Where should you sell online: CHUS, Shopee, or Instagram?

CHUS leads in quality and branding for high-end handcrafted products with a community of customers willing to pay premium prices, Shopee excels in scale and delivery, Instagram works effectively with young audiences through visual content, while having your own website allows complete control over brand and data.

Deciding where to sell online is a key factor that determines success in online business. Vietnam's e-commerce market is now very diverse with many choices from specialized platforms like CHUS, major players like Shopee, social networks like Instagram, to building your own website. Each channel has its own unique features, suitable for different types of products and specific business strategies.

Choosing the right selling platform will determine the success of your online business

Why is Platform Selection So Important?

Choosing the right selling platform can make or break your business. According to the Vietnam E-commerce Activity Report 2023 by the Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy, Vietnam's e-commerce industry has recorded strong growth, expected to reach $20.5 billion in 2023 (up 25% from the previous year).

A suitable platform will help you reach the right target customers, optimize operating costs, and build your brand effectively. On the other hand, choosing wrong can waste your time, money, and growth opportunities. The question of where to sell online is therefore always a top concern for businesses.

Each platform has its own advantages - the key is choosing the right one for your goals

CHUS - Specialized Platform for Vietnamese Handcrafts and Gifts

CHUS positions itself as a specialized marketplace, focusing on products with stories and values. This is a smart choice for sellers who want to avoid the fierce price competition on mass market platforms.

Outstanding Strengths of CHUS

Niche market with quality customers: CHUS focuses on the handcrafted gifts, personalized products, and Vietnamese culture segment. Customers who come here usually have clear purposes and are willing to pay fairly for suitable products.

Healthy competitive environment: Instead of competing on price at all costs, sellers on CHUS compete with quality, creativity, and brand stories. This helps maintain stable profit margins and clearly answers the question of where to sell online for those with handcrafted products.

Brand building support: CHUS has programs to support artisans and small brands, including marketing advice and opportunities for wider promotion.

Suitable for many product types: From handicrafts, handmade jewelry, corporate gifts to lifestyle products with artistic value can all find their place on CHUS.

High conversion rates: Since customers already intend to buy quality products, the conversion rate from views to orders is usually higher than on mass market platforms.

CHUS provides an ideal space for handcrafted products with soul

Limitations to Consider

Slower selling speed: Due to focus on quality, customers usually need time to research and decide. Sales volume may not match mass market platforms.

Product quality requirements: CHUS has standards for quality and aesthetics. Products need clear stories and good quality to be accepted.

Market not as wide as major platforms: The number of potential customers cannot yet compare with Shopee or Lazada, especially for products with high mass demand.

Shopee - E-commerce Giant with Complete Ecosystem

Popular Choice When Deciding Where to Sell Online

Shopee has quickly risen to become the hottest e-commerce platform in just 3 years of operation. Outstanding advantages include:

Huge customer base: Shopee is currently the platform with the most traffic compared to Lazada, Tiki, and even surpasses long-established commerce platforms. This creates maximum reach opportunities for sellers.

Superior shipping system: Shopee's shipping support policy for sellers is a plus point that helps you save shipping costs while buyers receive very convenient free shipping codes.

Diverse marketing tools: From Shopee Ads, Flash Sales to Live streaming, Shopee provides many tools to help sellers reach customers effectively.

Simple procedures: Simple selling process, quick registration procedures, easy product approval process.

Shopee - where every product has a chance to shine with a huge customer base

Shopee's Weaknesses

Fierce competition: High competition among sellers on Shopee requires businesses to invest heavily in advertising and optimization to stand out among thousands of other stores.

High commission costs: Each e-commerce platform has different discount rates depending on product categories, and with Shopee, these costs can significantly impact profits.

Difficult to build your own brand: You're just a small part that buyers rarely remember by name in Shopee's sea of products.

Inconsistent product quality: Shopee doesn't control quality, so there's an overflow of poor-quality goods, causing many price-dumping issues.

Instagram - Sales Channel Through Visual Content

Instagram's Strengths

Instagram is a sales channel suitable for young people, as 90% of users are under 35, with those aged 16-25 making up the majority.

High visual appeal: Instagram is built on images and videos, very suitable for introducing products in a visual and attractive way.

Low cost to start: You can create an account and start selling completely free.

Direct customer interaction: Up to 50% of Instagram users have shopping needs, and you can interact directly through comments and messages to advise customers. This is also an excellent answer to the question of where to sell online for those wanting to build personal connections.

High viral potential: Quality content can be shared widely, helping increase brand recognition quickly.

Beautiful images and interesting stories - the success formula when selling on Instagram

Instagram's Weaknesses

High content skill requirements: To succeed on Instagram, you need the ability to create engaging content, take beautiful photos, and understand trends.

Lack of complete e-commerce features: Instagram doesn't support too many features specifically for selling like inventory management and shipping.

Dependent on algorithms: Post reach depends on Instagram's algorithm, which can change unexpectedly and affect sales effectiveness.

Difficult to track and manage orders: Customer and order management mainly through personal messages, lacking systematization.

Your Own Website - Complete Independence in Business

Strengths of Your Own Website

Complete brand control: A website is a company's face on the internet as it fully reflects the information, products, and characteristics of that business.

Own customer data: When customers visit your website or enter personal information to register accounts or buy products, this helps businesses collect more customer information.

Not dependent on third parties: You don't need to worry about policy changes or account bans from other platforms. This is also why many large businesses choose their own website when considering where to sell online.

SEO optimization: When you own an SEO-standard e-commerce website design, you can easily optimize your site so that product/service information appears in top positions on Google.

Flexibility in design and functionality: Selling on your own website allows you to customize products, interface, payment pages, and customer management as desired.

The question of where to sell online can be answered by understanding your target customers and product type

Weaknesses of Your Own Website

High initial investment costs: To build an online sales website, there are 3 fixed costs you need to invest in: Domain purchase fee, hosting rental fee, web design fee.

Difficulty attracting initial customers: Reaching customers on your own website is harder because you must implement SEO strategies and reach customers through other channels.

Technical knowledge requirements: Need to invest in the newest and most modern security systems to protect the sales website.

Difficult to build initial trust: Without outstanding achievements or notable marks, businesses will find it very difficult to establish a trustworthy brand.

Where Should You Sell Online? Specific Selection Guide

Choose CHUS when:

• You have high-quality handcrafted products with strong Vietnamese cultural values
• Want to build a sustainable brand with high profit margins
• Have unique brand stories and products with artistic value
• Want specialized support in marketing and brand development
• Target customers with high income and quality consciousness

Choose Shopee when:

• You're new to online selling
• Have mass market products with competitive prices
• Want to take advantage of existing customer base and complete shipping system
• Ready to invest in advertising to compete

Multi-channel strategy helps optimize sales effectiveness and reach customers widely

Choose Instagram when:

• Target customers are mainly young people (16-35 years old)
• Products have high aesthetic value, suitable for photography
• Have the ability to create engaging content and keep up with trends
• Want to build a strong personal brand

Choose your own website when:

• Already have stable customers and want independence
• Have resources to invest in development and marketing
• Want complete control over customer data and brand
• Have long-term development plans and want to build your own ecosystem

Conclusion

We hope CHUS has helped you better understand your choices. Selecting the right selling platform depends on many factors such as product type, target customers, resources, and business goals. Instead of choosing a single platform, consider a multi-channel strategy to optimize sales effectiveness and build a sustainable brand. Finally, the question of where to sell online will have a clear answer when you understand your product's strengths and target customers well.

CHUS: Connecting Quality Vietnamese Brands