A customer browses products on the Shopee platform. — Photo baotintuc.vn

HÀ NỘI — Online shopping in Việt Nam continued to expand rapidly in the first half of the year, with revenue on the country's four largest e-commerce platforms reaching VNĐ291.6 trillion (US$11 billion), up 44.1 per cent year-on-year. 

A total of 2.187 billion products were sold, an increase of 13.7 per cent, while 613,800 active online stores generated sales, up 14.1 per cent from a year earlier.

According to e-commerce analytics platform Metric.vn, the market maintained robust growth in both revenue and sales volume despite higher platform fees and increasingly stringent operating requirements.

Beauty products remained the largest product category, generating more than VNĐ49.5 trillion in sales during the six-month period. Women's fashion ranked second with VNĐ40.35 trillion, followed by home and living products with VNĐ37.68 trillion.

Consumers also shifted towards higher-priced products, with the VNĐ200,000–350,000 segment gaining share, while products priced above VNĐ1 million accounted for more than 18 per cent of total revenue.

The trend also boosted sales of authorised Mall stores, whose revenue jumped 54 per cent despite a 6 per cent decline in the number of sellers, reflecting growing demand for branded products.

Shopee and TikTok Shop continued to dominate Việt Nam's e-commerce market, with combined revenue exceeding VNĐ280 trillion, while Lazada and Tiki accounted for only a small share. 

Meanwhile, imported products sold by overseas merchants on Shopee recorded a sharp decline, with revenue falling 23.4 per cent and sales volume dropping 56.9 per cent year-on-year.

Beyond the traditional best-selling categories, groceries and food emerged as the fastest-growing segment, with revenue surging nearly 152 per cent from a year earlier. 

The automotive and motorcycle category also showed strong growth, with revenue rising nearly 57 per cent to VNĐ7.34 trillion, driven mainly by demand for motorcycle parts, automotive accessories and car care products.

Among available brands, VinFast recorded the highest growth at 1,332 per cent, followed by Libitu and Medicar.

Metric.vn forecasts that revenue across the four major e-commerce platforms will reach approximately VNĐ146.3 trillion in the third quarter, up 2.3 per cent from the previous quarter, supported by demand related to the summer travel season, back-to-school shopping and seasonal weather changes.

During the first half of the year, both Shopee and TikTok Shop raised seller fees through higher fixed charges and commissions across several product categories, prompting concerns among merchants.

In response, Việt Nam's National Competition Commission requested information from e-commerce platforms on May 18 to assess the impact of the new fee policies on sellers, consumers and market competition. On May 28, the commission asked Shopee to review and postpone the implementation of its revised fee structure. — BIZHUB/VNS