the world. Recent surveys by independent organisations revealed that their behaviours and choices have changed in an unpredictable manner after the pandemic broke out.
After a long period of disruption due to COVID-19, the retail market in the central city of Da Nang has begun to recover. Purchasing power in the domestic market remains quite low, however, and many wet markets and shopping centres are deserted still.
A recent survey by Standard Chartered has revealed that nearly 80 percent of respondents in Singapore expect the country to go fully cashless in the next decade.
Online shopping and electronic payments in Vietnam have become more common in recent years as more of the country's population gains access to the internet, and e-commerce in the 95 million-strong market is set to enter a rapid growth phase in the near future, according to industry experts.
There have been signs of reduction in the habit of using cash among people, but the switching to cashless paymentsremains slow, according to the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV).
The number of Vietnamese using ride-haling services has increased rapidly in recent years, signaling the potential for the development of the sharing economy in the country.
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