Vietnam’s government has some bold new predictions for its already fast-growing ecommerce sector, reports Reuters. The nation predicts that, by 2025:

• Online spending to hit $35 billion—that’s nearly triple 2019’s expenditure
• Half of Vietnam’s 96 million people will be online shoppers
• Average of $600 spent per person
• Ecommerce will rise to 10% of total retail sales

In 2019, Vietnam’s online shoppers clocked up $12 billion in purchases, growing handily from the $8 billion the government says was spent the previous year.

The context for all this is (prior to the global pandemic, anyway) that many indicators show Vietnam poised for particularly strong growth, even against other Southeast Asia fast-risers. According to a report late last year from McKinsey, Vietnam’s retail sector is the fastest growing in Southeast Asia and is poised for rapid modernization. A young population and widespread smartphone usage will translate strong retail spending into sharp ecommerce growth.