Vietnam E-Commerce Sector Outlook: Key Growth Trends

Riding the strong momentum of 2024, Vietnam’s e-commerce sector is on track to hit US$26–28 billion in 2025. The boom brings opportunity, but also fiercer competition, higher logistics costs, and increased regulatory scrutiny. For businesses and investors with a clear strategy and strong market insight, Vietnam’s e-commerce remains one of the region’s most compelling growth markets.

Vietnam’s e-commerce landscape continues to surge in 2025, extending the strong momentum built over the past year. Even when global online retail revenue declined in 2022, Vietnam’s market merely slowed rather than contracted, highlighting its exceptional durability and consumer appetite.

That strength is evident again in 2025: combined sales on Vietnam’s four biggest e-commerce platforms – Shopee, TikTok Shop, Lazada, and Tiki – hit US$11.62 billion in the first nine months, marking a 34.4 percent year-on-year jump.

Vietnam – third-largest e-commerce market in Southeast Asia

Regionally, Vietnam has overtaken the Philippines to become the third-largest e-commerce market in Southeast Asia, behind Indonesia and Thailand.

Vietnam’s e-commerce market had reached over US$25 billion in 2024, representing roughly 10 percent of the country’s total retail and consumer-services revenue, according to its Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT). In 2025, the MoIT has raised the growth outlook: industry growth is now forecast at about 25.5 percent, and transaction value up to US$28 billion.

Meanwhile:

• For the first half of 2025, Vietnam’s e-commerce platforms generated VND 222.1 trillion (about US$8.49 billion) in gross merchandise value (GMV), growing approximately 23.1 percent year-on-year.
• On the regional front: In Southeast Asia, total e-commerce GMV is projected to surpass US$300 billion by 2025, driven by platform scale and growth of content-commerce formats.
• In H1 2025, within Vietnam, TikTok Shop’s GMV surged by 148 percent year-on-year and claimed about 42 percent market share, overtaking other platforms in the market.

Key growth drivers for Vietnam’s e-commerce sector remain:

• Use of influencers and key-opinion-leaders (KOLs) to drive online sales;
• Adoption of AI and advanced analytics to enhance user experience and operational efficiency; and
• Rapid growth of social-commerce formats (livestream, short-video, platform integrations).

Leading e-commerce platforms in Vietnam

Vietnam’s e-commerce rankings appear unchanged going into 2025, but beneath that stability lies fierce competition among the sector’s largest players.

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According to Metric, Shopee continues to lead the market with a 56 percent share, though its year-on-year revenue growth slowed to 4 percent in Q3 2025. In contrast, TikTok Shop has surged ahead, posting 69 percent growth and expanding its market share to 41 percent, significantly narrowing the gap with Shopee.

Lazada held steady with a 3 percent market share, reflecting a loyal user base despite mounting competitive pressures. Tiki, however, continues to struggle, with revenue plunging by 80 percent during the same period.

Two clear dynamics are shaping the current landscape:

• Rising shipping costs and intensifying competition are squeezing platform margins and reshaping cost structures.
• “Shoppertainment” models – anchored in livestreaming and short-form video, and used to great effect by TikTok Shop – are increasingly capturing consumer attention and driving conversions.

For new entrants, the message is straightforward: building cost resilience and adopting high-engagement content formats will be essential to competing in Vietnam’s fast-moving e-commerce market.

Vietnam’s spending on e-commerce sites on the growth

In Vietnam, e-commerce businesses are implementing bold marketing strategies, including large promotional campaigns and major investments in short-form videos and livestream shopping, to appeal to their customers. Along with increasing demand and subsidized shipping, this strategic approach has helped boost the attractiveness of e-commerce platforms among local consumers.

According to Metric, Vietnamese consumers spent a monthly average of US$1.29 billion on the four largest platforms over the first nine months of 2025, up from about US$1 billion from the same period last year. In Q3 2025 alone, the total GMV of Vietnam’s e-commerce sector grew 22.3 percent year-over-year to reach US$3.94 billion.

The sector’s revenue in Q4 2025 is expected to reach about US$3.98 billion, a 15 percent rise from the same period in 2024, while projected output is 1.069 million units, an increase of 8.14 percent.

Latest trends in Vietnam’s e-commerce sector

Emerging as a potential e-commerce export hub

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Vietnam is emerging as a strong contender for regional e-commerce exports, supported by rapid digital adoption, competitive manufacturing capabilities, and growing alignment between government policies and global platform strategies. The country’s export-oriented economy and deepening participation in cross-border digital trade are positioning it for a more prominent role in global supply chains.

Amazon’s latest moves illustrate this momentum. At the 2025 Amazon Global Selling conference, senior executives highlighted Vietnam as one of the most dynamic contributors to global e-commerce exports, noting significant growth in Vietnamese product listings and brand-registered sellers. Categories such as furniture, apparel, home and kitchen, and personal care are expanding at rates far above the global average, reflecting both manufacturing strengths and rising brand sophistication.

This platform-driven momentum aligns with the government’s broader digital export strategy under the 2026–2030 National E-commerce Development Master Plan. The plan positions cross-border e-commerce at the center of export growth, with coordinated initiatives to improve policy frameworks, strengthen business capabilities, and enhance partnerships with major global platforms.

These developments show Vietnam’s growing competitiveness as a regional e-commerce export hub, driven by both structural advantages and strategic collaboration between the public and private sectors.

Vietnam’s digital natives: A driving force for e-commerce

Vietnam’s e-commerce growth is powered by its young, tech-savvy population. In 2025, this trend is clearer than ever: more than 72.5 percent of online shoppers in Vietnam are from Gen Z (under 27) and Millennials (28-44). These demographic groups are shaping how the market evolves.

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Digital natives are increasingly driving online behavior: a recent survey found that 62.8 percent of digital consumers in Vietnam make purchases on e-commerce platforms at least once a week. Meanwhile, about half of all Vietnamese online shoppers now purchase weekly, favoring smartphone-first shopping, fast delivery, and convenience.

Social commerce is gaining ground rapidly. Platforms like TikTok Shop are capturing attention thanks to livestreaming, short-form video, and influencer-driven content. A 2025 behavioral report lists social commerce and AI-personalization as key drivers of e-commerce in Vietnam.

Why Vietnam’s e-commerce market could rival traditional retail

1. E-commerce penetration is accelerating faster than in many global markets.
Vietnam’s online retail share is rising toward double digits of total retail sales, outpacing markets with similar income levels. Unlike Western markets, where e-commerce growth is stabilizing Vietnam continues to post double-digit annual expansion, narrowing the gap with traditional retail.

2. Young consumers are redefining shopping norms.
A demographic dominated by Gen Z and young millennials favors mobile-first, real-time shopping over store visits. Their high engagement with livestreams, short-form video, and social-commerce formats means online channels increasingly serve as both discovery and purchase platforms.

3. Social commerce is scaling faster than offline retail formats.
TikTok Shop, livestream commerce, and KOL-driven sales are unlocking new purchasing habits that physical stores cannot match. The immediacy, interactivity, and entertainment value of online shopping are shifting consumer attention and spending away from brick-and-mortar channels.

4. Retail infrastructure is leapfrogging, not evolving gradually.
Vietnam does not have the same saturation of malls, hypermarkets, and legacy retail chains seen in developed markets. This allows e-commerce platforms to expand without the friction of entrenched incumbents, making digital retail a “default” option rather than a secondary channel.

5. Logistics and digital payments have matured rapidly.
Same-day delivery coverage, widespread cashless adoption, and strong investment in fulfillment centers have closed operational gaps between online and offline retail. In some categories, such as fashion, beauty, household goods, online channels now offer higher convenience than traditional retail.

6. SMEs and individual sellers scale more easily online.
Thousands of micro-businesses and D2C brands are using Shopee, TikTok Shop, and Lazada as primary storefronts, bypassing the need for physical retail. This seller-led momentum fuels product diversity and keeps consumers engaged online.

7. Regulatory support is strengthening the digital commerce ecosystem.
Government initiatives promoting digital transformation, data infrastructure, and online consumer protection reinforce Vietnam’s shift toward a digitally led retail system – unlike several global markets where regulation often lags behind industry growth.

Challenges and opportunities

While Vietnam’s e-commerce sector continues its rapid growth, it faces a number of meaningful challenges that merit strategic attention.

Money-burning competition

Fierce competition has turned into a “money-burning” race. The entry of new platforms and the aggressive expansion of existing players are driving heavy investments in discounts, free shipping, influencer campaigns, and logistics-scale-ups – all of which squeeze margins and create sustainability risks in the medium term.

Evolving regulatory landscape

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Regulatory hurdles are increasingly salient. The current framework – based principally on Decree No. 52/2013/ND‑CP (amended by Decree No. 85/2021/ND‑CP) – is widely viewed as lagging the pace of digital commerce. Vietnam E-commerce and Digital Economy Agency (iDEA) under the MOIT has proposed a comprehensive Draft E‑Commerce Law 2025 to address issues such as cross-border trade, platform liability, and consumer protection. For businesses, this regulatory evolution means compliance risk, uncertainty around future obligations, and the need for proactive governance.

Generational consumer gap

Consumer habits present both opportunities and limitations. On one hand, younger, digitally-native consumers fuel growth. On the other hand, middle-aged and elderly segments remain less comfortable with online shopping, limiting the total reachable market for pure-play e-commerce. This generational adoption gap means platforms must still invest heavily in education, localization, trust-building, and UX design to expand beyond the urban-youth core.

Talent shortages

Human resources are a constraint. Vietnam’s e-commerce firms face a shortage of skilled professionals, especially in areas such as data analytics, omni-channel fulfilment, AI-driven personalization, and global supply-chain management. This talent gap makes it harder to scale globally, adopt best practices from advanced markets, and maintain operational excellence.

Logistics bottlenecks

Logistics and infrastructure remain a structural hurdle and an opportunity at the same time. While Vietnam has made strong strides in delivery networks and fulfilment, the warehousing, last-mile delivery, rural coverage, and cold-chain logistics systems are not yet at the level of more mature e-commerce markets. For instance, new road-safety regulations introduced in 2025 are reported to have disrupted long-haul and heavy-goods logistics firms, with many citing cost increases of up to 20 percent due to increased driving-rest requirements and fines. For sellers and platforms, this means higher input costs, greater uncertainty in delivery times, and the need to build logistic resilience.

Sustainability pressures

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Rising awareness of sustainability issues is emerging. A 2025 report by the Vietnam E‑commerce Association (VECOM) points out that the rapid growth of online business and food-delivery services consumed more than 332,000 tons of packaging materials in 2023 alone – 171,000 tons of which were plastic. As consumer and regulatory attention heightens, platforms and sellers will need to integrate greener practices into logistics, packaging, and returns operations.

In sum, while Vietnam’s e-commerce market offers remarkable expansion potential, success will depend on navigating intense competition, staying ahead of regulatory change, broadening consumer adoption beyond younger segments, developing talent and logistics systems, and addressing emerging sustainability expectations. For investors and companies entering the market, these challenges are not insurmountable – but they demand thoughtful planning, appropriate partnerships, and differentiated value propositions.

The future of Vietnam’s e-commerce market

With a young population, rising disposable incomes, and a rapidly expanding middle class, Vietnam continues to stand out as one of Southeast Asia’s most attractive destinations for e-commerce investment. Its growing role as a regional e-commerce export hub further strengthens the country’s long-term outlook, positioning Vietnam as a market to watch in 2026 and beyond.

Yet, realizing this potential will require more than simply riding the momentum. Those who approach Vietnam with a long-term, well-structured plan and the right local partnerships are poised to benefit from one of the region’s most dynamic digital economies.

If you’re considering expanding into the Vietnamese consumer market, get in touch with our Business Intelligence experts for a tailored market entry strategy for your product or service.

With inputs from Melissa Cyrill.

(This article was originally published August 20, 2024. It was last updated November 19, 2025.)