Taking full advantage of available e-commerce platforms can be considered an efficient and cost-effective way of fully tapping into the United States’ market as the world moves past the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) period. 

ITPC Deputy Director Tran Phu Lu addresses the event (Photo: VNA)

This was the advice given by experts during a seminar held on October 21 to discuss ways to gain access to the US market through the Amazon e-commerce trading floor, with the event being jointly held by the Investment and Promotion Center (ITPC) of Ho Chi Minh City and Amazon Global Selling.

Tran Phu Lu, deputy director of ITPC, said the US is currently the country’s third largest trading partner, with the Southeast Asian nation ranking 16th among the US’ leading trading partners and seventh in terms of largest commodity suppliers to the market.

Despite the adverse impacts caused by the COVID-19 epidemic, two-way trade turnover during the opening nine months of the year recorded growth of 17.7% to more than US$65.1 billion compared to the same period last year, he added.

Most notably, although Vietnamese imports from the US witnessed a decline of 3%, the country's exports to the market surged by 22.7% to over US$54.7 billion.

The ITPC representative therefore underscored the importance of e-commerce platforms to help local businesses sell their products directly to US consumers, as opposed to via traditional channels that often incur high costs.

Tran Xuan Thuy, country head of Amazon Global Selling Vietnam, outlined how Amazon is currently the most popular e-commerce retailer in the US, with the company leading the market in terms of sales, accounting for 38.7% of total retail e-commerce sales in the North American country.

Furthermore, Thuy noted that with a wide network of customers worldwide, gaining access to the Amazon e-commerce platform will allow Vietnamese businesses to increase their exports to the US market, save time and costs, thereby expanding their market share, developing brands, and boosting production.

With regard to the demands of the US market, Nguyen Phuong Trinh, senior account executive of Amazon Global Selling Vietnam, revealed some popular products have enjoyed huge retail sales through Amazon. These include mother and baby products, beauty cosmetics, health care products, food and beverages, in addition to interior decoration items.

During the event, experts urged local businesses to strive to improve the quality of their products and make effective use of marketing tools for the purpose of developing brands. This should be done while meeting stringent requirements set by US importers to increase exports to the demanding market in the future.