Asia Market Guides
E-commerce in Vietnam: platforms, payment and the cost of a delivered order
Which platforms matter in Vietnam, how buyers pay, why cash on delivery still shapes the economics, and what a delivered order really costs.
Guide 53 of 121 · 9 min read · Updated 13 August 2026
Market profile
The fastest structural shift in the region: a young population moving from traditional trade to modern retail and online buying at speed.
- Capital
- Hanoi
- Population
- around 100 million
- Currency
- Vietnamese dong (VND)
- Leading channel
- Traditional trade (40%)
- Cash on delivery
- 27% of online orders
- Lead region
- Ho Chi Minh City (38%)
Retail value by channel
- Traditional trade 40%
- Modern trade and malls 33%
- E-commerce 22%
- Other 5%
- Ho Chi Minh City
- Hanoi
- Da Nang
- Hai Phong
- Can Tho
Online retail in Vietnam does not look like a Western e-commerce market with different logos. The channel mix, the payment behaviour and the delivery economics are different enough that a copied playbook usually loses money in the first year.
The fastest structural shift in the region: a young population moving from traditional trade to modern retail and online buying at speed. That shapes where online demand comes from and how much of it you can serve profitably.
Where online demand sits
The working platform set is Shopee, TikTok Shop, Lazada and Tiki. Livestream selling has become the default launch mechanic for beauty, fashion and household goods.
Cash on delivery is still expected by a large share of buyers, which makes return rates a core planning number.
- Traditional trade40%
- Modern trade and malls33%
- E-commerce22%
- Other5%
Indicative share of retail value. Use it to size the online opportunity against physical trade, not as an audited statistic.
How buyers pay
Bank QR transfer is widely used even by small merchants, sitting alongside wallets rather than replacing them. The practical wallet set is MoMo, ZaloPay, VNPay and VietQR bank transfer.
Cash on delivery is around 27% of online orders, which is the single number that decides whether your unit economics work. Every cash-on-delivery order carries a failed-delivery risk, a cash-handling cost and a slower cash conversion cycle.
- Wallets and VietQR38%
- Cash on delivery27%
- Bank transfer21%
- Cards14%
Indicative share of online transactions by method.
“Bank QR transfer is widely used even by small merchants, sitting alongside wallets rather than replacing them.”
Fulfilment and the delivered cost
Goods arrive through Cat Lai and Hai Phong ports, Tan Son Nhat and Noi Bai airports. Motorbike delivery with very low unit costs in the two main cities. North-south distance means two distribution centres rather than one national hub.
- Model return and failed-delivery rates separately for prepaid and cash-on-delivery orders
- Set the service promise per region, not nationally: Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Da Nang and central and Other provinces do not behave the same way
- Price free-shipping thresholds against basket size, because they move mix more than any discount
- Track contribution per order after fees, packaging, delivery and returns, not gross margin
Marketplace or own channel
Marketplaces buy you demand and hide the customer. Own channel costs more to fill but keeps the data and margin. Most brands that succeed in Vietnam run both, using marketplaces for reach and campaign days and their own channel for repeat buyers and full-price selling.
| Decision | Typical Vietnam answer |
|---|---|
| Primary platforms | Shopee, TikTok Shop, Lazada and Tiki |
| Dominant payment | Wallets and VietQR |
| Cash on delivery | 27% of orders |
| Peak periods | Tet, Mid-autumn festival, Double-date online sale days and Back to school |
| First-year focus | One region served well, then expand the promise |
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