Vietnam’s savvy shoppers spend 44% more online than general consumers

Simon Torring, Co-Founder of Cube, shares the report at the launch. (Photo courtesy of the organisers)

Ho Chi Minh City (VNS/VNA) – Around one in four Vietnamese online shoppers are classified as “savvy shoppers”, consumers who are more deliberate in how they assess products, optimise value, manage risk and use digital tools, and spend 44% more per month than general shoppers.

This group drives an estimated annual e-commerce marketplace spending gap of 2.2 billion USD, with their reported spending accounting for nearly one-third of total e-commerce spending in Vietnam, according to a regional e-commerce report recently released in Ho Chi Minh City.

The 2026 eCommerce Savvy Shopper Report: Southeast Asia, conducted by market data firm Cube in partnership with Lazada, surveyed 6,000 consumers in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia, delivering new insights into how regional consumers research, compare, verify information, and make online purchasing decisions.

Savvy shoppers were identified as consumers who scored above the regional median across product and seller verification, value optimisation, confidence and protection, and digital fluency.

Vietnam also recorded the second-highest estimated annual spending gap in Southeast Asia between savvy and general shoppers, second only to the Philippines.

The report also found that 22% of online shoppers in Vietnam lacked only one of the four criteria required to qualify as savvy consumers, with the most common remaining gap being verification. Overall, 47% of Vietnamese online shoppers are already savvy or on the cusp of becoming savvy, indicating substantial potential for the e-commerce market to capture greater value in the future.

Savvy shoppers actively compare offers, authenticate information, and choose reputable shopping channels to secure better overall value.

They also participate more deeply across the e-commerce ecosystem. Some 72% shop online several times a week, 59% allocate more than half their budget to official brand stores, and 54% are willing to pay more for stronger purchase protection.

Furthermore, 86% regularly look off-platform to discover products, 88% actively seek information, and 91% verify products or sellers before purchasing.

The report also indicates that Vietnamese shoppers increasingly seek better value without compromising trust. While 47% are willing to accept longer delivery times for better deals, 38% wait for mega-campaign sales, and 33% spend extra time comparing promotions, only 12% are willing to accept lower assurances regarding product authenticity, warranties, returns, or refunds in exchange for steeper discounts.

This demonstrates that e-commerce is no longer solely a race on price, but a competition centred on real value and peace of mind.

Simon Torring, Co-founder of Cube, said: “Savvy shopping is not simply about price sensitivity; it is about consumers becoming more deliberate, informed, and confident in the way they navigate e-commerce.”

Do Cao Quoc Huy, Director of Retail & Category Management at Lazada Vietnam, said Vietnamese consumers are becoming increasingly savvy, deliberate, and discerning in their purchases.

This behavioural shift was demonstrated during the recent 9.9 Mega Brands Sale on Lazada. Orders valued over 100 USD accounted for 42% of the platform’s total gross merchandise value (GMV), with three out of every four orders placed on LazMall, Lazada's dedicated authentic brand channel. These factors helped nearly double Lazada’s average order value year-on-year.

Electronics and FMCG were among the top revenue-generating categories.

“Vietnam’s e-commerce market is entering a more mature phase – not only in transaction scale, but in the quality of consumption and levels of consumer trust.

“Deep discounting during mega campaigns yields only short-term sales spikes. In the long run, brands need to build sustainable trust, establish presence at the right consumer touchpoints, provide sufficient information to empower informed choices, and optimise the end-to-end journey from pre-purchase to post-purchase,” he said./.

VNA