At knok-studios.com, we have provided extensive support to many companies in the e-commerce sector, which has experienced remarkable growth in Vietnam over the past decades.
The data we have collected indicates that this growth is set to continue, even though the market is now much more mature and competitive than it was a few years ago.
In 2026, Vietnam now has a particularly dynamic e-commerce ecosystem, driven by marketplaces, social commerce, livestream shopping, and the rapid digitalization of businesses and consumers.
Vietnam: one of the fastest-growing e-commerce markets in Southeast Asia
In 2023, Vietnam had already established itself as one of the countries with the fastest-growing e-commerce markets in the world, with B2C e-commerce growing by 25% according to Metric.vn data.
This momentum has continued ever since.
In 2025, the Vietnamese e-commerce market reached approximately $31 billion, representing year-on-year growth of 25.5%. E-commerce now represents an important component of Vietnam’s retail sector and continues to grow at a faster pace than many more mature markets.
The data available for 2026 confirms this trend.
In the first quarter of 2026, sales generated across the four main e-commerce platforms tracked by Metric — Shopee, TikTok Shop, Lazada and Tiki — reached VND 148.6 trillion, representing 46.6% growth compared with the first quarter of 2025. The number of products sold reached 1.14 billion during the period.
The market is therefore continuing to grow rapidly, but its structure is also changing. The days when simply opening a store on a marketplace was enough to automatically benefit from market growth are over.
What is driving e-commerce growth in Vietnam?
This expansion has been facilitated by the increasing digitalization of Vietnamese society, accelerated by COVID-19, which made online shopping and delivery services particularly accessible.
The widespread use of smartphones, improvements in logistics infrastructure and the development of digital payments have also made online shopping increasingly natural for Vietnamese consumers.
In addition, trust in sellers and cross-border shopping platforms has increased, particularly for goods coming from China and other Asian markets, also playing an important role in this trend.
However, it is important to highlight that significant geographical disparities remain. A large share of online sales is still concentrated in the country’s two main economic hubs: Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
According to Metric data for 2025, these two cities alone accounted for approximately 83% of the revenue generated across the four major e-commerce platforms.
Vietnamese consumer preferences
What exactly are Vietnamese consumers buying online?
Based on Metric’s 2023 e-commerce reports, several notable trends had already been identified.
- Low- and mid-priced products dominate the market: consumers showed a preference for affordable products, with a strong sensitivity to price.
- Beauty, home and fashion categories remain particularly important: these sectors have been among the pillars of Vietnamese e-commerce for several years.
- E-commerce is expanding into new areas: new product categories are gradually attracting consumers online.
- Consumer confidence is increasing: Vietnamese consumers are now buying online products that were traditionally purchased in physical stores.
- Value for money remains a key factor: promotions, bundled offers and competitive prices play an important role in purchasing decisions.
The latest data shows that these trends have largely continued, while also revealing new developments.
Affordable products remain the most popular
In 2025, products priced between VND 100,000 and 200,000 represented the most popular price range, accounting for approximately 25% of the value of sales generated across the four major platforms.
This strong concentration on affordable products does not mean that Vietnamese consumers are unwilling to make more expensive purchases. On the contrary, confidence in online shopping is increasing, and some categories traditionally associated with physical stores are now generating significant sales online.
Beauty, home and women’s fashion continue to dominate
In 2025, the Beauty, Home & Living and Women’s Fashion categories remained among the largest categories in the market.
Beauty was even the leading category across the four major platforms, accounting for approximately 29.5% of sales, with revenue exceeding VND 74.4 trillion.
Home and everyday household products generated approximately VND 56.7 trillion, while women’s fashion reached approximately VND 54.5 trillion.
Consumers are becoming more demanding
E-commerce growth does not mean that consumers blindly purchase products online.
Price obviously remains important, but buyers also pay attention to:
- seller reputation;
- customer reviews;
- product authenticity;
- the quality of photos and videos;
- delivery speed;
- return policies;
- promotions and benefits offered.
For a brand, this means that simply being present on a marketplace is no longer enough. The experience provided before, during and after the purchase has become a genuine differentiating factor.
Shopee and TikTok Shop: the new duopoly of Vietnamese e-commerce
In 2023, Vietnam’s e-commerce landscape was still largely described as a market dominated by five major platforms: Shopee, Lazada, Tiki, TikTok Shop and Sendo.
In 2026, the market has become significantly more concentrated around Shopee and TikTok Shop.
For those unfamiliar with the Asian e-commerce landscape, it is important to understand that these platforms generally do not sell their own products. Instead, they act as marketplaces that allow independent businesses to create online stores and sell directly to consumers.
In 2023, the five major platforms collectively generated VND 232.13 trillion in revenue and sold approximately 2.2 billion products.
In 2025, the four major platforms tracked by Metric — Shopee, TikTok Shop, Lazada and Tiki — reached VND 429.7 trillion in GMV, representing growth of nearly 34.8% compared with 2024.
But the most revealing figure concerns how this market is distributed.
Shopee remains number one, but TikTok Shop is growing very rapidly
In 2025, Shopee accounted for approximately 56% of the market across the four major platforms, compared with approximately 41.3% for TikTok Shop.
Together, the two platforms therefore represented approximately 97% of the GMV generated across the four platforms analyzed.
The evolution of TikTok Shop is particularly interesting. Its market share was estimated at approximately 29% in 2024, compared with more than 41% in 2025.
Shopee, meanwhile, remains the clear market leader but is seeing its lead narrow.
Lazada and Tiki together accounted for only around 3% of the market in 2025.
The landscape has therefore shifted from a “Big 5” model to a Shopee / TikTok Shop duopoly.
Why has TikTok Shop grown so quickly?
The distinctive feature of TikTok Shop is that it has brought together content, product discovery, influencers and purchasing within a single experience.
Traditionally, a consumer would identify a need, conduct a search and then compare different products before making a purchase.
With social commerce and livestream shopping, this journey can be reversed: the consumer discovers a product in a video or livestream, becomes interested, checks the comments and can purchase immediately.
This model partly explains why TikTok Shop has managed to rapidly gain market share among a young and highly connected audience.
E-commerce: a market that can be challenging for SMEs
This overall trend reflects a rapid shift in the habits of SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises), which are increasingly adopting a direct-to-consumer (DTC) model instead of relying on traditional retail channels through distributors.
This shift is largely driven by the potential for higher profit margins. By selling directly to consumers, companies can theoretically reduce their reliance on traditional intermediaries.
However, this transition is not without its challenges.
Competition has intensified considerably
The Vietnamese e-commerce market now attracts a very large number of sellers.
In the first quarter of 2026, Metric recorded approximately 490,900 stores that actually generated orders across the four major platforms.
The number of active sellers is nevertheless not growing at the same pace as sales. In 2025, approximately 601,800 stores were active on these platforms, representing a 7.4% decrease compared with the end of 2024, even as revenue grew significantly.
This development is revealing: the market continues to grow, but the least competitive sellers are gradually being filtered out.
Simply being present on Shopee or TikTok Shop is therefore no longer enough to succeed. Sellers need to manage their prices, margins, advertising, content, customer service and ability to convert traffic into sales.
Commissions are only part of the cost
The old assumption that a marketplace is simply a low-cost alternative to traditional distributors now needs to be qualified.
The actual cost of a sale can include:
- platform commissions;
- transaction and payment fees;
- logistics costs;
- subsidies or discounts offered to customers;
- advertising campaigns;
- promotions and coupons;
- return and refund costs;
- content and livestream production costs.
Calculating the profitability of an e-commerce channel therefore requires looking well beyond the simple commission rate displayed by the platform.
The market is also becoming more regulated
The rapid development of e-commerce is accompanied by a strengthening of Vietnam’s regulatory framework.
The new Law on E-Commerce was adopted in December 2025 and came into force on July 1, 2026.
It notably clarifies the responsibilities of e-commerce platforms, requirements related to seller identification, cross-border e-commerce, and responsibilities associated with sales through social networks and livestream shopping.
For businesses, this development means that the professionalization of the sector is not only about marketing and sales: compliance, traceability and transparency are also becoming increasingly important.
Marketplace or your own e-commerce website: which strategy should you choose?
Faced with the dominance of Shopee and TikTok Shop, one question regularly comes up: is it still necessary to develop your own e-commerce website?
The answer obviously depends on the business model, but in many cases, marketplaces and an owned website should not be viewed as competing solutions.
The advantages of marketplaces
Marketplaces provide immediate access to an existing audience and an already operational infrastructure.
- Large audience;
- established consumer trust;
- integrated payment;
- simplified logistics;
- integrated advertising tools;
- relatively quick launch.
For a new brand, a marketplace can therefore be an excellent way to test a product and generate its first sales.
The limitations of marketplaces
The main problem is dependence on the platform. The rules, commissions, algorithms, features and advertising costs can change without sellers having much control over them.
Competition is also constant: your product may appear just a few pixels away from a dozen competitors offering similar products.
Finally, a marketplace generally limits your ability to fully control the brand experience and your relationship with customers.
Why have your own e-commerce website?
Developing your own e-commerce website allows you to control the entire experience.
You can work on:
- your brand identity;
- your UX/UI;
- your organic search visibility;
- your advertising campaigns;
- your CRM strategy;
- your email marketing;
- your loyalty programs;
- your customer data;
- your remarketing strategies.
An owned website also allows you to build a digital asset that you actually own.
For many SMEs, the most effective strategy can therefore be:
Marketplace to acquire customers and generate sales + owned e-commerce website to build the brand, retain customers and develop a direct relationship with consumers.
Digital marketing, social commerce and AI in e-commerce
In an increasingly competitive e-commerce landscape, businesses cannot afford to neglect their digital marketing strategy.
This strategy can include several complementary channels.
Developing your own website and SEO
As competition in marketplace search results becomes increasingly intense, having an independent e-commerce website optimized for search engines has become an essential way to reduce dependence on these platforms.
SEO allows businesses to capture users who are already searching for a brand, product or solution, without relying exclusively on paid advertising on a marketplace.
Google Ads, Meta Ads and TikTok Ads
Mastering data analysis tools makes it possible to run more profitable advertising campaigns on Google, Facebook, Instagram or TikTok.
These platforms now offer increasingly sophisticated targeting and optimization tools, particularly thanks to artificial intelligence.
Businesses capable of effectively managing their SEM and online advertising campaigns can therefore generate qualified traffic throughout the customer journey.
Social commerce and livestream shopping
The development of TikTok Shop has accelerated the adoption of social commerce in Vietnam.
Short-form video, influencers, content creators and livestreams can now combine product discovery, demonstration, interaction and purchasing.
For certain product categories, particularly beauty, fashion and everyday consumer goods, this approach can be particularly effective.
However, it also requires businesses to produce content regularly and understand the specific dynamics of each platform.
Artificial intelligence in e-commerce
AI is also beginning to play a role at different levels of the e-commerce value chain.
It can help businesses to:
- generate or improve product descriptions;
- produce variations of advertising content;
- analyze customer behavior;
- personalize recommendations;
- automate part of customer service;
- analyze customer reviews and feedback;
- identify trends in searches and sales.
AI does not, however, replace a coherent e-commerce strategy. It becomes particularly valuable when it helps automate certain tasks, improve the customer experience or make better decisions based on available data.
Branding: the ultimate goal
Building an authentic brand remains an essential strategy for achieving long-term success in the digital world.
When thousands of sellers offer comparable products, price cannot be your only argument.
A strong brand helps build consumer trust, preference and loyalty, while gradually reducing dependence on constant promotions.
Trends to watch for Vietnamese e-commerce in 2026
The Vietnamese market is expected to continue evolving rapidly over the coming years.
The dominance of Shopee and TikTok Shop
The current duopoly is likely to continue shaping the market in the short term. The key question will be how far TikTok Shop can continue to close the gap with Shopee.
The professionalization of sellers
Market growth continues to attract new sellers, but competition is gradually eliminating the least competitive players.
Brands capable of developing their image, customer experience, logistics and profitability will gain an increasing advantage.
Social commerce
The boundary between social media, content and commerce is likely to continue disappearing.
Consumers will increasingly discover products directly through videos, creators and livestreams.
The growing importance of data and AI
Businesses capable of centralizing their data and using AI effectively will have an advantage when it comes to understanding customers, automating certain operations and personalizing their communications.
A more structured regulatory framework
The new Vietnamese regulations should also contribute to further professionalizing the sector, with greater requirements concerning seller identification, platform transparency, consumer protection and the responsibilities of the different players.
FAQ: E-commerce in Vietnam
How large is the e-commerce market in Vietnam in 2026?
The Vietnamese e-commerce market reached approximately $31 billion in 2025, according to data published by the Vietnam E-commerce and Digital Economy Agency. The momentum remains very strong: in the first quarter of 2026, sales across Shopee, TikTok Shop, Lazada and Tiki reached VND 148.6 trillion, representing 46.6% growth compared with the first quarter of 2025.
What are the main e-commerce platforms in Vietnam?
The market is now largely dominated by Shopee and TikTok Shop. Lazada and Tiki remain active, but their market share has become much smaller. In 2025, Shopee accounted for approximately 56% of the GMV generated by the four major platforms, compared with 41.3% for TikTok Shop.
Shopee or TikTok Shop: which platform should you choose?
The two platforms serve different purposes. Shopee remains the country’s leading marketplace and benefits from a very large audience and a mature shopping experience. TikTok Shop is particularly powerful for product discovery, video content, creators and livestream shopping.
For some brands, being present on both platforms may be relevant. The choice nevertheless depends on the product, target audience, content strategy and available margins.
Is it necessary to have your own e-commerce website in Vietnam?
It is not mandatory in order to sell online, but it can be particularly valuable for building a brand over the long term. An owned website allows you to control the user experience, organic search visibility, data collection, CRM, marketing campaigns and customer retention.
For many businesses, the best strategy is to use marketplaces to acquire customers while gradually developing their own sales channel.
Do Vietnamese consumers mainly shop on mobile devices?
Smartphones play a central role in the digital habits of Vietnamese consumers. E-commerce experiences should therefore be designed with mobile devices in mind, with simple navigation, fast pages, optimized visuals and a smooth checkout process.
What are the most popular product categories in Vietnam?
In 2025, the Beauty, Home & Living and Women’s Fashion categories were among the largest on the major platforms. Beauty alone accounted for approximately 29.5% of sales across the four major platforms.
Is the Vietnamese e-commerce market attractive for foreign SMEs?
Vietnam offers significant opportunities, but entering the market requires a good understanding of consumers, platforms, regulations, logistics and local marketing.
A foreign company must also determine whether it wants to sell through a marketplace, develop its own e-commerce website or combine both approaches.
Can a foreign company sell online in Vietnam?
Yes, but the applicable requirements depend on factors including the company’s structure, the type of products being sold, the sales model and the origin of the goods.
Vietnam’s e-commerce regulatory framework evolved in 2026 with the entry into force of the new e-commerce law and its implementing regulations. Foreign companies should therefore verify the requirements that specifically apply to their situation before launching their business.
Which CMS should you use to create an e-commerce website in Vietnam?
There is no single solution that is suitable for every business.
WooCommerce can be particularly interesting for companies that want the flexibility of WordPress and a high level of control over their website.
Shopify is a more integrated solution and can be particularly suitable for businesses that want to launch a store quickly while limiting technical complexity.
The choice depends in particular on the catalog, number of products, payment methods, integration requirements, SEO strategy and desired level of customization.
Conclusion: how can you succeed in e-commerce in Vietnam in 2026?
The Vietnamese e-commerce market has never been as large, but it has also never been as competitive.
The figures show impressive growth: the overall market has now reached several tens of billions of dollars, while the major marketplaces continue to record double-digit growth.
But this growth does not mean that every business automatically benefits from it.
The dominance of Shopee and TikTok Shop, the growing number of sellers, rising marketing costs and tighter regulations are making the market increasingly professional.
For an SME or brand looking to develop in Vietnam, the challenge is therefore no longer simply to sell online. It is about building a genuine e-commerce strategy combining marketplaces, an owned website, UX/UI, SEO, advertising, content, CRM and branding.
At Knok Studios, we support businesses in the design, development and promotion of their e-commerce projects in Vietnam and internationally.
We offer solutions adapted to your industry, digital project and budget, including WooCommerce and Shopify.
