VIETNAM E-COMMERCE INDEX REPORT 2025

The growth rate in 2024 reached 27%, with the online retail market valued at USD 32 billion, contributing to a solid foundation for Vietnam’s e-commerce sector. Building on this position, along with new policies and legal documents coming into effect or being enacted in 2025, VECOM assesses that Vietnam’s e-commerce is poised to enter its fourth stage – a phase of rapid and sustainable development.

In 2015, VECOM evaluated the period from 1998 to 2005 as the formation stage of e-commerce, with a primary focus on building infrastructure for online trade. During this stage, information technology and telecommunications infrastructure—particularly the Internet—provided the initial conditions for online business. At the same time, the legal framework for e-commerce was established with the enactment of the Law on E-Transactions, the Law on Information Technology, the Civil Code, the Law on Commerce, and several other laws.

The second stage, from 2006 to 2015, marked the popularization of e-commerce. Tens of millions of people began shopping online, numerous digital platforms emerged, and businesses started to invest in developing websites.

Since 2016, Vietnam’s e-commerce has transitioned into the third stage, characterized by rapid growth, a high proportion of consumers engaging in online shopping, and widespread adoption of e-commerce by enterprises. However, several major challenges have surfaced, including the negative environmental impacts of e-commerce, very limited levels of online export, and significant imbalances between different localities.

The era of widespread adoption and rapid development of Vietnam’s e-commerce began two decades ago with the introduction of the National E-commerce Development Master Plan 2006–2010 and Decree No. 57/2006/ND-CP on e-commerce.

By 2025, Vietnam’s e-commerce will hold a significant position within both the trade sector and the digital economy. New policy and legal documents on taxation, customs, and import–export, issued at the end of 2024 and coming into effect in 2025, mark the starting point for e-commerce’s new phase. Furthermore, the National E-commerce Development Master Plan 2026–2030, and most importantly, the forthcoming Law on E-commerce, will serve as the central framework for ensuring rapid and sustainable growth.

The E-commerce Index Report 2025 is built upon surveys of thousands of enterprises nationwide, e-commerce-related information from various organizations, and a synthesis of newly enacted or draft policy and legal documents.

This year, VECOM has further refined its methodology for calculating the E-commerce Index. Notably, for the first time, data on postal and delivery services for e-commerce by locality, provided by the state postal authority, has been incorporated into the calculation of the retail (B2C) e-commerce index.

The 2025 E-commerce Index Report serves as a valuable resource for all stakeholders interested in online business, including enterprises, research and consulting organizations, and policymakers. In particular, local state management agencies, such as provincial Departments of Industry and Trade or Departments of Science and Technology, can propose targeted initiatives within their scope of authority to improve specific index components, thereby contributing to the development of e-commerce at the local level.

Read report HERE

Source: VECOM