The increasing purchasing power for home decorations and compact furniture on ecommerce platforms like Amazon and Alibaba is creating opportunities for Vietnamese businesses to sell their unique ‘Made in Vietnam’ products. On platforms like Amazon, a wide range of home decoration items, from grass brooms and water hyacinth baskets to compact chairs and shelves, have gained popularity among customers.
For instance, a black painted bar stool priced at $81 from Linon Home Decor is recognized as an “Amazon’s Choice” product due to its high quality, quick delivery, and strong sales. Over the past month alone, more than 50 of these stools were sold.
BeeFurni, a company selling garden furniture and wooden planks, has witnessed a significant increase of 300% in its revenue on Amazon in the first 10 months of 2022 compared to the previous year. Their stools, introduced in 2018, are priced between $35 and $50, depending on the size. These stools have garnered numerous customer reviews, with an impressive average rating of 4.4 out of 5.
The demand for home decoration and furniture items on Amazon has experienced remarkable growth from 2020 to 2022, even after people returned to office work. People continue to spend a considerable amount of time at home, leading to sustained online shopping for such products.
The most frequently searched keywords in the home decoration and furniture category on Amazon last year were “wall decoration, kitchen decoration, bathroom decoration.” These three categories captured the attention of customers, indicating their strong interest in transforming and enhancing different spaces of their homes. Vietnamese sellers on Amazon have witnessed consistent success in selling home and kitchen decor over the past three years, making it one of their top-performing item categories.
According to Gijae Seong, managing director of Amazon Global Selling Vietnam, the furniture and decoration industry in Vietnam has tremendous potential and carries numerous untapped advantages for Vietnamese businesses. Vietnam, with its approximately 1,500 craft villages and abundant raw material supplies, provides a significant advantage to furniture and decoration manufacturers in accessing the international market. Amazon recognizes the rich potential of Vietnamese producers in this sector.
Alibaba, the Chinese online ecommerce platform, has also identified Vietnam’s furniture and gardening products as one of the three most popular categories among Vietnamese offerings on their wholesale platform.
Over the last three months, the number of potential buyers interested in Vietnamese products in this category has increased by 64% compared to the previous year. The most sought-after items include dining sets, kitchenware, home textiles, and affordable yet practical storage solutions.
Nguyen Phong Metal, a small and medium-sized enterprise specializing in selling wrought iron products such as doors, fences, and railings, successfully established a significant export channel via Alibaba. Their first order through Alibaba, valued at $45,000, was placed three years ago. Since then, the company’s export revenue on Alibaba has doubled their domestic sales.
Vietnam stands out and receives high appreciation from both Amazon and Alibaba due to its large pool of skilled craftsmen, estimated to be around 7.4 million workers. The country’s traditional craft villages possess extensive experience and a rich history, which allows them to produce unique and exceptional products.
To excel in the global market, Vietnam must strike a harmonious balance between its available resources and the expectations of the international market. Manufacturers of products made from materials such as rattan, bamboo, and sedge need to enhance their material processing techniques, as these goods are prone to damage from factors like humidity and insects.
In the first seven months of this year, Vietnam experienced a 26.2% decline in export turnover for wood and wood products, amounting to $7.21 billion. Despite this decline, the U.S., Japan, China, the EU, and South Korea maintained their positions as the main export markets for Vietnamese timber and forest products. Throughout the January-July period, the total export value to these five markets reached $5.44 billion, accounting for approximately 89% of Vietnam’s total export value.
