Imports dominate popular categories on e-commerce platforms

1 min readUpdated Jun 2, 2025Oct 6, 20216:11 AM

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Only 17 percent of the most popular goods on e-commerce platforms since last year have been Vietnamese, a market research firm said.

Malaysian market research firm iPrice Group said in a report that 83 percent of the 1,200 most sought-after items were imported.

The rates for Vietnamese products ranged between 25 percent for Sendo and 13 percent for Shopee Vietnam.

The overall rate dropped to 14 percent in the first half of this year.

Sendo and Tiki are Vietnamese-owned businesses.

“Vietnamese enterprises have not paid due attention to e-commerce yet,” Sendo chairman Nguyen Dac Viet Dung said.

“After two years of working with the Ministry of Industry and Trade to bring Vietnamese goods to e-commerce platforms, we have attracted many traditional retailers”.

Vietnamese goods dominated the groceries category, with demand surging because of Covid-19 lockdowns.

Agricultural specialties are becoming increasingly on the two local platforms.

Vietnam’s e-commerce market has seen an average annual growth rate of 25-30 percent in the last five years, according to Vietnam E-commerce Association (VECOM).

Should the growth rate be maintained, Vietnam would rank third in e-commerce market size in Southeast Asia by 2025, behind Indonesia and Thailand.

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What this means

The overwhelming dominance of imported goods on Vietnamese e-commerce platforms, particularly when local players Sendo and Tiki show such low domestic product rates (13-25 percent), indicates a critical failure by Vietnamese enterprises to adapt. This dynamic puts immense pressure on local retailers to embrace digital channels more aggressively, especially as the market rapidly expands. Unlike Panpuri's aggressive 16-store expansion in Asia or 7-Eleven's experiential concept in Macau, this highlights a deep-seated reluctance to engage in modern retail channels at scale. The risk lies in foreign imports solidifying market leadership before local businesses can effectively compete. We anticipate intensified government and platform efforts to onboard local businesses to improve the 14 percent domestic share.

Sarah Chen · Retail News Asia newsroom

Questions & Answers

What percentage of popular e-commerce goods were Vietnamese in the last year, according to the market research firm?

Only 17 percent of the most popular goods on e-commerce platforms since last year were Vietnamese. This means 83 percent of the 1,200 most sought-after items were imported, according to iPrice Group's report.

How did the percentage of Vietnamese products on e-commerce platforms change in the first half of this year?

The overall rate of Vietnamese products on e-commerce platforms dropped to 14 percent in the first half of this year. This indicates a further decline from the 17 percent observed since last year.

Which product category saw Vietnamese goods dominate, and why was there increased demand?

Vietnamese goods dominated the groceries category on e-commerce platforms. Demand surged significantly due to the Covid-19 lockdowns, which likely limited traditional shopping options and increased online grocery purchases.

What is the projected ranking for Vietnam's e-commerce market size in Southeast Asia by 2025?

If its average annual growth rate of 25-30 percent is maintained, Vietnam would rank third in e-commerce market size in Southeast Asia by 2025. It would be behind only Indonesia and Thailand in the region.

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