Many online shops 'make money' despite difficult market

While many local brands and small shops have had to leave the market, e-commerce has witnessed a growth breakthrough for many brands.

Vietnamese consumers are increasingly familiar with online shopping - Photo: QUANG DINH

The total revenue of the fashion industry on e-commerce platforms reached thousands of billions of VND in the first half of 2025.

According to the latest data from the market data analysis platform YouNet ECI, the total revenue of the genuine fashion industry (excluding accessories) on the three platforms Shopee, Lazada and Tiki in the first 6 months of 2025 reached VND 9,069 billion , an increase of 21% over the same period in 2024.

Many online shops grow rapidly

It is noteworthy that all top 10 brands with sustainable growth in e-commerce are Vietnamese brands, with double-digit growth.

According to YouNet ECI, brands that record outstanding revenue often focus on Gen Z and male customers, two segments that are dominating e-commerce platforms.

Of which, Coolmate leads the ranking with revenue of more than 64 billion VND, up 37% over the same period.

Coolmate's success is explained by YouNet ECI experts from its strategy of focusing on minimalist, highly applicable clothing for men, while expanding to women's products.

This brand also invests heavily in marketing, cooperates with KOLs and builds relevant content such as outfit tips and daily sports activities to create a community of loyal customers.

Coolmate start-up employees work at the warehouse - Photo: COOLMATE

Another case is Calem.Club, a fashion brand targeting Gen Z. Although it does not own any offline stores, Calem.Club effectively capitalizes on the "shoppertainment" trend.

Accordingly, this brand cleverly used trending videos on TikTok to lead customers to livestream and close orders through TikTok Shop or Shopee. This method helped the brand quickly break through, becoming a notable face in e-commerce.

Need to change to survive

YouNet ECI experts commented that the breakthrough of Coolmate, Calem.Club and many other local brands shows that Vietnamese fashion is strongly professionalizing on digital platforms.

Gen Z and the younger generation consider online shopping a daily habit, so launching trendy products, combined with an effective digital communication strategy, helps Vietnamese brands not only survive but also grow.

However, the e-commerce picture is not entirely bright. A report from the market data analysis platform Metric.vn shows that in the first 6 months of 2025 alone, the number of shops generating orders decreased by more than 80,000 compared to the same period in 2024 and decreased by more than 55,000 compared to the second half of last year.

On the other hand, YouNet ECI data shows that the remaining sellers recorded positive results: average revenue increased by 27.6% compared to the same period, the average value of each product also increased by 5.4%. In particular, the Mall Shop group, which was systematically operated and had strict quality control, achieved a growth rate of up to 34%.

Mr. Nguyen Phuong Lam - Director of YouNet ECI - emphasized: "Customers increasingly value brands, reliability and shopping experiences instead of just chasing low prices. Online sellers are forced to build long-term reputation, understand consumer behavior and invest systematically in operations if they want to survive."

Sharing the same view, Mr. Nguyen Viet Dung, a marketing expert, recommends that small shops should focus on niche segments - market segments that large enterprises have not yet covered - such as handmade products, regional specialties or "trendy" products. "This is a promised land if you know how to operate properly," he said.

YouNet ECI forecasts that Vietnam's e-commerce will continue to maintain a compound annual growth rate of 35% until 2028. The two main drivers of this growth are the "shoppertainment" model and the trend of increasing basket size.

NHAT XUAN

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nhieu-shop-online-hai-ra-tien-bat-chap-thi-truong-kho-khan-20250908181354797.htm