Vietnam dominates list of top Southeast Asian e-commerce sites

Thegioididong, the e-commerce website run by retail giant Mobile World, ranked fifth with average web visits in 2020 reaching 28.6 million a month, according to a report released by Malaysia-based market research firm iPrice, covering six countries in Southeast Asia.

Tiki, the second largest e-commerce site in Vietnam, was in sixth place with 22.4 million visits a month.

Homegrown e-commerce platform Sendo secured eighth place with 14.3 million web visits a month, followed by Bach Hoa Xanh (8.8 million) and FPT Shop (7.2 million).

Singapore-based Shopee and Lazada topped the list, followed by Indonesian sites Tokopedia and Bukalapak.

The report said that the overall website traffic of online shopping platforms increased positively across all countries year-over-year.

The growth was highest in Singapore, which experienced a surge of 35 percent, compared to 2019, followed by the Philippines (21 percent), Vietnam (19 percent), Malaysia (17 percent, Thailand (15 percent), and Indonesia (6 percent).

Consumers in Vietnam spent an overall average of $17 per order in 2020 and electronics was the most sought item by Vietnamese consumers, the report said.

In terms of traffic numbers, Vietnam was the second highest in the region, only after Indonesia, the report noted.

"This strongly affirms the development potential of Vietnam's e-commerce market in competing with international players."

2020 has signified strong customer confidence in e-commerce retail despite mobility restrictions and mounting concerns over the global pandemic.

"Major e-commerce companies across the region have also rolled out other marketing campaigns drawing customers through gamified features on the app, as well as free shipping and discounts," the report said.

Vietnam’s e-commerce market expanded 18 percent year-on-year last year to $11.8 billion, the only country in Southeast Asia to record double-digit growth in the sector amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to an e-commerce development plan approved by the Vietnamese government last year, the sector’s revenues should reach $35 billion by 2025 and account for 10 percent of the total. The government also targets having 55 percent of the population shopping online by 2025.