HCM CITY — The National E-commerce Week (Online Friday 2026), running from December 10 to 16, will promote comprehensive, inclusive and sustainable growth of Việt Nam’s e-commerce sector, with December 12 marking the inaugural National E-commerce Day.

The Vietnam E-commerce and Digital Economy Agency held a press conference in HCM City on November 14 to announce the programme and related activities.

Beyond serving as a major year-end shopping event to stimulate consumer demand, Online Friday 2026 is expected to act as a strategic catalyst for mobilising resources and strengthening connections to support the e-commerce sector and help the broader Vietnamese economy sustain double-digit growth in the final months of the year.

Speaking at the event, Lê Hoàng Oanh, director general of the agency, said Việt Nam remained one of the fastest-growing e-commerce markets in the region.

The country's online retail market is projected to reach US$37.2–37.8 billion in 2026, representing annual growth of 20–22 per cent from 2025, she said.

Oanh highlighted 2026 as a major institutional milestone following the Government’s issuance of Decree No. 248/2026/ND-CP, which officially designates December 12 as National E-commerce Day. The move recognises the sector’s growing contribution to economic development and the livelihoods of millions of people.

However, rapid market expansion has also exposed disparities that need to be addressed, including gaps between major urban centres and remote areas, large enterprises and smaller businesses, and different generations of consumers, as well as differences in digital skills and legal compliance, she said.

In this context, Online Friday 2026 has adopted the theme “E-commerce Without Boundaries”, aiming to foster comprehensive, inclusive and sustainable development of the sector, she said.

The programme is built around five pillars: no regional gap, by extending digital opportunities to every locality; no scale gap, by helping small and medium-sized enterprises, cooperatives and household businesses access tools, customers, and ecosystems comparable to those available to large corporations; no generation gap, by creating a friendly, accessible and safe digital shopping environment for consumers of all ages; no skill gap, by broadening access to digital literacy and online business training; and no legal gap, by building a transparent, standardised marketplace that protects digital consumers.

Nguyễn Hữu Tuấn, director of the Centre for E-commerce and Digital Technology Development, said this year’s programme had secured coordinated participation from provinces and cities nationwide.

The week-long campaign will feature online shopping promotions from December 10 to 16, with a focus on stimulating consumer demand and boosting sales of Vietnamese goods and products under the One Commune One Product (OCOP) programme.

A major in-person exhibition and digital experience event will take place at Hanoi Museum on December 10 and 11, featuring five dedicated zones reflecting the programme's five pillars. These will include exhibition booths, a main stage hosting thematic seminars, an e-commerce clinic, a livestreaming zone and an online-to-offline promotional experience area.

A ceremony marking National E-commerce Day will be held at 9am on December 11 on the museum's main stage.

The campaign will peak on December 12, featuring a nationwide digital shopping festival and promotions across online platforms. — VNS