Metric: Vietnam's E-commerce Landscape Shifts as TikTok Shop Surpasses Shopee in Pre-Lunar New Year Sales

Ebrun Exclusive, February 14 - A recent "2026 Lunar New Year Shopping Behavior Report" released by data platform Metric indicates a shift in Vietnam's e-commerce competitive landscape just before the 2026 Lunar New Year. During the six weeks leading up to the holiday (December 15, 2025, to January 25, 2026), sales performance varied significantly among major Vietnamese e-commerce platforms. TikTok Shop's sales surpassed Shopee's for the first time during this period, becoming the platform with the highest sales volume.

The report shows that the total Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) for the Vietnamese e-commerce market in these six weeks was approximately 67.7 trillion VND, with over 542 million items sold from nearly 412,000 active stores. The overall market scale nearly reached the sales level of the nine-week pre-holiday period from the previous year, highlighting the significant boost from the year-end shopping season.

In terms of platform performance, TikTok Shop achieved a GMV of around 34.6 trillion VND, exceeding Shopee's 33.1 trillion VND for the same period. Metric pointed out that TikTok Shop not only overtook Shopee in sales volume but also demonstrated a significantly faster growth rate during the six-week pre-holiday period. Compared to the preceding six-week period, TikTok Shop's growth rate more than doubled, reflecting a structural change in consumer platform preference during the peak year-end shopping season.

From a category perspective, pre-holiday consumption remained concentrated in traditional high-demand sectors, including core categories such as beauty & cosmetics, women's apparel, home & living, men's apparel, and food & beverage. These categories held a significant share during the holiday stocking phase and maintained steady growth. Meanwhile, the children's wear category performed exceptionally well, with notable sales increases for items like children's and family Lunar New Year outfits and children's áo dài (traditional national dress).

The year 2026 is the Year of the Horse in the lunar calendar. The report highlighted that zodiac-themed mascot products related to the "Horse" became a major highlight of Lunar New Year consumption.

According to Metric.vn data, sales of "Horse" themed products reached approximately 251.4 billion VND during the pre-holiday period, with over 3.4 million items sold from more than 14,000 stores. Compared to the previous six weeks, sales value for this category grew by about 77%, and sales volume surged by 106%. Best-selling items included souvenirs, red envelopes, festive decorations, clothing with horse patterns, and Lunar New Year áo dài, demonstrating concentrated consumer demand for culturally significant zodiac products.

The report also noted that demand for Lunar New Year-related goods typically begins to rise noticeably 4 to 9 weeks before the holiday.

During major promotional shopping peaks, such as the November 11, December 12, and December 15 sales events, both Shopee and TikTok Shop recorded significant sales increases. However, Metric stated that even on days without major promotions, TikTok Shop maintained relatively stable sales performance, which was a key factor contributing to its higher cumulative GMV throughout the entire pre-holiday period.

Regarding market share distribution, TikTok Shop showed stronger performance in certain trending and seasonal product categories, especially those suitable for promotion through short video content and visual showcases. Sales of "Year of the Horse mascots" and some fashion items were significantly higher on TikTok Shop compared to Shopee, underscoring the competitive advantage of content-driven e-commerce models during festive shopping seasons.

Overall, the market scale during the six weeks leading up to the 2026 Lunar New Year nearly matched that of the nine-week period from the previous year, indicating significant market expansion. TikTok Shop's overtaking of Shopee in sales during this period reflects a reallocation of consumer spending across different shopping channels and intensifying competition among major platforms during key shopping seasons.

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