Metric：越南电商格局生变 TikTok Shop春节前销售额首次超越Shopee

Vietnam's e-commerce landscape witnessed a major shift ahead of the Lunar New Year.

1. TikTok Shop surpassed Shopee for the first time in the 6 weeks before the 2026 Lunar New Year (Dec 15 - Jan 25), generating sales of VND 34.6 trillion. Total market sales reached VND 67.7 trillion, with over 542 million items sold.

2. TikTok Shop's growth rate was more than double that of Shopee, indicating a structural shift in consumer preference.

Key Lunar New Year consumption trends and practical insights:

1. Top-selling categories included cosmetics, women's apparel, home & living goods, men's apparel, and F&B. Children's clothing, such as Áo Dài for kids, performed exceptionally well.

2. Zodiac-themed products (Year of the Horse memorabilia, red envelopes, apparel) saw a 77% sales increase and a 106% volume surge, involving 14,000 shops, highlighting festive marketing opportunities.

Platform strategy implications:

1. TikTok Shop's ability to maintain stable sales on non-promotional days was a key factor in its overtaking of Shopee.

2. The content-driven model demonstrated clear advantages for product categories suitable for short-video promotion, offering lessons for boosting regular sales.

Consumer Trends and User Behavior Observations:

1. New Year spending concentrated on traditionally high-demand categories like cosmetics and women's apparel, with a notable surge in children's clothing demand, especially ethnic attire like children's Áo Dài.

2. Zodiac culture products were a highlight; 'Horse'-themed goods generated VND 251.4 billion in sales, a 77% increase, revealing significant potential for festive theme marketing.

Implications for Brand Channel Strategy and Product Development:

1. The shift to TikTok Shop, growing at more than twice the rate, underscores the引流 advantage of video content platforms, suggesting brands should strengthen short-video promotions.

2. The content-driven model proves more effective in fashion and festive goods, indicating a need to develop new products suited for intuitive visual presentation.

Peak Season Leverage and Pricing Competition:

1. The pre-holiday peak significantly boosted sales; the 6-week period neared the volume of the previous year's 9-week period, offering brands a chance to refine pricing strategies.

2. While sales spiked on promotional days (e.g., 11/11), stable sales on non-promotional days were more critical, necessitating optimized price elasticity to manage competition.

Growth Market and Demand Shift Opportunities:

1. Total e-commerce sales in Vietnam reached VND 67.7 trillion in the 6 pre-Lunar New Year weeks, involving 412,000 shops, indicating an expanding market with vast sales potential.

2. Surging demand for children's clothing and zodiac-themed products (106% volume growth) suggests sellers should focus on festive items like Year of the Horse mascots to expand market share.

Platform Strategies and Learnable Insights:

1. TikTok Shop's consistent sales on regular days were crucial to surpassing Shopee; sellers should learn from this by reducing promotional dependency and improving year-round operations.

2. The content-driven e-commerce model is highly effective for short-video promoted categories; sellers can collaborate with content platforms to optimize product displays.

Risk Warnings and Opportunity Capture:

1. Intensified platform competition and consumer channel reallocation necessitate risk diversification to avoid over-reliance on a single platform.

2. Festive demand typically peaks 4-9 weeks before the holiday; sellers should stock early to capitalize on seasonal items like Áo Dài.

Product Manufacturing and Design Requirements:

1. Stable demand for core Lunar New Year categories like cosmetics and home goods, with outstanding performance in children's clothing, especially Áo Dài, suggests factories should increase production of ethnic apparel.

2. Hot-selling zodiac-themed products ('Horse' mascots reached VND 251.4 billion in sales, 3.4 million units) indicate a need for factories to design diverse items like souvenirs and festive decorations.

Business Opportunities and E-commerce Advancement Insights:

1. Significant sales growth for festive goods (e.g., 106% volume increase for zodiac items) presents a prime opportunity for seasonal custom manufacturing.

2. TikTok Shop's rise highlights the potential of content-driven commerce; factories should advance digitalization, using short-video platforms to showcase products and expand channels.

Production Optimization Directions:

1. Demand concentrates in the pre-holiday period; factories can adjust capacity to align with the 4-9 week demand ramp-up.

2. Expanding e-commerce sales volumes necessitate digitized production processes to enhance efficiency and handle order peaks.

Industry Development Trends:

1. Vietnam's e-commerce market in the 6 pre-Lunar New Year weeks nearly matched the volume of the previous year's 9-week period, indicating significant market expansion and intensified competition.

2. TikTok Shop overtaking Shopee and the rise of the content-driven model signal a dominant trend towards video-based promotion.

Client Pain Points and Solution Directions:

1. Promotional Dependency Pain Point: Shopee's sales fluctuated on non-promotional days, unlike TikTok's stability. Service providers can develop tools to enhance daily operational steadiness.

2. Promotion Challenges: Trend-driven items like zodiac mascots perform better on content platforms. Providers should offer solutions for short-video production and data analytics.

New Technology Application Insights:

1. Short-video content's advantage in festive consumption scenarios suggests service providers can promote AI recommendation tech to optimize campaign effectiveness.

2. Market data (e.g., >2x growth rates) indicates strong demand for digital tools, necessitating enhanced real-time monitoring services from providers.

Latest Platform Dynamics and Competitive Insights:

1. TikTok Shop's pre-Lunar New Year sales (VND 34.6 trillion) surpassed Shopee for the first time, with growth exceeding 200%, reflecting a shift in the platform landscape.

2. TikTok holds a clear advantage for trending items like Year of the Horse mascots and fashion categories, making content promotion a core strategy.

Implications for Merchant Acquisition and Operations Management:

1. Consistent sales on non-promotional days are critical; marketplaces can learn from TikTok Shop's model and optimize merchant acquisition to attract a diverse product range.

2. Concentrated demand during the peak season (e.g., the 6-week period) requires strengthened operational management, aligned with the 4-9 week demand build-up.

Risk Mitigation and Trend Awareness:

1. Consumer channel reallocation introduces competitive risks; platforms must avoid over-reliance on promotions and enhance daily attractiveness.

2. While the market is expanding, fragmentation is increasing. Platforms should monitor seasonal product demand to mitigate risks of outdated inventory.

Industry Developments and New Questions:

1. TikTok Shop overtaking Shopee signals a shift of consumer spending towards content platforms, intensifying competition.

2. Total market sales of VND 67.7 trillion in the 6 pre-holiday weeks nearly equalled the previous year's 9-week volume, indicating rapid e-commerce market expansion.

Business Model and Policy Implications:

1. The content-driven e-commerce model demonstrates a competitive edge in festive scenarios (e.g., short-videos boosting zodiac product sales), warranting research into model innovation.

2. Concentrated growth in demand for zodiac cultural goods (106% volume increase) reflects socio-cultural influences on consumption, suggesting policy support for cultural product development.

Research Case Studies and Data Highlights:

1. The contrast between promotional and non-promotional performance (TikTok's stable sales) reveals structural changes, providing material for consumer behavior analysis.

2. Category structures, like the prominence of children's apparel, offer case data for industry reports, aiding policy optimization for e-commerce regulation.