Through the Amazon e-commerce platform, Vietnamese textile and garment brands will be able to reach more than 300 million customers in 185 countries and territories.
Vietnam is one of the world’s largest textile and garment exporters. However, most of the textiles and garments produced in Vietnam, worth $35 billion, are exported to international markets without their own brand.
To support local apparel brands and garment manufacturers in promoting their brands, Amazon and the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (Vitas) have agreed to a brand development program and Vietnamese brand positioning in the global market. Amazon’s global direct-selling program aims to have 30 world-class Vietnamese textile brands in the next nine years.
The clothing department on Amazon
Amazon is a large marketplace and offers new opportunities for sellers from all over the world. It is a potential market for export clothing brands who want to bring their products to the world’s largest e-commerce platform.
According to Wells Fargo, in 2021, Amazon accounted for 11-12% of the market share of all types of apparel sold in the US. And Amazon’s market share compared to other competitors selling apparel online is 34-35%. In particular, with the growing trend of online shopping, Amazon is certain to rank high in the global fashion market share in the next five years.
It can be seen that the fashion business on Amazon is truly a great opportunity for Vietnamese export clothing businesses wishing to bring their products to the international market to exploit and develop.
Potential for exported clothes of Vietnamese brands on Amazon
From the 80s and 90s until now, Vietnamese fashion brands have constantly changed, always updating new breezes into each design, model, and style of the products. Therefore, Vietnam’s exported clothing designs can completely meet the needs of the international market.
Many Vietnamese businesses and manufacturers have reported higher sales after launching products on major e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and Alibaba. These platforms offer huge opportunities for companies, especially SMEs, to reach larger markets and increase revenue.
Currently, there are more than 100,000 Vietnamese sellers selling fashion and household items on Amazon.
The Director of Amazon Global Vietnam Sales said that more and more Vietnamese products are being sold on this platform, especially household appliances, fashion accessories, and many other items. They are popular with foreign consumers thanks to their good quality and competitive prices.
Amazon has also worked with local manufacturers of masks, gloves, and protective clothing, which are in demand globally in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Manufacturers in Vietnam have exported nearly 1.2 billion masks as of December 2020 to North America, Europe, and throughout Asia.
Online shopping is considered a future trend in the United States, one of the potential importing countries of Vietnamese garments. According to data from Statista, the United States is the main driving force behind the rise of global e-commerce, with total e-commerce sales in the United States in 2022 reaching $1.03 trillion, surpassing $1 trillion for the first time, second only to China.
In the European and American markets, Vietnam was the 11th largest trading partner of the United States by the end of June 2023, with a total import-export turnover of about $57.6 billion, accounting for 2.3% of the total import-export turnover of the United States. However, the majority of Vietnamese businesses still export to the United States through traditional trading channels, and this trade channel has tended to decline, especially during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, converting to e-commerce platforms is very necessary.
Solutions for Vietnamese businesses
With traditional Vietnamese products already popular and in demand on e-commerce sites, experts say sellers should focus on product value, not price. Manufacturing businesses should improve customer experience, and packaging is also an important factor that Vietnamese brands need to consider carefully to attract and retain international customers.
Cross-border e-commerce export is a very potential trend for textile and garment businesses today, especially in the US market. However, businesses also need to be aware of the risks involved in selling on these platforms, which are related to loose sales contracts. When risks occur, the business is the one that bears the loss. Therefore, there is a need for consulting units and lawyers to assist businesses in drafting contracts right from the beginning.
Another problem is transportation. This is an issue that businesses need to pay attention to when transporting goods. Businesses need to choose reputable transporters. In particular, there has been an increase in fraud cases in international trade activities recently, even though businesses have been advised to use safer payment methods such as L/C and payment capacity verification.
In addition, businesses need to choose reputable e-commerce platforms to export because they have multi-level security systems. Businesses need to be very cautious about accessing links, spamming, sharing accounts, and lending accounts.
The challenges for businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, when exporting via e-commerce platforms are the same as exporting traditionally: adapting to the strict regulations of traditional markets such as the US and EU.
In addition, the skill of exploiting new applications of e-commerce to optimize costs and optimize potential customers requires businesses to take a certain amount of time to grasp the tools on these platforms. Businesses also need to pay close attention to understanding the features and making the most of the functions of e-commerce platforms. The e-commerce platform is not only a place for buying and selling, but it also performs many other functions, such as virtual fair activities and trade connection activities.
Currently, the green product trend is very popular, especially in the European and American markets. Therefore, it is necessary to put these products on e-commerce stores to meet consumer needs. Businesses also need to be transparent and digitize touch points with shoppers. This is extremely important, helping businesses access difficult markets like the US.