Vietnam as e-commerce export hub: What does it mean for you?

7 AM, coffee still hot on my desk, I’m reading the news about Vietnam becoming the e-commerce export hub of Southeast Asia according to Larry Hu, CEO of Amazon Global Selling Southeast Asia. If you’re an SME owner selling on Alibaba, Etsy, or Amazon, this shift directly affects your growth options. This isn’t about rankings — it’s about opportunity that’s already here, and understanding it can help you decide your next export move.

📌 What’s happening

Vietnam has officially been named Southeast Asia’s leading e-commerce export hub by Amazon Global Selling, meaning Vietnamese sellers now have stronger infrastructure and support to sell directly to international buyers. This designation reflects measurable growth, not just a marketing label.

• Amazon Global Selling officially recognizes Vietnam as the leading e-commerce export center in Southeast Asia
• Vietnamese sellers on Amazon have increased by 150% in the past 18 months, according to Amazon data
• Vietnamese electronics and consumer goods now account for 23% of total sales value on regional e-commerce platforms
• Vietnam’s logistics infrastructure and export support policies are creating competitive advantages over neighboring countries

Source: vnexpress.net

What I see in this

This shift matters because when a platform with 300+ million global customers officially recognizes Vietnam as an export hub, Vietnamese sellers move from participants to shapers of the market. That changes how we should think about our own position and potential, not just our sales numbers.

But here’s what puzzles me — if Vietnam is already an export hub, why do most of the women entrepreneurs I meet still only sell locally or on a couple of domestic platforms? Is it information? Is it fear? Or is there another barrier we’re not talking about openly?

For female entrepreneurs specifically, I’m noticing something important: women who start exporting on Amazon or Shopee Global don’t just increase revenue — they change their entire identity. They stop thinking of themselves as “online sellers” and start seeing themselves as “international exporters.”

🔍 The number nobody’s really talking about

The most overlooked metric isn’t seller growth — it’s average order value (AOV), the average amount a customer spends per order. Exporting to Amazon US instead of selling domestically can push AOV from around $20 to $150-250 depending on the product, meaning sellers don’t need 10x more units, just the right customers.

What Big E Co. Once Experienced…

In 2019, when I first started Big E Co., Mr. Le Do – Ngoc Kien Thuc Dao had no idea that exporting was a viable option. He only knew how to sell online via domestic e-commerce platforms, where competition was fierce and profit margins were razor-thin.

By 2024, when I was appointed as the CMO of Big E Co., I asked him a question: “Why don’t you try helping Vietnamese businesses sell on Alibaba or Amazon?” At that time, he felt afraid — afraid of English, afraid of logistics, and afraid of complex procedures.

But when I offered solutions based on my existing knowledge of export, and both of us actually rolled up our sleeves to get to work, we realized that what we feared was simply what we didn’t understand yet. Within the first 6 months of exporting, our revenue surged by 300%.

Since then, I’ve always told other women in business: “The opportunity is right here; we just haven’t dared to step in.” Today’s news is proof that what happened back then wasn’t just a coincidence, but a real, ongoing trend.

Vietnam’s rise as an e-commerce export hub means the window for SMEs to enter Amazon, Alibaba, or Etsy is open now, not later. If you know the opportunity exists but haven’t started, what’s really holding you back? Schedule a free consultation and let’s talk about it.