Booming digital market

The local e-commerce market has surpassed US$30 billion this year, recording growth of 25% and accounting for two-thirds of the value of the digital economy, according to the Vietnam E-commerce and Digital Economy Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

This surge has been driven by widespread internet access, smartphone penetration, and the development of online shopping platforms and social networks. At the same time, consumers are shifting their purchasing habits from in-store shopping to online channels due to convenience, competitive pricing and a wider range of choices. This trend has not only boosted production and distribution, but has also created jobs for hundreds of thousands of workers in the logistics and technology sectors.

However, the rapid growth of e-commerce has also brought about serious consequences, particularly the widespread proliferation of counterfeit and imitation goods and trade fraud. In 2025, market surveillance forces have nationwide detected and handled more than 23,400 cases involving counterfeit goods, most of which occurred on e-commerce platforms and social media. The infringing products range from cosmetics, clothin,g and footwear to electronic devices, and even health supplements and medicines.

In early November, the Hanoi market surveillance authority uncovered and dealt with a warehouse in Phu Xuyen commune containing 2,000 counterfeit handbags bearing the trademarks of many well-known and protected brands such as Hermes, Gucci and YSL. According to the warehouse owner’s statement, the wholesale purchase price of each bag was only between VND50,000 (US$1.9) and VND60,000 (whereas genuine products would cost from tens to hundreds of millions of VND), but they were later advertised and sold on e-commerce platforms and social networks via anonymous accounts at prices of several hundred thousand dong per item.

Creating healthy, safe digital business environment

It can be seen that the greatest challenge now in preventing counterfeit goods in the e-commerce environment stems from legal regulations that have yet to keep pace with market developments.

Currently, on e-commerce platforms and social networks, seller identities and product quality are difficult to verify, creating loopholes for counterfeit goods to enter the market. This lack of transparency undermines consumer confidence and causes economic losses estimated at trillions of VND each year.

In addition, existing penalties are not sufficiently deterrent; fines are low compared with the enormous profits from counterfeit production, prompting many offenders to repeat violations even after being penalised multiple times.

Tran Huu Linh, head of the Agency for Domestic Market Surveillance and Development under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said that management methods for the e-commerce market need to be renewed. In particular, greater application of information technology and data analysis is required to monitor the market and provide early warnings of potential risks. Automated monitoring systems using artificial intelligence to detect counterfeit products based on images, reviews and transaction data should be deployed more widely.

Renewing management approaches and strengthening control over the digital space are seen as key to enabling market surveillance forces to effectively protect consumers and create a safe and healthy digital business environment.

Vietnam, RoK cooperate to combat counterfeits, protect consumers

The Vietnam Directorate of Market Surveillance (DMS) has collaborated with the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) and Korean Intellectual Property Protection Agency (KOIPA) to host a workshop discussing counterfeits of those from the Republic of Korea’s brands in Vietnam.