Vietnam's digital economy to grow 20% to $49 billion in 2026

Vietnam and Malaysia are expected to record the region's highest digital economy growth rates this year, according to the e-Conomy SEA 2026 report jointly released by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company.

Vietnam's digital economy is forecast to maintain double-digit growth across its major sectors, with total GMV reaching $49 billion, compared with 2025.

E-commerce accounts for two-thirds of digital economy

E-commerce is projected to generate $32 billion in GMV in Vietnam in 2026, up 22 percent from 2025, accounting for about two-thirds of the country's digital economy, the report said.

Vietnam is expected to have Southeast Asia's fastest-growing e-commerce market this year.

The sector's GMV is forecast to reach $61 billion by 2030.

Online travel is projected to grow 15 percent to $5 billion, while online media is expected to increase 17 percent to $7 billion.

Ride-hailing and food delivery services are forecast to expand 17 percent to $6 billion, as competition among service providers, including electric vehicle operators, intensifies.

Digital financial services are also expanding, with digital lending and payments recording growth.

Outstanding digital loans are projected to increase 34 percent to $14 billion, the fastest growth rate among segments of Vietnam's digital economy and across the region.

The value of digital payment transactions is forecast to reach $197 billion in 2026, up 21 percent year on year, and $302 billion by 2030.

Cashless transactions increased 38 percent in early 2026, the report said.

AI gains ground in shopping and travel planning

The report also found that generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is increasingly being used by Vietnamese consumers for shopping and travel planning.

Vietnam has approximately 45 million GenAI users, equivalent to 65 percent of its workforce, and leads Southeast Asia in daily engagement with the technology.

Two out of every five GenAI users in Vietnam interact with the technology daily.

Each user engages with an average of at least five AI tools, generating a combined 31 billion AI queries annually.

AI is the starting point for 44 percent of consumer journeys in Vietnam, while four out of five users are willing to delegate shopping tasks to AI agents.

According to the report, across Southeast Asia, specialized GenAI platforms have become the second-most popular starting point for travel planning, overtaking social media.