Vietnam’s Cross-Border E-Commerce Market in 2024: Trends, Platforms, and Winning Strategies

Among Southeast Asian nations poised for growth, Vietnam continues to stand out as one of the most promising markets.

Thanks to its strong economic momentum, low consumer prices, and advancing IT infrastructure, Vietnam is attracting increasing attention — especially from businesses exploring offshore operations.

As Vietnam’s economy and digital ecosystem continue to develop, cross-border e-commerce (EC) emerges as a high-potential avenue for entering the market through product-based business models.

We’ll break down each of these points from the perspective of global digital marketing professionals, providing practical, up-to-date insights.

Vietnam’s Cross-Border E-Commerce Market Size

Vietnam’s e-commerce market is projected to grow to USD 23 billion by 2025, reflecting its rapid digital transformation and rising consumer demand.

Reference: International Trade Administration

Vietnam’s e-commerce market is growing at an impressive rate of approximately 30% per year. This rapid expansion is driven by several key factors:

In May 2020, the Vietnamese government approved the National E-Commerce Development Master Plan, which aims to accelerate digital commerce through platforms and expand access to digital services nationwide.

The goals of this initiative include:

• Improving business efficiency through digital transformation (DX)

• Reducing economic disparities between urban and rural areas

• Building a sustainable, inclusive e-commerce ecosystem

Although there are still visible differences between major cities and rural regions in terms of digital maturity, the growth of the middle class and widespread smartphone adoption continue to push the market forward.

As a result, cross-border e-commerce transactions are on the rise, and for companies aiming to expand into Southeast Asia, launching a product-based cross-border EC business in Vietnam is a highly rational and timely opportunity.

Top 4 Cross-Border E-Commerce Platforms in Vietnam

• Shopee

• Lazada

• Amazon

• Shopify

These four platforms are among the most widely used for cross-border e-commerce in Vietnam.

While Amazon and Shopify are already well known and widely used in Japan and Western markets, Shopee and Lazada are leading platforms in Southeast Asia, particularly known for their strong local presence, mobile-first interfaces, and localized payment options.

Understanding how each platform fits into Vietnam’s digital commerce landscape is essential for brands planning to expand through cross-border EC.

Shopee

Shopee is the most widely used e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia and fully supports cross-border sales.

In addition to offering Japanese-language support, Shopee provides a dedicated cross-border EC support site tailored specifically for Japanese sellers — not just machine-translated content.

For businesses targeting not only Vietnam but also the broader Southeast Asian market, Shopee is a must-use platform.

Compared to Lazada, Shopee offers a more casual and social-first experience, making it well-suited for live commerce features such as livestream product selling — a format that resonates strongly in the SNS-driven consumer environment of Southeast Asia.

Given that social media usage in countries like Vietnam surpasses that of Japan, leveraging Shopee’s social commerce features is critical for success in the region.

Lazada

Lazada is a cross-border e-commerce platform backed by Chinese tech giant Alibaba.

Alongside Shopee, Lazada is one of the most popular platforms in Vietnam, and tapping into either platform can provide a solid path to success in the region.

Built on Alibaba’s extensive experience running Tmall (天猫) — one of China’s leading e-commerce platforms — Lazada incorporates proven tools and infrastructure, making it user-friendly even for brands new to cross-border e-commerce.

Key Characteristics of Vietnamese Consumers

Vietnamese consumers exhibit the characteristics listed above, but two stand out in particular:

1. A high proportion of young people

2. A remarkably strong trust in Japanese-made products

Vietnam’s population — currently around 100 million — reflects the demographics of a fast-growing economy, with roughly 35% (approx. 34 million) of its population between the ages of 15 and 34.

In comparison, Japan has around 25 million people in the same age group, highlighting Vietnam’s youth-driven market momentum.

In addition, like many Southeast Asian nations, Vietnam is known for being strongly pro-Japanese, and the level of trust in Japanese products is often even higher than many Japanese brands expect.

This creates a unique advantage for companies from Japan or those marketing Japan-origin products in Vietnam’s competitive market.

Winning Strategies for Cross-Border E-Commerce in Vietnam

To build a successful product-based cross-border e-commerce business in Vietnam, it’s important to focus on the strategies listed above.

With 34% of the population aged between 15 and 34, targeting the youth demographic is both logical and effective. Product categories like fashion, electronics, and personal care are particularly appealing to this group.

However, for many companies in Japan, it can be difficult to determine which products to sell and how to best utilize cross-border e-commerce to reach Vietnamese consumers.

At The Digital X, we specialize in global digital marketing and offer hands-on support for cross-border EC expansion into Vietnam and other Southeast Asian markets.

If you’re considering expanding into Vietnam via cross-border e-commerce, we invite you to browse and download our service catalog to see how we can support your business goals.

How to Sell on Amazon for Cross-Border E-Commerce in Vietnam

When entering Vietnam’s cross-border e-commerce market, leveraging Amazon can be a highly effective strategy.

For Japanese businesses, we recommend using Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) as the preferred method for overseas sales.

Thanks to these advantages, Amazon FBA is a compelling option for businesses looking to scale their cross-border product sales efficiently.

Reference: Fulfillment by Amazon

How to Launch Cross-Border E-Commerce in Vietnam with Shopify

Next, let’s walk through the steps for setting up your Shopify store for the Vietnamese market.

Once your Shopify store is set up, you can easily enable Vietnam as a target market from within the platform’s settings.

This seamless ability to localize your store by region is one of Shopify’s biggest advantages for cross-border sellers.

How to Set Up a Shopee Store for Vietnam

Since Shopee is specifically designed for cross-border sellers, the platform makes it very easy to set up and start selling internationally.

However, to officially qualify as a Shopee cross-border (global) seller, you must meet the following conditions:

Requirements for Becoming a Cross-Border Seller on Shopee

• List at least 5 products within 30 days of account approval

• Ship from Japan, not from a local warehouse in Vietnam

• Dispatch orders within 2 business days

• Provide customer support in English

Key Considerations for Cross-Border E-Commerce in Vietnam

When expanding your cross-border e-commerce business into Vietnam, keep the following important points in mind:

• Support for the Vietnamese language

• Compliance with local laws and regulations

• Logistics challenges may result in some cancellations before delivery

• Price appropriately by factoring in VAT and import duties

Vietnam differs from markets like the Philippines in that English is not widely spoken. Therefore, offering support in Vietnamese — such as local language product pages and customer service — can significantly improve the efficiency and trustworthiness of your operations.

In addition, due to underdeveloped logistics infrastructure, there is a non-negligible rate of order cancellations before delivery, especially in rural areas.

Lastly, it’s important to factor in indirect costs when pricing your products. In Vietnam, both Value-Added Tax (VAT) and customs duties are typically borne by the consumer, so setting prices with these charges in mind is crucial to maintaining competitiveness while avoiding cart abandonment.

By being aware of these key risks and operational realities, your cross-border e-commerce expansion into Vietnam can be both sustainable and profitable.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Here are answers to some of the most common questions we receive from companies exploring cross-border product sales in Vietnam.

1. Can I expand from Vietnam into neighboring countries?

Yes, absolutely.

Southeast Asian nations operate as a regional bloc under ASEAN, which functions as a form of economic community.

As a result, products that perform well in Vietnam often see similar success in countries like Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand.

Furthermore, Japan enjoys a highly favorable reputation across the region, so a “pro-Japan” positioning can be effective not only in Vietnam but throughout Southeast Asia.

Use Vietnam as a strategic hub for expanding into surrounding markets.

2. How should I approach marketing?

You can start by leveraging the built-in marketing tools provided by cross-border e-commerce platforms — but be aware that these tools have limitations in both flexibility and reach.

Social media marketing is particularly powerful in Vietnam and across Southeast Asia, where platforms like Facebook, TikTok, and Zalo dominate digital behavior.

Currently, Japan-to-Vietnam SNS marketing remains a blue ocean, with untapped potential for brand growth. However, due to the lack of established frameworks, it may be difficult to manage effectively in-house.

If you’re interested in global social media marketing, we invite you to browse our service catalog for more information.

3. Can I manage a Vietnam cross-border EC business entirely in-house?

While it’s technically possible to sell products independently using a cross-border e-commerce platform, maximizing profitability is a different story.

To truly scale your business, you’ll need to:

• Understand local consumer behavior

• Adapt content to the Vietnamese language

• Expand distribution through targeted marketing

If your internal team lacks the bandwidth or expertise, partnering with a local or global marketing agency can help you bridge the gap and accelerate success.

Ready to Launch Your Cross-Border E-Commerce Business in Vietnam? Talk to The Digital X

In this article, we’ve covered the essentials of launching a cross-border product business in Vietnam using e-commerce.

Vietnam is a fast-growing, opportunity-rich market, and targeting it as part of your expansion strategy is a highly logical and data-backed move.

If you’re considering cross-border e-commerce as a gateway into Vietnam, The Digital X is here to help.

With deep expertise in global digital marketing, we provide end-to-end support to help you launch, localize, and scale your business in Southeast Asia.

If you have questions or would like to discuss your strategy, we’d be happy to assist you — just reach out to us through our contact page.