How close is TikTok Shop to Shopee? What buyers and sellers face

A small cosmetics seller opens the month-end report and sees more orders, but the money left after fees and ads has not grown. This is an illustrative scenario, not a measurement.

This article reads Vietnam e-commerce data for 4 platforms: Shopee, TikTok Shop, Lazada and Tiki. The 2 main data sets, from Metric.vn and YouNet ECI, are read through news coverage (secondary sources). It also uses a notice from the National Competition Commission and summaries of the 2025 E-Commerce Law, checked on November 15, 2026.

It asks how close TikTok Shop has come to Shopee, why the 2 sources differ, and what is changing for buyers and sellers. It does not advise choosing a platform.

Key points

• For the same 4 platforms, 9-month growth in 2026 is 44.47% per Metric.vn but 22% per YouNet ECI. The totals differ far less than the growth rates.
• Both sources show TikTok Shop growing faster than Shopee. Per Metric, the Q3 2026 sales share gap is about 1.7 points, from about 14.3 in a comparison period VnBusiness does not name (another article citing Metric says the same period of 2025).
• Per YouNet for the first half of 2026, Shopee still leads (54.5% against 43.4%). TikTok Shop leads in fashion but trails in beauty, fast-moving goods and electronics.
• In the first half of 2026, 68% of people YouNet surveyed named price the top factor. In Q3 it reports 74% choosing quality and 67% price.
• TikTok Shop raised its transaction fee from 5% to 6% on May 9, 2026; Shopee proposed postponing a new fee program after the National Competition Commission stepped in (the source gives no final outcome).
• The 2025 E-Commerce Law took effect on July 1, 2026 and covers livestream selling. Only summaries of it could be read.

How close is TikTok Shop to Shopee

Both sources point the same way, but the size of the narrowing depends on source and period. According to VnBusiness (October 29, 2026), citing Metric's Q3 2026 report, TikTok Shop's Q3 sales rose about 76% year on year against about 26% for Shopee.

The Q3 sales share gap is about 1.7 points, against about 14.3 in the comparison period. VnBusiness does not name the period; the business section of Vietnam Law Newspaper (October 28, 2026), also citing Metric, says it is the same period of 2025, nearly 15 down to just over 1.

Per YouNet ECI for the first half of 2026 (Tuoi Tre News, August 12, 2026), Shopee held 54.5%, up 15%. TikTok Shop held 43.4% (from 42%), up 27%, far slower than the 148% a year earlier.

That half-year gap is 11.1 points (this article's subtraction); do not set it beside Q3's 1.7 points, as period and source differ. The sources do not say which side led in Q3.

Why the 2 sources give different numbers

The totals differ by about 10% in the first half; growth rates differ much more.

• First half of 2026, Metric.vn: about VND291.6 trillion, up 44.11% (Viet Bao, July 25, 2026).
• First half of 2026, YouNet ECI: VND264.8 trillion, up 19% (Tuoi Tre News, August 12, 2026).
• 9 months of 2026, Metric.vn: about VND442 trillion, up 44.47% (VnBusiness, October 29, 2026).
• 9 months of 2026, YouNet ECI: VND411.7 trillion, up 22%, from its EcomHeat platform (The Investor, October 26, 2026).

This article works back to the 2025 base (its own inference, rounded): first half of 2025 about VND202.3 trillion under Metric and 222.5 under YouNet; first 9 months about 305.9 and 337.5.

The 2 sources flip: in 2026 Metric is about 7 to 10% above YouNet, in 2025 about 9% below (this article's arithmetic). So growth rates differ widely. Q3 2026 is close: Metric gives about VND150.4 trillion, and the gap between the 2 YouNet figures is about 146.9 (this article's subtraction). No source explains the 2025 base, so no guess is made.

Some coverage mixes the 2 sets. VnBusiness (September 30, 2026) gives VND291.6 trillion attributed to YouNet, yet the 54.5% and 43.4% shares only fit 264.8 trillion (Shopee's 144.3 trillion over 264.8 is 54.5%, over 291.6 about 49.5%: this article's division).

In both sources sales grow faster than volume. Metric reports 9-month sales up 44.47% and volume up 12.46%; YouNet reports selling prices up over 20% each quarter, volume roughly flat. VnBusiness notes the category mix also changed, so prices of the same product may not have risen.

Where TikTok Shop is strong, and why

According to YouNet for the first half of 2026 (Tuoi Tre News, August 12, 2026), TikTok Shop leads in fashion while Shopee leads in 3 other categories.

• Fashion and accessories: 28.5% of GMV; TikTok Shop leads with 56.2% (from 53.6%).
• Beauty: Shopee 52.6%, TikTok Shop 46.5% (from 44.5%).
• Fast-moving consumer goods: Shopee 57.5%, TikTok Shop 37.7% (38.9% a year earlier).
• Home appliances and electronics: up 26%; Shopee 67.3% (down 3.9 points), TikTok Shop 28.2% (from 23%).

On causes, a YouNet ECI expert said TikTok Shop is expanding into higher-value categories, while Shopee benefits from its delivery network, warranty policies and long-built trust. In discovery-driven categories such as fashion, the article (not the expert) ties TikTok Shop's strength to short video, livestreams and influencers.

Buyers: price still matters, orders grow

According to YouNet for the first half of 2026 (Tuoi Tre News, August 12, 2026), the online Consumer Confidence Index (eCCI) was 122 points, high but lower in Q2 than in Q1. Price was the most important factor for 68% of respondents and promotions for 53%, while the importance of quality fell from 77% to 52%.

In Q3, The Investor (October 26, 2026) citing the eCCI reports 74% prioritizing quality (up 22 points from Q2, so about 52% in Q2: this article's inference) and 67% price.

According to Metric for the first half of 2026 (Viet Bao, July 25, 2026), orders of VND100,000 to 200,000 made up 22.9% of sales, the largest group, but orders of VND200,000 and above are gaining share.

This article's inference: the 2 pictures need not conflict. Buyers may compare prices more closely while each order grows because prices rose or items are bigger. The data cannot separate these.

Sellers: higher fees and closer oversight

According to Cong Thuong Newspaper (republished on the VCCI portal, May 4, 2026), citing TikTok Shop's notice to sellers, its transaction fee rose from 5% to 6% from May 9, 2026. VnBusiness (May 18, 2026) reports that Shopee raised its prepaid payment processing fee from 4.9% to 6%. The original fee notices were not read.

On May 28, 2026, the Ministry of Industry and Trade portal reported that the National Competition Commission had received many reports of platforms raising fees or adding new ones.

The Commission singled out Shopee's "display maintenance" program, planned from May 29, 2026: it would automatically deduct 1% of successful order revenue, which sellers could adjust from 1% to 50%. On May 27, 2026 Shopee reported its review and proposed a postponement. The Commission also asked Shopee and TikTok Shop to explain their other fees and will keep monitoring; no newer notice was found.

According to Metric, shops with orders in the first half of 2026 numbered 613,800, up 14.11% (Viet Bao, July 25, 2026). In Q3 there were 470,300, down 2.47% year on year and down 56,209 from Q2 (VnBusiness, October 29, 2026).

VnBusiness (September 30, 2026) instead reports, for the first 6 months, about 417,000 non-Mall shops, down 27% year on year (Mall about 20,000, down 25%), without naming a source. The direction differs from Metric, so no conclusion is drawn on whether seller numbers rise or fall.

The new law and livestreaming: what the law sets from July 1, 2026

The 2025 E-Commerce Law (No. 122/2025/QH15) was passed on December 10, 2025 and took effect on July 1, 2026. This article relies on 2 summaries, from VnEconomy (February 3, 2026) and Cong Ly Newspaper (republished on the VCCI portal, May 5, 2026); the original text on thuvienphapluat.vn was blocked to the tool.

According to VnEconomy, an official of the E-Commerce and Digital Economy Agency said the law sets 4 types of platform, including social networks with buying and selling functions. These must separate business accounts from personal ones and keep transaction data.

According to Cong Ly Newspaper (on the VCCI portal), livestream sellers must verify their identity electronically before selling, and livestream data must be kept for at least 1 year.

On tax, The Investor (January 6, 2026) reports that from July 1, 2025 platforms withhold 1% value-added tax and 0.5% personal income tax on revenue of individuals and household businesses (secondary).

This is not legal advice: check the original text. This article's inference: identity checks and data retention raise compliance costs, more for small sellers.

What to watch

These are indicators to watch, not advice on choosing a platform. The framework in the image below is this article's own, not from outside sources.

• Source, period and scope: note the source and period of each figure; compare growth only within the same source and period; find the original report before quoting.
• Shopee and TikTok Shop gap: follow the share gap quarter by quarter, not 1 quarter alone.
• Shops with orders: set them beside sales, because sales rising while shops fall may mean revenue is concentrating.
• Fees and oversight: platform fee notices, the National Competition Commission's responses, implementing documents for the law.
• Price, quality and order mix: the shares choosing price and quality in the eCCI, and the order mix by price band.

Common mistakes

1. Treating the figures for the 4 large platforms as all of Vietnam's e-commerce, when the articles measure only Shopee, TikTok Shop, Lazada and Tiki.
2. Taking 44% or 19% as the "real" growth without checking source and prior-year base.
3. Reading "closing in" as "has overtaken" or "has not overtaken" when the sources do not say. YouNet for the first half of 2026 puts Shopee ahead, while the Q3 sources read here do not say who led; the gap depends on the period.
4. Reading rising sales as every seller benefiting. Metric reports Q3 sales up 45.16% while shops with orders fell from Q2.

What is not known

The full original Metric and YouNet ECI reports could not be read (the Brands Vietnam page returned a 403), so every figure comes through news coverage. It is unclear why the 2025 base differs between the 2 sources.

The eCCI sample size is unknown, as is why the share choosing quality moved from 52% to 74% in 1 quarter. No source after July 1, 2026 confirms how the law is applied.

It is unclear whether seller numbers are rising or falling. No final outcome of the Commission's fee monitoring was found, and nothing measures the law's effect on small sellers. The inferences here have not been tested against data.