An analysis from Feedforce Vietnam (5/2025) indicates that up to 70% of Vietnamese users abandon their online shopping carts. The most common reason is additional fees, especially shipping costs.

Consumer behavior in Vietnamese e-commerce is entering a restructuring phase. While the market's primary concern used to be the depth of discounts, the current focus is on encouraging more frequent purchases without waiting for or hunting down discount codes. Shopee has redefined its strategy, making free shipping (Freeship) a key element and standard in the user shopping journey on its platform.

Shipping costs are a major hurdle that needs to be addressed in the online shopping journey. Photo: Shopee

Shipping costs are a major hurdle that needs to be addressed in the online shopping journey. Photo: Shopee

Specifically, Shopee recently launched the "Freeship 0D moi don" program, offering free shipping on all orders under 15 kg. This program doesn't require discount codes or impose order value limits, as long as the shipping and packaging conditions are met.

Shopee's freeship strategy aims to minimize and resolve friction-in-checkout, which describes user hesitation due to barriers in the payment process, such as shipping costs and manually entering discount codes.

The new freeship policy demonstrates its role in stimulating demand and showcasing user response when shipping costs are addressed. Photo: Shopee

The new freeship policy demonstrates its role in stimulating demand and showcasing user response when shipping costs are addressed. Photo: Shopee

Within a month of the program's trial and implementation, Shopee users saved over 2,800 billion VND in shipping costs, the highest amount recorded in the first half of 2025. According to the platform's statistics, the average number of products sold daily with the Freeship 0 dong promotion during this period nearly doubled compared to the previous months' average, contributing to sales growth for many sellers on the platform. The top 5 best-selling categories are electronic accessories and phones; shirts; skincare; household items; and makeup.

Many experts acknowledge the removal of barriers in online shopping, such as shipping costs, as a key factor influencing user experience, as consumers prioritize convenience and savings. This also helps sellers reach more customers.

Promoting flexible consumption through the subscription model

Along with the "Freeship 0D moi don" program, Shopee launched ShopeeVIP, a subscription service where consumers pay a recurring fee for continuous access to a range of benefits without individual transactions. For 29,000 VND per month, ShopeeVIP automatically provides over 200 discount codes, including up to 20% off, 4-hour super-fast freeship codes, and ShopeePay payment codes with discounts up to 80,000 VND for travel and transportation services.

ShopeeVIP simplifies the shopping experience and maximizes user savings. Photo: Shopee

ShopeeVIP simplifies the shopping experience and maximizes user savings. Photo: Shopee

More broadly, ShopeeVIP shares similarities with monthly subscription models of other global e-commerce platforms, including Amazon Prime, where 80% of users renew their subscriptions due to the core value of fast freeship and seamless experience. In Vietnam, Shopee is localizing this model with reasonable pricing, adapting to the context of increasingly cautious consumer spending due to economic pressures.

"The core value of the Freeship program and ShopeeVIP is simplifying the shopping experience. readily available benefits empower users to make purchases without relying on promotional periods. They save not only money but also time, an increasingly valued factor in the digital age," a Shopee Vietnam representative explained.

Balancing benefits for sellers and buyers on the platform

By offering freeship and establishing the ShopeeVIP benefits package, Shopee not only activates consumer purchasing power but also reshapes how sellers approach the market.

For consumers, potential interruptions in the shopping journey, such as shipping costs, entering codes, or waiting for promotions, are minimized. This results in smoother, more regular spending habits, creating a stable transaction flow between buyers and sellers.

Combined with flexible platform operation changes, Shopee creates a reinvestment strategy to enhance logistics quality and shorten delivery times. This provides sellers access to buyers in an environment where "demand" is already activated. When every order, big or small, receives freeship and benefits, users don't need to combine orders or delay purchases.

The balance that this e-commerce platform aims for is the simultaneous reshaping of market behavior and strengthening long-term engagement with the platform for both sellers and buyers.

The Dan