Social commerce

Social commerce is buying and selling that happens inside a social media platform: users see a product in a video, livestream or post and order it without leaving the app. In Vietnam, TikTok Shop is the most visible example.

What is social commerce?

Vietnam’s E-commerce Law No. 122/2025/QH15, effective July 1, 2026, calls this group “social networks conducting e-commerce”: social networks that integrate at least one of the following functions to support contract formation: online communication, online ordering, or livestream selling. The law lists it as one of four types of e-commerce platform, alongside direct business platforms, intermediary platforms such as Shopee, and integrated platforms (Vietnam Official Gazette, E-commerce Law No. 122/2025/QH15, issued December 2025).

In practice there are three levels:

1. Closing orders through comments and messages on Facebook or Zalo, a Vietnamese messaging app. Payment and delivery are handled outside the platform.
2. Social networks with a built-in shopping cart: short videos and livestreams tagged with products, and ordering inside the app, as on TikTok Shop.
3. E-commerce marketplaces that add content: Shopee Video, Shopee Live. They come from the opposite direction but end up in the same place.

Why is social commerce in the spotlight in 2025 and 2026?

In Vietnam, TikTok Shop has nearly caught up with Shopee. In the first 9 months of 2026, Shopee held 53% of GMV and TikTok Shop held 45%. TikTok Shop grew 38% year over year, while Shopee grew 12% (YouNet ECI, Vietnam E-commerce Report Q3 2026, October 2026).

Traditional marketplaces have had to follow. In Q2 2026, orders from livestreams and short videos on Shopee grew more than 50% year over year and made up more than 25% of Shopee’s physical goods orders in Southeast Asia. Shopee orders coming through Facebook grew more than 85% quarter over quarter (Sea Limited, Second Quarter 2026 Results, August 2026).

On the buyer side, a Q&Me survey of 245 live commerce users in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi found that livestreams account for about 67% of this group’s online spending. About 50% buy mainly from brands’ official accounts, more than those who buy through influencers (Q&Me, Vietnam Live Commerce Market Trends and Buyer Behavior, April 2026). The sample is small and includes only people who already shop through livestreams, so do not read it as a figure for the whole market.

What does social commerce include?

• Shoppable short videos: shot by the brand itself or made by creators.
• Livestream selling: from July 1, 2026, sellers must give the livestreamer full supporting documents before going live, under Article 23 of the E-commerce Law.
• Creators and KOCs: ordinary users who review products, usually paid commission through affiliate marketing.
• Ads that boost content: GMV Max on TikTok Shop, Meta ads pointing to a store.

Social commerce vs search-based e-commerce

The two models are merging. Many people watch a video on TikTok and then go to Shopee to check the price, or the other way around.

Frequently asked questions

Does selling through Facebook or Zalo count as social commerce?

Yes, in its simplest form. When orders are closed through messages, the brand has to handle payment, delivery and measuring revenue from ads on its own.

Can social commerce replace a D2C channel?

Not entirely. Social commerce is a sales channel, and most of the customer data stays with the platform. A D2C channel lets the brand keep that data and its relationship with customers over the long term.

If you want to see which content and ad channels are actually driving orders on TikTok Shop, Shopee or Lazada, Adtek’s Brand Commerce team can talk it through with you on our contact page.