Vietnam leads in annual number of online purchases in Southeast Asia

Vietnam ranked first among six Southeast Asian countries, with an average number of online purchases of 104 packages per year, according to the latest e-commerce report.

Vietnam’s internet economy is expected to reach $57 billion in 2025. Photo: kinhtedothi.vn

The E-commerce SEA Barometer Report 2021, themed “Uncovering SEA online shoppers & delivery preferences”, was released by the tech-enabled logistics company Ninja Van Group and Europe's parcel delivery network DPDgroup after conducting research across six Southeast Asian countries including Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.

According to the report, Vietnamese consumers had a higher frequency of online shopping than others in Thailand (75 parcels per year), Singapore, and the Philippines (58 ones). Meanwhile, the regional average is 66 parcels per year. Commonly purchased categories in Vietnam are Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and Fashion/Shoes.

The E-commerce SEA Barometer Report noted the majority of Southeast Asian respondents are familiar with cross-border purchases within Asia or around the world. 

Some 73% of Vietnamese respondents said they regularly shop on e-commerce shopping platforms with 59% ordering or shopping on foreign websites many times. The reasons for cross-border online purchases included "finding better deals overseas" with 52% of respondents, "don’t have the products/brands/websites in my country" (52%), as well as "delivery/return options overseas have become easier and more transparent" (36%).

Since the pandemic started two years ago, Southeast Asia has seen an increase of approximately 70 million online shoppers, and the number is expected to grow to 380 million by 2026.

Phan Xuan Dung, Sales Director of Ninja Van Vietnam, said that the Vietnamese market is one of the potential ones thanks to its sustainable growth in recent years. In the past 12 months, the company has delivered two million parcels per day across the region.

Key drivers for online shopping. Source: Ninja Van Group

Currently, Vietnam accounts for 15% of the total online shopping market in Southeast Asia, behind Thailand and the Philippines, each with 16%.

According to Statista, the number of people purchasing consumer goods online in Vietnam reached almost 51.8 million in 2021, indicating an increase of over six million online shoppers from the previous year. In that year, the average annual revenue per consumer good e-commerce user was around US$240 in the country.

Vietnam’s internet economy is expected to reach $57 billion in 2025, ranking it second in Southeast Asia, according to the “e-Conomy SEA 2021” report published by Google, Bain & Company, and Temasek last year.

The report underlined that the online shopping experience ends only when the shopper is in possession of the desired purchase. Delivery, being the final stage of online shopping, contributes significantly to the overall experience. About 89% of those surveyed shared that they would like to know the delivery company that delivers their parcels.