Shopee fined for misleading promotion information

Shopee fined for misleading promotion information

Shopee Vietnam has been fined VND200 million ($7,800) for providing misleading information to consumers during a promotional campaign last August.

The National Competition Commission under the Ministry of Industry and Trade issued the administrative sanctions on April 9 under Decision No.5/QD-CT. The penalty was imposed for, "providing misleading information to customers regarding the promotional programme applied on August 8, 2025".

During its '8.8' sales campaign, the e-commerce platform used promotional messages such as “Free shipping for all orders,” “Everything comes with free shipping,” and “Free shipping everywhere for all orders” to advertise shipping incentives for users.

However, according to the authority’s conclusion, some communication interfaces related to the campaign did not fully display exclusion conditions and applicable terms, potentially leading consumers to believe that all orders qualified for free shipping without conditions.

Data from the platform showed that around 94 per cent of total orders during the promotional period were eligible for zero shipping fees. The remaining orders either received partial shipping discounts or were not entitled to free shipping because they failed to meet certain conditions.

In addition to the monetary penalty, Shopee has been required to correct the misleading information publicly across its media ecosystem, including its e-commerce website, Shopee app, and official social media platforms.

According to a report from data platform Metric.vn, Vietnam’s e-commerce market generated around VND429.7 trillion ($16.8 billion) in gross merchandise value in 2025, up nearly 35 per cent on-year.

Shopee and TikTok Shop continued to dominate the market, accounting for more than 97 per cent of total industry revenue. Shopee held around 56 per cent market share, remaining the largest platform, despite declining from approximately 64 per cent at the end of 2024.

Meanwhile, TikTok Shop expanded its market share to just over 41 per cent, continuing to narrow the gap through its livestream and short-video sales model.

Among smaller players, Lazada maintained a lower market share while focusing on genuine products, whereas Tiki continued to lose ground amid mounting competition from larger platforms.

VIR