HCM CITY — Vietnamese consumers are increasingly spreading their online shopping across a series of major sales events from October through the Tết (Lunar New Year), rather than concentrating purchases around a single occasion, according to a study commissioned by Meta.

The Holiday Shopping Study, conducted by France-based market research company Ipsos across 18 markets, found that Tết remained the most important shopping occasion in Việt Nam, with 85 per cent of respondents saying they shopped around the holiday. New Year’s Day was cited by 66 per cent, while 44 per cent participated in the December 12 (12.12) sales event.

The findings point to an extended peak shopping season covering major online campaigns such as 10.10, 11.11 and 12.12, followed by year-end promotions and Tết.

The survey, conducted in November 2025 among 14,473 respondents, also found that messaging is becoming an important part of interactions between consumers and businesses.

Separate research by Kantar, commissioned by Meta, showed that 61.2 per cent of Vietnamese online adults surveyed messaged a business every day, while 82.8 per cent said messaging was their preferred way of communicating with businesses.

Consumers also showed interest in personalised communication and AI-enabled interactions, with 85.6 per cent saying they liked receiving personalised messages about products, services and promotions. However, 70.2 per cent said they received too many messages from businesses, suggesting that relevance and timing may be more important than communication volume.

The Ipsos study found that 63 per cent of Vietnamese respondents turned to Facebook when connecting with businesses during peak shopping periods, compared with 33 per cent globally. Facebook Messenger was cited by 58 per cent, against 30 per cent globally.

According to Meta, AI was moving from experimentation into everyday business use, helping businesses create content, analyse performance, engage with customers and support sales. The company said AI-powered tools were becoming increasingly accessible to businesses of different sizes, including small businesses.

“Việt Nam is a highly dynamic market where consumers are increasingly comfortable engaging with businesses through messaging, while expectations for faster and more personalised experiences continue to grow,” said Khoi Le, country director of Meta in Việt Nam.

Nine million small businesses globally were using at least one of its AI-powered advertising creative tools as of July 2026, according to Meta.

The broader e-commerce market is also becoming increasingly competitive.

According to YouNet ECI, the combined gross merchandise value (GMV) of Shopee, TikTok Shop, Lazada and Tiki reached VNĐ264.8 trillion (US$10.2 billion) in the first half of 2026, up 19 per cent year-on-year. Shopee accounted for 54.5 per cent of the market, followed by TikTok Shop with 43.4 per cent.

Shopee accounted for 54.5 per cent of the market, while TikTok Shop held 43.4 per cent, with the two platforms together accounting for nearly all of the GMV tracked by the report.

The figures underline the increasingly diverse ways Vietnamese consumers discover and purchase products online, from traditional e-commerce platforms to social media and messaging services, as businesses prepare for the year-end and Tết shopping season. — BIZHUB/VNS