Breaking Down Vietnam’s E-Commerce Market

Latest update: November 2024

With 96% of Vietnamese consumers shopping via smartphones¹ and a projected market value of US$44 billion by 2027,² Vietnam is emerging as a powerhouse in Southeast Asian e-commerce. Vietnam is rapidly emerging as a powerhouse in Southeast Asian e-commerce. This article explores key insights into the country’s e-commerce landscape, including market value, consumer behavior, best-selling products, and leading platforms. The information is sourced from our E-Commerce Data Library and enriched with external references curated by the PCMI team.

You can explore this content as an infographic report, available for download below.

Current State of E-commerce in Vietnam

Vietnam is rapidly transforming into a vibrant hub of e-commerce in the Asia-Pacific region. However, challenges persist, particularly regarding financial inclusion, as only 48% of the population is banked.³ Despite this hurdle, Vietnam’s e-commerce sector continues to thrive. Below are some key data points:

Profile of the Vietnamese online shopper

E-Commerce Payment Methods and Devices in Vietnam

According to our PCMI’s E-commerce Data Library, the primary payment methods for online purchases in Vietnam, by share of volume, are:

1. Cash on delivery — 67%
2. Digital wallet — 18%
3. Credit card — 8%
4. Debit card — 3%
5. Bank transfers — 3%
6. Buy Now Pay Later — 2%

As for devices used for purchasing online, PCMI observed that:

• 70% of e-commerce volume in Vietnam in 2024 came from purchases on mobile devices
• 30% of e-commerce volume in Vietnam in 2024 came from desktop

Top-Selling Categories and Leading Online Stores in Vietnam

Based on the percentage of consumers who purchased these products online in the past three months, the following categories ranked as the most popular among Vietnamese online shoppers:⁹

1. Packaged food and beverages
2. Cosmetics
3. Fresh and instant food
4. Fashion & sports
5. Home care
6. Technology
7. Mother and baby products
8. Home electronics
9. Booking/services
10. Health products

As for the top online stores in Vietnam, based on data from Similar Web,¹⁰ the ranking is as follows:

1. Shopee
2. Lazada
3. Chợ Tốt
4. Tiki
5. Amazon

Key Data on the Vietnamese E-Commerce Market

Lastly, here are some key insights about e-commerce in Vietnam:

Live E-Commerce Takes Off in Vietnam

Next Step:

The PCMI E-Commerce Data Library

While the data shared here can be helpful, both payments companies and ecommerce companies may benefit from a deeper dive into Vietnamese e-commerce data, which they can obtain by acquiring the PCMI E-commerce Data Library for Asia Pacific.

The Library covers not only Vietnam but also 12 other countries in Asia Pacific, featuring e-commerce market data such as:

• Historical volume of Vietnam’s e-commerce market

• Projections of Vietnam’s e-commerce market volume for 2024-2027

• Breakdowns by merchant vertical for e-commerce in Vietnam: retail, travel, ride-hailing, digital goods and services like streaming

• Data on both cross-border and domestic e-commerce purchases in Vietnam for 2024 and projections for 2025 and beyond

• Breakdowns and projections of payment methods used in Vietnam’s e-commerce (international/domestic credit cards, Buy Now Pay Later, digital wallets, and others)

And much more.

Other key advantages make the PCMI E-commerce Data Library for Asia Pacific a uniquely powerful tool for companies that seek a fuller understanding of e-commerce in the region:

• It’s customizable to client needs: you can obtain additional data you need for your company’s specific business concerns, beyond what the Library offers

• It’s budget-friendly: while detailed reports are available for 12+ countries, you can just buy data on just 1 or save money by purchasing a country bundle

• It includes personalized guidance: every purchase of the Library entitles you to a free 1-hour consultation about the data with one of PCMI’s industry experts

• It offers unlimited sharing: there is no single-user license with the PCMI E-commerce Data Library for Asia Pacific, so you can share it freely with your organization

Sources:

1. TMG Global E-commerce Survey 2022 – Vietnam ↩︎
2. PCMI E-commerce Data Library ↩︎
3. 2024 Global Ecommerce Report, Boku & Juniper Research ↩︎
4. “Vietnam’s e-commerce grows quickly but unsustainably,” VietnamPlus, December 16, 2023 ↩︎
5. NielsenIQ Vietnam, as cited by VnExpress (June 30, 2024). “Vietnamese shop online four times a month” ↩︎
6. TMG Global E-commerce Survey 2022 – Vietnam ↩︎
7. NielsenIQ Vietnam, as cited by VnExpress (June 30, 2024). “Vietnamese shop online four times a month” ↩︎
8. TMG Global E-commerce Survey 2022 – Vietnam ↩︎
9. NielsenIQ Vietnam, as cited by VnExpress (June 30, 2024). “Vietnamese shop online four times a month” ↩︎
10. SimilarWeb, 2024. Ranking is based on traffic to e-commerce and shopping websites from June 2024 to August 2024 ↩︎
11. “E-Commerce in Vietnam: Outlook & Retail Trends in 2023,” OOSGA ↩︎
12. E-commerce in Southeast Asia 2024, Momentum Works | Highest-revenue websites include Shoppee, Lazada, Tokopedia, TikTok Shop, Bukalapal, Tiki, Bibli, and Amazon SG ↩︎
13. “Vietnam Considers E-Invoicing for Livestream Sales: Advisory for Businesses,” Vietnam Briefing, July 3, 2024 ↩︎
14. “Vietnam Considers E-Invoicing for Livestream Sales: Advisory for Businesses,” Vietnam Briefing, July 3, 2024 ↩︎
15. Highest-revenue websites include Shoppee, Lazada, Tokopedia, TikTok Shop, Bukalapal, Tiki, Bibli, and Amazon SG | E-commerce in Southeast Asia 2024, Momentum Works ↩︎