Exiting e-commerce platforms, SMEs struggle in peak seasons
Vietnam's e-commerce sector is undergoing a significant consolidation phase. In the first half of the year alone, more than 80,000 shops exited major marketplaces to transition toward independent operations. This trend reflects the desire of small retailers to gain greater control over customer experience and optimize long-term costs.
However, departing marketplaces does not alleviate operational pressures. Independent operations require businesses to shoulder additional expenses in logistics, marketing, and technology, while facing intensified competition from large chains that leverage AI at scale. Consumer behavior is also evolving rapidly, with rising expectations for fast delivery and personalized services. Limited by capital and human resources, many SMEs struggle to deliver seamless shopping experiences. As a result, inconsistent customer journeys, delayed responses, and low personalization contribute to approximately 70% of online shopping carts being abandoned before checkout.
The year-end peak season further intensifies these challenges, presenting a rigorous test for businesses. Surging website traffic and order volumes demand near real-time customer interaction handling. This period exposes underlying limitations, such as unsynchronized inventory systems, manual customer service processes, and a lack of automation to manage thousands of simultaneous interactions.
Concurrently, cybersecurity risks escalate significantly as businesses maintain continuous operations during this critical period. SMEs emerge as particularly vulnerable targets, frequently facing data theft or system disruption attacks that directly threaten business continuity.
VNETWORK launches the Dual Transformation Ecosystem
As shared by Ms. Trần Hạo Anh, COO at VNETWORK, the primary barrier for SMEs lies not in determination but in resources. Many enterprises lack initial investment capital, technical talent, and expert guidance. Notably, 43% of businesses admit uncertainty about where to begin their transformation journey. These pressures are compounded by the fact that over 50% of cyberattacks target SMEs, and 60% of affected businesses cease operations within six months.
Addressing these realities, VTalks #10 marked the official launch of VNETWORK's Dual Transformation Ecosystem, developed in strategic partnership with key collaborators. Positioned as a comprehensive one-stop solution, the ecosystem enables SMEs to execute structured transformation rather than relying on fragmented tools.
The Dual Transformation Ecosystem is built on three core pillars:
- Digital Transformation focuses on standardizing infrastructure, data, sales channels, and operations while optimizing performance and security.
- Green Transformation aims to enhance resource efficiency, improve energy utilization, and progressively meet ESG standards.
- AI Transformation emphasizes practical applications that automate processes, boost productivity, and enable smarter day-to-day operations.
Through the Dual Transformation Ecosystem, businesses can more easily overcome initial hurdles by accessing flexible financing at critical moments and receiving hands-on guidance from experienced experts. Enterprises gain a unified platform for comprehensive solutions, with AI deeply integrated into core business activities. The ecosystem also prioritizes security, data protection, and full regulatory compliance, allowing businesses to scale confidently in the digital environment without undue risk.
Financing leverage in Dual Transformation
A key highlight of the ecosystem is the seamless integration of financial resources from VPBank SME, making capital an integral part of the transformation journey. VPBank representatives noted that many SMEs aspire to initiate transformation but often lack the upfront budget, especially when market opportunities demand swift action.
Within the ecosystem, VPBank SME provides tailored lending packages aligned with each enterprise's capacity and needs, particularly during the resource-constrained startup phase. This approach enables businesses to launch transformation initiatives without waiting to accumulate internal funds, reducing hesitation around credit access and shortening the gap between planning and execution.
Mr. Chử Minh Tuấn - Head of Digital Business & Partnership Center, SME Division at VPBank SME shared: “VPBank SME is driven by a strong commitment to serve and contribute more to the business community. Collaborating with partners like VNETWORK allows us to deliver value that extends beyond financing, supporting enterprises on their path to sustainable growth.”
AI applications as a strategic advantage in retail
Globally, AI is shifting from a supportive technology to a strategic cornerstone of the retail industry. The AI in retail market is projected to exceed $138 billion by 2035, underscoring the accelerating investment and growing reliance on this technology. Approximately 77% of leading e-commerce businesses report daily use of AI for core tasks such as data analysis, experience personalization, marketing automation, and chatbot operations.
Evidence demonstrates clear operational gains from AI adoption. Reports indicate reductions in operating costs by 10 to 30%, inventory forecasting accuracy reaching 95%, and out-of-stock incidents dropping by around 60%. However, these benefits remain unevenly distributed, with many SMEs limited to experimental or isolated AI implementations that lack integration with core business processes.
At VTalks #10, Mr. Nguyễn Đức Anh, Founder of DatumBridge, introduced the VNETWORK AI Platform, a solution designed specifically for retail SMEs to systematically incorporate AI into daily operations. Rather than juggling disparate tools, the platform provides a unified system that flexibly connects appropriate AI models to specific business challenges, centralizes knowledge data management for consistent responses, and ensures compliance with security and regulatory requirements.
The platform integrates directly with sales channels and CRM systems, enabling automation of inbox handling, omnichannel customer care, lead generation, and revenue growth support. By deploying the VNETWORK AI Platform, businesses can accelerate response times, maintain 24/7 consistent support, offload repetitive tasks from teams, and control costs more effectively during peak periods.
Conclusion
VTalks #10 delivered practical insights into the peak-season challenges facing retail SMEs, spanning customer response speed, system capacity, and data security. More importantly, the event outlined a clear pathway for businesses to adopt AI in a resource-aligned, structured manner that yields measurable results. Discussions and connections from the webinar will continue through the VTalks community, providing ongoing knowledge updates and implementation experience sharing in the months ahead.