Grocery retail in Vietnam: formats, fresh and the competitive set
Which grocery formats win in Vietnam, how fresh is bought, who the real competitors are, and what online grocery can realistically do.
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
Grocery is the clearest window into how a retail market actually works, because it is bought weekly and priced publicly. In Vietnam, mini-supermarkets and convenience are expanding fast against traditional wet markets.
Daily fresh shopping habits persist, so location convenience beats basket size.
Formats and players
Domestic chains lead on store count, with international players in larger formats. Mini-supermarkets and convenience are expanding fast against traditional wet markets.
- Traditional trade40%
- Modern trade and malls33%
- E-commerce22%
- Other5%
Indicative share of retail value, showing how much sits outside modern grocery.
Fresh is the battleground
Daily fresh shopping habits persist, so location convenience beats basket size. Fresh drives trip frequency, and trip frequency drives everything else in grocery: basket size, loyalty and the value of a location.
Developing quickly but still a bottleneck for chilled and frozen assortments, which sets a hard limit on how ambitious a chilled or frozen range can be outside the main cities.
Online grocery
- Delivery economics depend on motorbike delivery with very low unit costs in the two main cities
- Baskets need a minimum value before delivery is contribution-positive
- Substitution rules matter more than range depth for repeat rates
- Payment mix is led by wallets and vietqr
| Question | Answer for Vietnam |
|---|---|
| Dominant format | Mini-supermarkets and convenience are expanding fast against traditional wet markets |
| Fresh behaviour | Daily fresh shopping habits persist, so location convenience beats basket size |
| Cold chain | Developing quickly but still a bottleneck for chilled and frozen assortments |
| Peak season | Tet |
Where new entrants get it wrong
- Assuming a weekly big shop in a market that buys fresh daily
- Building a chilled range the cold chain cannot support outside the capital
- Competing on range against traditional trade instead of on convenience and consistency
- Ignoring the price benchmark set by public and wet markets
Key takeaways
- Mini-supermarkets and convenience are expanding fast against traditional wet markets.
- Fresh sets trip frequency, and trip frequency sets the economics.
- Cold chain capability should cap the chilled assortment plan.
- Convenience and consistency beat range against traditional trade.
Questions & Answers
What is the dominant grocery format in Vietnam?
Mini-supermarkets and convenience are expanding fast against traditional wet markets
Is online grocery viable in Vietnam?
In the main urban areas yes, given motorbike delivery with very low unit costs in the two main cities. Beyond them, delivery cost per drop usually breaks the model.
How important are wet or public markets?
Daily fresh shopping habits persist, so location convenience beats basket size
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More in Asia Market Guides
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Written by
Retail News Asia Research Desk
Country data, market sizing and channel analysis
Researched, written and fact-checked by our newsroom. Last reviewed 13 August 2026. Meet the editorial team.
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