Global export opportunities for wood and furniture products through e-commerce

While traditional export channels face difficulties, wooden furniture export through e-commerce still grows highly. Photo: N.H

Ms. Duong Minh Tue, Vice President of Ho Chi Minh City Handicraft and Wood Processing Association, said that with many strengths in forestry development, business support policies and free trade agreements, Vietnamese wood and wood product export had achieved much success in the international market. Vietnam was currently the leading country in furniture export to the US market. Vietnam's wood industry was well-positioned to take advantage of strong demand from domestic and international markets, while businesses were investing in new technology and digital transformation to develop new products and services, improving competitiveness, increasing efficiency and increasing productivity.

Ms. Tue said that in recent times, the traditional export market segment had been facing many challenges due to low global economic growth, weak global consumer demand, increased protection barriers, and many countries continued to maintain tight monetary policy. Meanwhile, e-commerce sales of furniture and handicrafts were still growing rapidly. This showed that participating in e-commerce platforms was a new direction for Vietnamese wood industry businesses. Some businesses participated in selling through e-commerce platforms such as Wayfair and Amazon and achieved quite positive initial results.

According to Ms. Tue, Vietnamese wood and furniture businesses had the advantage of being flexible and highly adaptable. To increase the level of recognition and access diversely to customers, businesses need to consider and systematically invest in online sales activities and diversify sales channels in their business strategy.

Ms. Nguyen Thanh Yen My, Senior Account Manager, Amazon Global Selling Vietnam, said that although world trade had not completely recovered, global e-commerce was still constantly growing. Cross-border e-commerce was a trend and a new form of export helping small and medium-sized businesses grow strongly. It was estimated that in the period 2020 - 2027, the aggregate growth rate of global cross-border retail e-commerce would increase by 28.4%. Notably, Southeast Asia was the region with the fastest growth in online sales on a global scale; Of which export through e-commerce in Vietnam was expected to grow over 20%/year.

Ms. Nguyen Thanh Yen My informed that in the US, e-commerce was forecast to increase sharply in the furniture industry in the next 4 years and could reach US$ 118.6 billion by 2027. In particular, furniture products such as shoe racks, bed frames, foldable desks, kitchen shelves, bathroom shelves, and personalized gift products... were selling very well on e-commerce platforms. Especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans' demand to care for, decorate their homes and work at home increased. Some products of wooden spice shelves, coffee shelves, and decorative bookshelves were not only consumed by home customers but can also be used for restaurants and hotels. However, manufacturers need to pay attention to prioritizing products that could be easily disassembled and assembled, with compact sizes to pack and transport easily.

Mr. Jimmy Wang, senior manager of WayfWay supplier search, also said that through the e-commerce platform, Vietnamese businesses could directly reach many different customers everywhere in the world. Recently, many Chinese suppliers bought Vietnamese furniture and resold them globally through cross-border e-commerce.

“The best-selling products are beds, cabinets, TV shelves, coffee tables and even garden furniture. So why don't Vietnamese manufacturers take advantage of their advantages to sell directly to customers using cross-border e-commerce?" - Mr. Jimmy Wang said.

Mr. Jimmy Wang recommended that to relieve online shoppers' psychology of not being able to touch and feel the product, sellers must prioritize comfort and actively advise customers about the products they want to buy. In addition, customer service and delivery were also issues of concern to buyers. Understanding the above reasons, e-commerce platforms currently provided many business support services from posting products online, packaging, shipping, and returning goods to bring the best experience, creating peace of mind for customers.