Vietnam's e-commerce market shows no sign of cooling down in 2024. According to the e-commerce data platform Metric, total sales on the country's five largest online retail platforms—Shopee, Lazada, Tiki, Sendo and TikTok Shop—are forecast to reach $3.33bn in the second quarter, up 19.2% from the first three months of the year.

That would equate to a staggering 78% year-on-year increase compared with the second quarter of 2023. The market's peak season is only just starting.

Firing on all cylinders

The sector's performance so far this year has exceeded expectations. In the first quarter, the quintet of e-commerce behemoths racked up sales of $2.79bn, a 78.7% jump from a year earlier. Analysts had predicted full-year growth of just 35% for 2024.

Consumer appetite has surged since the covid-19 crisis. Some 766 m products were purchased online in the first three months, an eye-popping 83.2% increase on the same period of 2023.

The number of vendor accounts generating orders rose by 9% year-on-year, to 511,000. Furthermore, the number of new product listings expanded by 10%, reversing a contraction seen in previous quarters.

A metamorphosis in shopping habits

The data point to a profound shift in Vietnamese consumer habits. Although the capital, Hanoi, and Ho Chi Minh City remain the biggest e-commerce markets, together accounting for over 70% of sales, other provinces are catching up fast. Hanoi's first-quarter sales reached $783m (up 77% year-on-year) while Ho Chi Minh City weighed in at $549m (up 65%).

But the localities that notched the highest year-on-year sales growth were Quang Ninh (up 607%), Bac Ninh (185%), Binh Duong (117%) and Hai Duong (103%). Tellingly, these provinces all host industrial parks or border-trade zones.

Rural businesses' share of e-commerce sales and shipments has surpassed 50% growth, showing that online shopping is rapidly going mainstream across Vietnam.