Data and technology redefine Vietnam’s e-commerce race

Data and technology redefine Vietnam’s e-commerce race

As Vietnam’s e-commerce market expands at one of the fastest rates in Southeast Asia, platforms are shifting competition from price promotions to data, AI, logistics and content creator networks.

According to data from Metric, a Vietnam-based e-commerce data and market intelligence company, the gross merchandise value (GMV) generated by Vietnam’s four largest e-commerce platforms of Shopee, TikTok Shop, Lazada and Tiki during this year’s June 6 mega sales event could exceed $260 million

Vietnam’s e-commerce platforms are increasingly competing on customer experience rather than price

The forecast is based on the performance of the May 5 sales campaign, which recorded GMV of approximately $260 million.

Beyond growth in scale, the market is also witnessing profound changes in consumer behaviour, competitive dynamics and platform business models.

The figures highlight the continued strength of online spending in Vietnam. Earlier, a market report from Metric showed that Vietnamese consumers spent approximately $17.2 billion on Shopee, TikTok Shop, Lazada and Tiki in 2025, an average of about $47.7 million per day.

Meanwhile, a report by YouNet ECI, a Vietnamese market research and analytics company specialising in e-commerce intelligence, found that total GMV across the four major platforms exceeded $18.32 billion in 2025, growth of 26 per cent compared with the previous year.

The data suggest that e-commerce has entered a stage of large-scale expansion rather than serving merely as a supplementary sales channel, as was the case in the past.

Another notable trend is the rapid increase in average order value. According to Metric, GMV during the May 5 sales event rose 18 per cent on-year, while the number of products sold declined 6 per cent and the number of stores generating orders fell by around 10 per cent.

At the same time, the average value per product increased from $4.32 to $5.44, approximately 25 per cent growth.

This indicates that consumers are no longer focused on maximising the number of purchases, as seen during the post-COVID boom period, but are increasingly prioritising higher-quality products and higher-value segments.

Product categories posting strong growth included groceries, beauty products, mother-and-baby products, healthcare, mobile phones and home-related goods.

Notably, the beauty segment continued to demonstrate the effectiveness of livestream commerce, generating more than $47.76 million in sales on May 5 alone.

Industry experts say that Vietnam’s e-commerce sector is entering a more mature stage, where competition extends well beyond promotional discounts.

Rather than competing solely on price, e-commerce platforms in Vietnam are increasingly investing in logistics infrastructure, fulfilment centres, AI, user data capabilities, livestream commerce and creator networks.

With an annual market size measured in tens of billions of dollars and one of the fastest growth rates in the region, Vietnam’s e-commerce sector is expected to retain substantial growth potential.

However, the next phase of competition will not simply be a battle among platforms. It will increasingly be a contest among businesses capable of harnessing data, technology and the power of the creator economy to win over digital consumers.

To remain competitive, companies need to continuously upgrade their algorithms, advertising ecosystems and logistics capabilities, while making more strategic investments in branding, customer data and content development.

VIR