E-commerce giants raise commission fees

E-commerce giants raise commission fees

E-commerce platforms are increasing commission fees, but any adjustments may undermine seller confidence without fair and transparent policies.

Starting in April, top e-commerce platforms will simultaneously implement new fee structures, with commission rates increasing by 2-3 times their current levels.

Shopee will introduce a revised fee structure for non-Shopee Mall sellers. Specifically, commission rates for certain product categories will rise by up to 10 per cent. Electronic accessories and smart wearables will see their fixed fees triple, increasing to 9 per cent. Other categories such as fashion, beauty, and food and beverages will also be subject to new fees, reaching up to 10 per cent.

In addition to these adjustments, Shopee will discontinue its FreeShip Xtra programme from April. Instead, sellers will benefit from shipping fee discounts through free shipping vouchers for buyers. To compensate for this, the platform will increase its fixed commission to an average of 9.5 per cent and add a 5 per cent payment processing fee.

Shopee has clarified that FreeShip Xtra will transition into a new service known as the Shipping Fee Support Programme. The terms, participation policies, and associated benefits will remain unchanged.

Furthermore, Shopee has introduced PiShip, a service designed to reduce return shipping costs for sellers, covering orders returned by buyers or failed deliveries. Sellers can use this service free of charge for the first three weeks after signing up in the month of April.

Shopee also stated that the revised fee structure is part of its ongoing effort to enhance service quality and create an improved shopping experience for both buyers and sellers. The new structure is based on comprehensive market research and seller feedback, aiming to foster a competitive and sustainable e-commerce environment, it said.

At the same time, TikTok Shop is to roll out a revised commission structure, introducing incremental fee hikes across various categories. Standard sellers will see a 1 per cent increase, while official store sellers under the Shop Mall designation will face hikes of nearly 2 per cent.

The adjustments will extend across key retail segments, including electronics, fashion, groceries, health and beauty, and home and living. For standard sellers, commission rates will climb 1-3 percentage points, reaching 4 per cent.

Meanwhile, Shop Mall sellers will experience a sharper increase, with rates rising from the current maximum of 5.7 per cent to as high as 7.7 per cent.

Speaking with VIR, TikTok Vietnam’s representative Nguyen Lam Thanh said “to further enhance service quality and the seller experience, from the beginning of April, TikTok Shop will officially adjust the commission fees for sellers operating on the platform. Alongside this adjustment, we will intensify our support for sellers by continuing to improve the platform and subsidise campaign costs. TikTok Shop is committed to accompanying and supporting the long-term growth of sellers, especially local businesses.”

According to Thanh, the fixed fee structure for selling on TikTok Shop includes a commission ranging from 1 to 7.7 per cent, depending on whether the seller operates as a standard merchant or under the Mall programme, as well as the product category. The transaction fee remains unchanged at 5 per cent bringing the total fixed cost of doing business on the platform to 12.7 per cent.

Elsewhere, Lazada had already raised its commission rates in February, increasing the fixed fee from 3 to 4 per cent. The FreeShip package discount was reduced to 6 per cent of the order value, but sellers were no longer exempt from fixed fees. Consequently, sellers now pay approximately 15 per cent of their revenue to the platform, an increase of 2 per cent compared to previous rates.

According to a YouNet ECI report released in February on Vietnam’s e-commerce market, Shopee, TikTok Shop, and Lazada collectively account for 98.6 per cent of the market share.

Shopee and TikTok Shop continue to dominate, with gross merchandise value of $9.33 billion and $3.77 billion, respectively. Their revenue growth in 2024 soared by 41 per cent and 99 per cent on-year, respectively. Lazada holds a 5.5 per cent market share, generating $776.4 million in revenue. The report also noted that Shopee has 261,000 active sellers, TikTok Shop 113,000, and Lazada 104,000, meaning 478,000 sellers across the three platforms will be affected by the new fee policies.

The commission fee hikes could place significant pressure on sellers, particularly small businesses and individual entrepreneurs operating on these platforms. In response, the Vietnam e-Commerce and Digital Economy Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade announced on March 21 that it would collaborate with relevant agencies to assess the impact of these changes. The ministry has also requested that e-commerce platforms report their fee structures to ensure that market dominance is not being exploited.

Hoang Ninh, deputy director of the agency, noted that commission fees on e-commerce platforms vary and are influenced by each platform’s business strategy. If fees rise significantly, sellers may increase product prices to offset costs, directly impacting consumer purchasing power.

“The increase in commission fees must be based on transparent information and applied consistently across all sellers, including domestic and international businesses. Additionally, changes must be announced in advance, in compliance with legal regulations,” said Ninh.

He further emphasised that, under Decree 98, e-commerce platforms are required to disclose transaction fee policies to protect both sellers and consumers. Failure to notify sellers of policy changes in advance constitutes an administrative violation, carrying penalties ranging from $800 to $1,600.

Beyond commission fee concerns, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry has called for enhanced protections for sellers. It highlighted ongoing challenges sellers face, including sudden policy changes, arbitrary shop suspensions, restricted access to business data, and limited negotiation power.

“They can easily be subjected to unfavourable policies and lose bargaining power, such as abrupt changes to terms, unexplained suspensions or bans, and restricted data access. Such practices can be detrimental to small businesses,” Ninh said.

VIR