Vietnamese people spend nearly 900 billion VND shopping online every day

In 2024, Vietnamese people will spend an average of VND873.6 billion to buy online on the five largest multi-industry retail e-commerce platforms, according to Metric.

For the whole year, the total transaction volume (GMV) on 5 platforms including Shopee, Lazada, TikTok Shop, Tiki and Sendo reached 318,900 billion VND, an increase of 37.36% compared to 2023, according to a newly released report by e-commerce data company Metric.

This figure accounts for nearly 6.5% of the country's total retail sales of goods in 2024, according to the General Statistics Office. However, the growth rate of the online channel is 4.5 times faster than the overall growth rate of the retail industry (8.3%).

In fact, Vietnamese spending on online shopping may be even larger because Metric's data does not take into account GMV of transactions on social networks and cross-border platforms.

Late last year, the Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy, Ministry of Industry and Trade estimated that the size of the e-commerce market in 2024 had exceeded 25 billion USD, growing 20%, higher than the forecast of 22 billion USD by Google, Temasek, Bain & Company.

Along with sales, the output of goods sold through the five largest floors also increased sharply by more than 50% last year, reaching more than 3.4 million products. "The numbers show that the market's purchasing power remains high," the Metric report commented.

Mr. Tran Lam, online sales training expert and CEO of Julyhouse, added that e-commerce continues to grow thanks to many businesses increasing investment, realizing that this channel plays an increasingly important role.

"They see that online is not only a place to sell but also affects the offline channel. If online sales are good, offline sales will follow thanks to the effectiveness of brand recognition," he said.

Regarding consumption trends, Vietnamese people increasingly prefer necessities, giving priority to genuine goods or goods of foreign origin when "closing orders".

Specifically, beauty, home - living, fashion are the three product lines that bring the most sales to the floors, but grocery - food has the highest growth, up to 76.3%. This trend shows that consumers increasingly prioritize buying daily necessities online instead of going to the market or supermarket.

Genuine stores such as Shopee Mall and TikTok Shop Mall recorded growth of nearly 70% and more than 180%, respectively. Meanwhile, the total number of shops on the 5 floors with orders last year decreased by 20.25% to 650,000, showing fierce competition. Many small, ineffective sellers have left the market, giving way to units with clear strategies, providing products that meet consumer tastes with flexible operations.

Shipper waiting for customers to receive goods at Duy Tan Street, Cau Giay, Hanoi in February 2024. Photo: Ngoc Thanh

Notably, 2024 witnessed a significant increase in imports with more than 324.1 million products imported into Vietnam, generating VND 14,200 billion in revenue, up nearly 38% and 43% respectively compared to 2023.

According to Metric, Vietnamese consumers are no longer too hesitant to order products from abroad due to improved logistics systems that help speed up shipping times and reduce the risk of loss. In addition, platforms also provide better return policies and customer protection.

In addition, the competitive price of international goods is also an important factor, when many products have better prices than domestic products thanks to low production costs. "This is an important signal for domestic businesses, requiring them to optimize their products and pricing strategies to be competitive," the Metric report said.

Mr. Tran Lam predicts that the e-commerce market will be fiercely competitive in the near future, especially with the strength of imported products. According to him, Chinese goods are flooding in and there is a possibility of new waves of landing to find outlets in the context of being surrounded by tariffs.

"I have seen many domestic fashion retailers unable to compete with Chinese goods now have to switch to selling agricultural products, food, and natural products," said Mr. Lam.

Metric believes that the rise of imported goods and changing consumer demand create significant challenges for domestic businesses, but at the same time open up opportunities to improve quality and compete more effectively.

Recently, the government has abolished the policy of VAT exemption for small-value imported goods sold via express delivery from February 18. The Ministry of Finance said the decision aims to ensure fairness and encourage consumption of domestically produced goods.

Source