As purchasing power for home decorations and compact furniture on ecommerce platforms Amazon and Alibaba increases, opportunities are opening up for Vietnamese businesses to sell made-in Vietnam products.
From grass brooms and water hyacinth baskets to compact chairs and shelves, “Made in Vietnam” home decoration products have been attracting customers on U.S. ecommerce platform Amazon.
An $81 black painted bar stool from Linon Home Decor is labeled as an “Amazon’s Choice,” meaning it is selling well, of high quality, and can be delivered right away. Over 50 of the items were sold the past month.
Selling garden furniture and wooden planks, BeeFurni’s revenue on this platform in the first 10 months of 2022 increased by 300% compared to 2021.
The brand’s stools launched in 2018 are priced US$35-50, depending on the size, and have attracted hundreds of customer reviews with an average score of 4.4 out of 5.
According to Amazon statistics, home decoration and furniture items have experienced outstanding growth in the 2020-2022 period. Even after returning to the office, people still spend a lot of time enjoying their life at home, and online shopping for such products has remained stimulated.
Last year, “wall decoration, kitchen decoration, bathroom decoration” were the most searched keywords in this category.
Over the past three years, home and kitchen decor have continuously been some of the best-selling item categories for Vietnamese sellers on Amazon.
Gijae Seong, managing director of Amazon Global Selling Vietnam, said this is an industry that “has great potential and still has many untapped advantages” for Vietnamese businesses.
With about 1,500 craft villages, abundant raw material supplies and supply chain advantages, Vietnamese furniture and decoration manufacturers possess immense potential on the international market, according to Amazon.
Chinese online ecommerce platform Alibaba said home and gardening products is one of the three most popular Vietnamese product categories on their wholesale platform.
In the last three months, potential buyers for Vietnamese products in this category have increased 64% year-on-year.
The most sought-after items have been dining sets, kitchenware, home textiles and affordable, practical storage, according to Alibaba.
Specializing in selling wrought iron products such as doors, fences and railings, Nguyen Phong Metal, a small and medium-sized enterprise, has opened a large export channel on this platform, according to Sales Director Pham Nguyen Le Uyen.
Their first order on Alibaba three years ago was worth $45,000. Since then, the company’s export revenue on Alibaba has doubled domestic sales.
Both platforms highly appreciate Vietnam because it is one of the countries that owns a large number of skilled craftsmen: about 7.4 million workers. The country’s traditional craft villages have rich experience and a long history, and they create unique products.
To be successful on the global market, there must be a harmonious combination between what Vietnam has and what the international market expects, according to Amazon.
For example, with products made from rattan, bamboo, and sedge, manufacturers must improve the material processing because these goods are easily affected by factors such as humidity and insects.
In the first seven months of the year, Vietnam’s export turnover on wood and wood products was down 26.2% year-on-year at US$7.21 billion.
The U.S., Japan, China, the EU and South Korea continued to be the main export markets for Vietnamese timber and forest products.
Total export value to the five markets during the January-July period was estimated at $5.44 billion, accounting for 89% of the country’s total export value.