May 13, 2021
By Thu Pham
Like so many other business owners in Vietnam, Nguyen Tien Trung found himself struggling to sustain his livelihood when the novel coronavirus broke out across the country. But when he was forced to close down his seafood restaurant, he decided to pivot online – a decision that proved crucial for him and his young daughter.
With lockdowns and other unprecedented offline disruptions caused by COVID-19, the 31-year-old single father realized he had to look to digital solutions if he wanted to provide for his child. He started doing research on different eCommerce platforms and eventually sold his most prized possession at the time – a motorbike – so he could use the money as capital to launch his first online business, selling home and living products on Lazada.
“I researched several different eCommerce platforms, but Lazada was the most suitable choice for sellers with no or little online experience,” Trung said, referencing the round-the-clock support the platform provides to new merchants.
Since joining Lazada, Trung has not only been able to connect with a vast customer base, completing his first order after only just four days of signing up, he’s been using the platform’s insights and resources to grow his store. He is vigilant about studying and analyzing his store’s metrics using Lazada’s real-time data dashboard and often adjusts his business strategy accordingly as a result. For example, after finding out that 95% of his orders came from South Vietnam, he relocated his business to Ho Chi Minh City and has since seen sales rapidly increase to VND25-30 million per week.
Trung has also taken part in Lazada’s mega campaigns, which have helped bring in hundreds of millions of Vietnamese dong in daily sales. While he had no experience in these sort of large-scale retail events prior to joining Lazada, the platform’s dedicated key account management team helped him easily – and quickly – find his footing and path to success. Not only did the team offer guidance on choosing the right products for campaigns, it also offered marketing support to help Trung better connect with and engage customers.
“The Lazada team helped me with new promotional tool and store setups and motivated me to do more livestreams. Because of this, I’ve become more confident in interacting with customers and have also learnt how to take attractive images and videos by myself to promote my products,” Trung explained.
Trung now spends his time between running his successful business and being a father. While it can be challenging at times, he says the flexibility of having his own online business means he can spend more time with his daughter, whether it’s to play with her or to make her breakfast and take her to school, while still being able to take care of his store’s operations and expand his own digital skills by taking courses at Lazada University.
Having experienced firsthand the benefits of using eCommerce, Trung has become especially passionate about encouraging his friends to start their own stores on Lazada and has helped them navigate the platform’s many tools and resources to optimize their businesses and drive traffic and conversions. Thanks to these efforts, many of his friends have achieved success since joining Lazada.
Trung himself has expanded his business with two more stores on Lazada that focus on electronic accessories and sporting goods. He also plans to open an online seafood store on the eCommerce platform in the future so he can utilize Lazada’s fresh-food delivery service.
“Running an online business is very interesting, and thanks to it, I can have more time to care for my daughter and maintain our livelihood,” he said.
Thu Pham is from Lazada Vietnam’s public relations team.