In Vietnam, e-commerce platforms race to raise fees, leaving sellers in distress

Facing the fee hike, many online vendors are worried about potential financial losses.

Lazada informed sellers on Tuesday that it would raise its processing fee for each successful order from five percent to six percent, including value-added tax, beginning Tuesday next week.

The platform will also impose a new infrastructure fee of VND3,000 (US$0.11) per successfully delivered order, replacing the current zero-fee policy.

Shopee is set to implement a broad increase in seller fees from Saturday for stores operating outside Shopee Mall, its official brand marketplace.

Commission fees will rise across several major categories, including fashion, beauty, mother-and-baby products, and fast-moving consumer goods.

Shopee is also increasing charges for its Voucher Xtra promotional package, with some rates climbing from roughly four percent to 5.5 percent of the product value.

Sellers participating in co-sponsored voucher campaigns will now shoulder a larger share of discount costs, contributing up to 40 percent of voucher values, capped at VND50,000 ($1.9) per item.

Additional increases are being applied to Shopee’s PiShip service package, which covers returned and failed deliveries.

Notably, the platform will begin automatically deducting at least one percent of the value of every successful order from sellers’ advertising accounts under a new ‘visibility maintenance’ policy designed to sustain product exposure on the platform, starting from May 29.

TikTok Shop has also revised up commission fees across most categories since May 9.

Sellers in fashion, health and beauty, mother-and-baby products and groceries are among the hardest hit, with commission rates now commonly ranging between nine percent and 17.8 percent, depending on product categories and store types.

Official brand stores continue to pay higher rates than regular shops, while categories such as electronics and home living products have also seen moderate fee increases.

Apart from platform commissions, sellers on TikTok Shop must still cover transaction fees, order-processing costs, and fees of shipping discrepancy, participation in free-shipping campaigns and advertising.

The simultaneous fee hikes are forcing merchants into a difficult dilemma.

If they do not adjust the prices up, they might suffer losses.

However, if they raise prices, they will lose customers.

“Making sales no longer guarantees profit,” said Kieu Thanh, a fashion seller in Ho Chi Minh City.

“If we are not careful, we end up taking heavy losses and falling into debt.

“The platforms keep increasing fees, putting me under pressure."

The fee spike has forced sellers to revise up the prices of their products, making these items on the platforms more expensive than those bought at stores or through social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram, and Zalo.

A fabric shop owner in Ho Chi Minh City’s Phu Thanh Ward shared that customers increasingly complain that online prices are higher than those at traditional markets.

“I genuinely want to offer lower prices, but the costs imposed by the platforms are simply too high,” the seller said.

For a single order, sellers must burden commissions, transaction fees, advertising, packaging, returns, and operational risks.

“If we don’t raise prices, we will lose money,” the seller said.

Platforms defend fee increases

Representatives of these platforms told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that the fee adjustments are necessary to sustain investments in infrastructure, technology, and ecosystem development.

TikTok Shop said that the decision followed a comprehensive evaluation of operational efficiency and market growth potential.

Meanwhile, Shopee stated that the fee increases would support continued investment in payment systems, transaction processing, seller training, and business optimization tools.

Besides, these companies noted that they are selectively reducing certain fees and introducing new seller-support initiatives.

In particular, Shopee announced a one-percent reduction in fixed fees for several essential goods categories beginning Saturday, including bottled water, dry food, baby skincare products, and household cleaning supplies.

The platform has also expanded AI-powered tools for sales analysis, product optimization, and business recommendations.

Meanwhile, TikTok Shop said that it continues to increase investment in programs and services aimed at supporting sellers, helping them achieve sustainable growth on the platform.

The platform has worked with ecosystem partners to optimize logistics and delivery services, especially for fresh agricultural produce and bulky goods.

It is also investing in AI tools to help sellers manage inventory, create content, optimize advertising, and reduce operating costs.

Domestic brands fear losing ground

For many Vietnamese businesses, the growing burden extends beyond profitability to long-term survival.

Lam, a seller of natural essential oils in Ho Chi Minh City, said his company’s profit margin had already fallen to just one percent after previous fee increases last year.

“Even earning one percent felt like a success because many businesses were already operating at a loss,” he said.

“But with the latest increases, many sellers may no longer survive.”

He warned that if more domestic producers shut down, Vietnam’s market could become increasingly dependent on imported goods.

Competition from foreign sellers has intensified sharply across e-commerce platforms.

Data from analytics firm Metric indicated that the beauty sector remained Vietnam’s top-performing online retail category in the first quarter of 2026, generating VND24.4 trillion ($926 million) in revenue from nearly 160 million products sold.

Among the five fastest-growing beauty brands, only one Vietnamese company – Cocoon – appeared alongside Chinese brands Colorkey and Carslan and international brands La Roche-Posay and L’Oréal Paris.

Similar competitive pressures are emerging in household goods, fashion, accessories, and furniture, where low-cost Chinese products are dominating online marketplaces with rapid cross-border delivery services.

Bich Hanh, a seller who has operated on e-commerce platforms for more than five years, said domestic sellers face an uphill battle as customers can easily compare prices online.

She believes Vietnamese sellers should focus on products where local businesses hold advantages, including agricultural goods, food products, and handicrafts.

Sellers should also explore niche products with less direct competition and invest more heavily in self-managed marketing rather than relying entirely on platform-driven advertising.