Sale season in Vietnam doesn't start with one big day. It rolls from 11.11 into Black Friday, then 12.12, then straight into Tết shopping. For most consumers, that's a few well-timed carts. For heavy shoppers, it's simply a busier version of their normal week.
So who are Vietnam's Heavy Shoppers? They're people who already buy online at least once a week. They make up half of the country's online shoppers; they know the platforms inside out, and they decide quickly. If your brand wants a share of sale-season spending, this is the audience to understand first.
Using data from the TGM Vietnam E-Commerce Insights 2025, here are the portraits, what they buy, and how to reach them before the rush.
Based on Vietnam’s Online Consumer Segments, we split Vietnam's online consumers into three groups by how often they shop online: Heavy, Moderate, and Light. Heavy Shoppers are the largest, at 50% of online consumers. Moderate Shoppers account for nearly a third and typically shop online two to three times a month. Light Shoppers make up 16% and mostly buy when a specific need comes up.
What sets Heavy Shoppers apart isn't just frequency. Online shopping is built into their routine, so they don't need to be convinced that buying online works. They need a reason to choose you over the hundreds of offers competing for the same cart during sale season.
That makes them a high-value but demanding audience. They compare fast, they know what a good deal looks like, and they come back often. Win them once and you get many more chances to sell again.
Heavy Shoppers don't behave the same way in every category. Here's how four key groups search and buy.
For Heavy Shoppers, clothing and footwear are online-first categories. In both, buying online is the most common behavior, followed by searching online. In other words, the full journey from discovery to checkout happens on a screen, and stores play a much smaller role.
How to win them: Since they search and buy online, the listing itself has to do the selling: Optimize digital discoverability and content completeness. Ensure product pages feature comprehensive visual and technical assets early in the cycle so that the digital listing independently bridges the consideration-to-purchase gap.
Online is the main channel for beauty purchases among Heavy Shoppers of every age. The one group that stands out is 35–44s, who have the highest share of in-store beauty buying of the four age groups.
How to win them: Balance acquisition strategies by deploying digital-first incentives for younger demographics while bridging online and offline experiences for older, omnichannel-reliant segments through hybrid touchpoints. For 35–44s, connect online and offline: let them discover online and pick up or test in-store, or offer store vouchers with online purchases.
In personal care, the 25–34 age group leads online purchases among Heavy Shoppers. These are everyday essentials, which makes sale season a natural moment to buy in bulk.
How to win them: Restocking is routine for them, so the brand that makes it cheaper and easier during sale season is the one they'll stick with.
Medicine and vitamins are a smaller category, but a telling one. Among Heavy Shoppers, women buy medicine or vitamins online more than men: 72% vs 67%. Even in a category where trust matters a lot, the large majority of both groups buy online.
How to Win: trust signals come first. Show official store badges, authenticity guarantees and clear product information. Wellness bundles for the family also fit well into Tết gifting.
Want to dive deeper? Explore the full data on TGM StatBox, or simply create a free account to browse Italy's pet charts, save your favorites, and instantly unlock exact figures
Knowing the segments is the first step. Here's what the data says about what moves them.
Compete on price, then prove the savings
Price is the number one value driver for Heavy Shoppers, followed by money saved on products. These are two different things: a low price gets attention, but showing how much they save (original price, discount, bundle value) is what helps close the sale.
Free shipping and easy returns tie for third place among value drivers. For a group that shops every week, delivery costs add up quickly, and a smooth return policy lowers the risk of trying a new brand. During sale season, free-shipping thresholds and clear return terms can be the difference between your product and a competitor's.
In Vietnam, cash on delivery (COD) is still the leading payment method, followed by bank transfer. Make sure both are easy to use at checkout. A deal can be lost at the last step if the preferred payment option is missing.
Heavy Shoppers are on the platforms every week, so they see offers early and compare them across brands. Get listings, stock and promotions live before 11.11, then keep the momentum going through Black Friday, 12.12 and into Tết Holiday.
Vietnam's Heavy Shoppers are half of the online market and the most active buyers in every sale cycle. They shop online by default, care most about price and real savings, and expect free shipping, easy returns and familiar payment options. Brands that understand how each segment searches and buys can reach them first and stay in their carts all season.
Read more about Holiday Shopping 2026: What Gen Z and Older Shoppers Value and Black Friday: The Discount Is Not the Whole Deal to get broader views on how the world is operating during the holiday shopping season.
Who are Vietnam's Heavy Shoppers? See TGM StatBox data on how they buy fashion, beauty and wellness online, and how brands can win them this sale season.
The TGM Vietnam E-Commerce Insights 2025 study is based on a large-scale quantitative survey designed to offer a localized perspective on Vietnam’s digital shopping habits. The research targets a nationally representative sample of Vietnamese adults aged 18 to 54, providing detailed insights by demographic and shopping behavior segments.
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