Shopee, Lazada dominate e-commerce in Vietnam

Shopee and Lazada have been named the top e-commerce platforms in Vietnam in terms of gross merchandise volume (GMV) and social media presence, according to reports.

The Ecommerce in Southeast Asia 2023 report by Singapore-based market researcher Momentum Works estimated that Vietnam's e-commerce GMV reached $9 billion in 2022. Shopee had the largest share of 63%, followed by Lazada, the Southeast Asian arm of Chinese giant Alibaba, with 23%.

Other major players in Vietnam were Tiki.vn, Tiktok Shop, and Sendo with 6%, 4%, and 4%, respectively.

Shopee also led e-commerce platforms in Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia. Lazada ranked second in Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines, while local platform Tokopedia was the runner-up in Indonesia.

The GMV in the Southeast Asia market grew from $54.8 billion in 2020 to $87.1 billion in 2021, and $99.5 billion in 2022. Indonesia was the largest market with a GMV of $51.9 billion, followed by Thailand with $14.4 billion, the Philippines with $11.5 billion, Vietnam with $9 billion, Malaysia with $8.7 billion, and Singapore with $4 billion.

Momentum Work projected that the GMV in the regional market could range from $121 billion to $232 billion in 2028, depending on various scenarios.

In the worst-case scenario, such as economic troubles in the U.S. and China, war escalating in Europe, Alibaba and Tiktok losing interest in Southeast Asia, the figure could reach $121 billion. In the best-case scenario, such as Chinese giant Temu entering the region, and bright economic prospects in China and the U.S., the market could soar to $232 billion.

Meanwhile, Reputa, a Vietnamese social media tracker, pointed out that Shopee and Lazada were the two most popular platforms in the country. Analyzing 402,309 entries on social media from January-May, Shopee recorded a total score of 91.03 based on netizens’ sentiments, interactions, discussions, and reach. Reputa attributed Shopee’s success to its promotional programs.

Lazada came second with a score of 26.56, followed by Tiktok Shop with 18.81, Sendo with 16.9, and Tiki.vn with 15.15.

Vietnam’s leading e-commerce platforms Shopee, Lazada, Tiktok Shop, Tiki, and Sendo posted a total revenue of VND39 trillion ($1.66 billion) in the first quarter of 2023, up 21.8% year-on-year, according to local e-commerce analyzer Metric.vn.

However, the figure fell 8.84% versus the last quarter of 2022, partly due to the week-long Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday, it noted.