The Vietnamese government’s efforts to promote internet use and e-commerce over the last decade have helped popularise the business, it said, citing that buying and selling through e-commerce websites has become popular for goods and services such as airline tickets, tours, hotel rooms, electronics, mobile phones, computers, books, perfume and flowers.

Payment and shipping methods are also flexible to meet the requirements of buyers, many of whom still do not have credit cards, from online payments to bank transfers or cash-on-delivery.

In Vietnam, one-third of population now uses the internet while some 60 percent go online to search information on products before making a purchase.

Internet penetration in the country has recorded the most rapid growth in Asia, with an average annual rate of 20 percent from 2000 to 2010.

According to a survey of 3,400 businesses operating in different fields nationwide by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, 60 percent of companies have applied B2B (business-to-business) e-commerce, 95 percent of which received orders online. One-third of the companies said e-commerce accounted for 15 percent or more of their total revenues.

E-commerce transactions in Vietnam now account for 2.5 percent of it’s GDP, or nearly US$2 billion. They predicted to reach US$6 billion by 2015.

Despite its huge potential, e-commerce growth in Vietnam is held back by a low-trust environment.