If you run a small or medium business in Vietnam, the moment to build your Tet 2027 marketing campaign is now. Tet Dinh Mui lands on Saturday 6 February 2027, and shopping demand starts climbing 4 to 9 weeks before the holiday, so the real selling window opens in early January. This guide gives you a countdown timeline, a budget framework and a channel playbook so your campaign is live and warm before the ad auction gets crowded and costs climb. Three months of runway is the difference between leading the season and paying premium rates to catch up in January.
Why Tet 2027 planning cannot wait until January
The calendar is the first reason. Mung 1 Tet is Saturday 6 February 2027 and giao thua is Friday 5 February. Data from the Metric platform shows Tet related demand rising sharply about 4 to 9 weeks before the holiday, which places the peak buying window from early January to early February 2027.
Working backwards from there, your offers, creative and audiences need to be finished in December. That pushes the groundwork, meaning brand content, product photography and list building, into November. There is a second reason to move early: during peak season the ad auctions on Google, Meta and TikTok get crowded and CPM climbs, so businesses that built warm audiences and email or Zalo lists ahead of time pay less to reach the same people and keep more of their budget for the days that actually convert.
What the Tet shopping data tells SMEs
The prize is large, but shoppers behave in a specific way. A few sourced numbers frame the opportunity.
Tet demand is forecast to rise more than 72% above the annual average, with sweets and confectionery demand doubling and beer and soft drinks tripling (Metric, via VnEconomy).
In the six weeks before Tet 2026, from 15 December 2025 to 25 January 2026, online sales reached about VND 67.7 trillion across more than 542 million products and nearly 412,000 storefronts (Metric, via cafef).
TikTok Shop reached about VND 34.6 trillion against Shopee at VND 33.1 trillion in that window, and TikTok Shop grew more than twice as fast as the previous six weeks (Metric).
63% of consumers chose online platforms for Tet 2026, up from 48% in 2024, while orders from Vietnamese brands rose 30% versus Tet 2025 (Insight Asia and Shopee).
Spending is cautious: more than 70% of households keep their budget on essentials and about 60% plan to cut non essential purchases (Worldpanel by Numerator).
The pattern for an SME is clear. Demand surges, buyers move online and especially to short video commerce, yet they stay value focused. Win them with useful content, honest bundles and a smooth checkout rather than the deepest discount. For most SMEs, a clear offer, a believable reason to buy before Tet and fast delivery beat a price war you cannot afford to win.
The Tet 2027 countdown timeline
Treat Tet as three phases rather than one big push. Each phase has a different job, and skipping the first one is the most common and most expensive mistake.
| Phase | Window | Goal | Key actions | Primary channels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Warm up | November to mid December 2026 | Build brand and warm audiences | Publish Tet content, run photo and video shoots, grow email and Zalo lists, build retargeting pools | Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Zalo, blog |
| 2. Peak | Mid December 2026 to 3 February 2027 | Convert demand into orders | Scale conversion ads, launch bundles and promotions, go live on TikTok Shop, push shipping cutoff reminders | TikTok Shop, Shopee, Google, Meta |
| 3. After Tet | February to early March 2027 | Keep the new customers | Thank you messages, loyalty and refill offers, khai xuan content, bring buyers back | Zalo, email, Meta retargeting |
How to split your Tet budget by phase
There is no single correct split, but this starting point works for most SMEs and keeps you from spending everything in the final crowded weeks.
| Phase | Suggested share | Where it goes |
|---|---|---|
| Warm up | about 25% | Content, creative and list building, early retargeting pools |
| Peak | about 60% | Conversion ads, promotions, livestream and shopping campaigns |
| After Tet | about 15% | Retention, loyalty and bringing buyers back |
Two rules sit on top of the table. First, front load some awareness spend in November and early December while CPM is lower, so your peak campaigns retarget an audience that already knows you. Second, hold back about 10% as a reserve for the final 10 days before Tet, when purchase intent is highest and a well timed push pays for itself.
Channel playbook for Tet 2027
Pick channels by the job they do, not by habit.
Google: capture high intent demand. People search for specific Tet gifts and categories, so run Performance Max and Search with Tet creative, and make sure your Shopping feed and landing pages are ready in December.
Meta, meaning Facebook and Instagram: build audiences in November, then scale conversion and retargeting campaigns through the peak. Vertical video and carousel offers work best.
TikTok Shop: this is the discovery engine. Short video, livestream and affiliate or KOC selling drove it past Shopee in the weeks before Tet 2026, so plan a livestream calendar and seed creators early.
Zalo: the retention channel. Use Zalo OA broadcasts for offers to existing customers and ZNS for order and shipping updates, which keeps service load down during the busiest weeks.
One Tet that stays with me was a campaign for an eyewear shop. We split the media budget 20% to Google, 40% to Meta and 40% to TikTok Shop, because at Tet the customers who are ready to spend are easier to reach on social than on search. Meta and TikTok Shop carried the result. TikTok in particular is where the trend lives right now, so it pulled in new buyers and closed them fast, often in the comments or on a livestream. That season the shop reached about 1,600 orders, up around 40% on the year before. My takeaway for SMEs: put your budget where your buyers already are during Tet, and let search play a support role.
Common Tet campaign mistakes SMEs make
Most Tet campaigns fail in predictable ways. Check your plan against this list before you spend.
Starting in January, when CPM is already high and the warm audience you needed was never built.
Ignoring the shipping cutoff, or failing to show it clearly, so last minute orders arrive after Tet and turn into complaints.
Over discounting and cutting into margin, when a gift bundle or a free gift threshold would protect profit and raise the average order.
Having no plan for after Tet, so the new customers you paid to acquire are never brought back.
Running generic creative that ignores the Dinh Mui year and the emotion of Tet, which blends into every other seller feed.
Frequently asked questions
When should an SME start its Tet 2027 marketing campaign?
Start now, in November 2026. Tet is on 6 February 2027 and demand climbs 4 to 9 weeks before, so your offers and creative must be ready by December. November is for brand content, product photography and growing your email and Zalo lists.
Which channel sells best during Tet in Vietnam?
It depends on the job. TikTok Shop leads for discovery and impulse buying and outsold Shopee before Tet 2026, Google captures high intent gift searches, Meta scales conversion and retargeting, and Zalo keeps existing customers. Most SMEs need a mix rather than one channel.
How much should an SME spend on Tet advertising?
There is no fixed number, but a workable split is about 25% on the warm up phase, 60% on the peak and 15% after Tet, with roughly 10% held in reserve for the final 10 days. Front loading some awareness spend before CPM climbs lowers your cost during the peak.
Planning a Tet 2027 campaign and want it built and running on time? Webie Vietnam helps SMEs with the full stack, from strategy and creative to Google, Meta and TikTok Shop. See our digital marketing services, or talk to us on +84 969 838 467 or at huyen.dang@webie.com.vn.
