New fees rock profit margins for sellers

Vietnam’s e-commerce platforms are entering a new phase, competing by extracting more revenue from sellers already struggling with razor-thin margins.

- By Hara Nguyen

Starting May 23, Shopee Vietnam raised fixed fees across multiple product categories. Health and beauty products saw fees increase by roughly 3 percentage points to 16-17 per cent, while electronics accessories such as charging cables, phone cases and screen protectors rose by around 4 percentage points to about 15 per cent.

Other major platforms have introduced similar adjustments. TikTok Shop increased commission fees after May 9, with fashion products rising from 14.5 to over 16 per cent, while mother-and-baby products climbed from 14.5 to nearly 18 per cent.

Meanwhile, Lazada Vietnam announced that its successful order processing fee would rise slightly to 6 per cent, VAT included, starting May 26. The platform also introduced an additional infrastructure fee of VND3,000 (11 US cents) for every successfully delivered order.

Platforms generally justify these increases as necessary to improve services and expand seller support. However, sellers argue that the overall financial burden has become increasingly difficult to absorb.

When factoring in payment fees of around 6 per cent, average platform commissions of 16 per cent, taxes of 1.5 per cent, and voucher subsidies of 4-5 per cent, along with advertising, marketing, and operational expenses, total costs can approach 50 per cent of an order’s value.