Who is paying the floor fees?

Rising platform fees, advertising costs, shipping expenses, and taxes are putting pressure on the online business community. While listed prices haven't fluctuated significantly, many experts believe buyers are still the ones paying more through reduced discounts and increased selling prices.

No longer cheap

As someone who frequently buys household goods, cosmetics, and consumer products on e-commerce platforms, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen (32 years old, an office worker in Ho Chi Minh City) observed that while product prices haven't increased dramatically, promotional programs have become less frequent. "Previously, I often managed to find many discount codes, free shipping, or vouchers from shops. Recently, the listed prices may not change much, but the total amount I have to pay is often tens of thousands of dong higher per order. This is especially noticeable on days without major promotions," Ms. Huyen shared.

Commodity prices on exchanges are under upward pressure from various costs.

Photo: Le Nam

Meanwhile, Le Quoc Bao (29 years old, IT engineer) felt the price increase more acutely because he often buys certain electronic items and technology accessories. "I monitor prices quite closely and have noticed that many products still maintain their listed prices, but the actual discounts are no longer as significant as before. The prices of some electronic items and technology accessories have increased by about 5-10% compared to last year," Bao said.

A survey conducted by Thanh Nien newspaper on e-commerce platforms shows that many products in the consumer goods, mother and baby, household goods, cosmetics, and technology accessories categories maintain relatively stable listed prices. However, the actual discounts have decreased significantly compared to the previous period. Many products that were previously discounted by 20-30%, along with free shipping codes and vouchers from sellers, now only have discounts of 5-10% or have had their accompanying promotional programs cut.

Not only consumer goods and household items, but also food and online delivery services are facing price pressure. Many restaurant owners complain that the costs of ingredients, packaging, labor, and commissions for food delivery platforms have all increased, forcing them to adjust prices or reduce the scale of promotions. On food delivery apps, some popular dishes are now priced 5-15% higher than when purchased directly at the store, not including delivery fees and other surcharges.

Many food and beverage businesses report that rising platform and operating costs are impacting online pricing.

Photo: Le Nam

Having run a fashion business on multiple e-commerce platforms since 2020, Ms. Tran Thu Trang (35 years old, Ho Chi Minh City) says that current selling costs are much higher than a few years ago. Previously, each order mainly included platform fees, advertising costs, and shipping costs; now, there are additional costs related to taxes, vouchers, mandatory promotional programs, and many other operating expenses. Therefore, profit margins have narrowed significantly. Most sellers are still trying to retain customers by bearing a portion of the incurred costs themselves instead of immediately raising prices.

"Initially, we cut back on promotions, reduced gifts, or lowered profit margins to keep prices stable. However, if costs continue to rise, adjusting prices will be unavoidable. Ultimately, consumers will still have to share some of that burden," Ms. Trang said.

Similarly, Nguyen Thanh Dat (30 years old), owner of Kidzone, a shop specializing in mother and baby products on e-commerce platforms, is also struggling with recent fee adjustments that have forced him to recalculate his selling prices. Because platform fees increase, product prices must also be adjusted to compensate for the shortfall. Depending on the product category, the increase is generally around 5-10%, but higher prices lead to fewer customers. This is a dilemma for sellers.

According to retailers, the upward trend in e-commerce prices stems not only from platform fee adjustments but also from pressure on raw material costs, logistics expenses, online advertising, and new tax regulations. However, the simultaneous increase in fees across platforms is seen as a factor that exacerbates cost pressures and accelerates price adjustments by many stores.

The game is getting tougher.

Mr. Tran Cong Hoan, Operations Director of SwiftHub, commented: The simultaneous increase in fees by e-commerce platforms reflects the reality that the market has moved beyond the stage of growth at all costs and entered a phase of optimizing profits. For many years, platforms have spent a lot of money to attract users and sellers, but it can now be said that the "money-burning" phase is over. Now is the time for platforms to optimize business efficiency and seek profits after a long period of investment. When platform fees, payment fees, advertising costs, and operating expenses all increase, sellers only have two options: raise prices or cut back on promotions because no one can sell goods while constantly incurring losses.

Rising costs on digital platforms are putting pressure on both sellers and consumers.

Photo: Le Nam

"In reality, many retailers are maintaining their listed prices but cutting back on vouchers, gifts, or promotional programs. Essentially, this is also a form of indirect price increase. Small-scale retailers, mainly those buying and reselling with low profit margins, will be most affected. Some may have to leave the market or switch to an affiliate marketing model instead of importing goods and operating independently as before," Mr. Hoan said.

Assessing the impact on consumers, this expert believes that most retailers are still trying to bear the costs themselves to retain customers, but this is difficult to sustain. A rapid price increase will cause customers to switch to other shops, so many sellers are accepting reduced profits in the short term. However, in the long run, consumers will still have to share some of this pressure. For many product categories, the actual cost could increase by about 5-15% compared to before.

Meanwhile, Mr. Tran Lam, CEO of Julyhouse - an e-commerce training expert, believes that the increase in fees not only affects selling prices but also changes the market structure. Ultimately, consumers will have to buy at higher prices. Many people may not feel the impact yet because the increase isn't too significant or e-commerce platforms are still offering promotions, but in essence, when selling costs increase, sellers are forced to find ways to pass that cost on to the price. "Business owners usually expect a profit margin of around 10%. If total costs increase by 10-15%, almost all of that profit is gone. Raising prices is inevitable," Mr. Lam said.

Experts predict that in the near future, many brands will gradually reduce their reliance on e-commerce platforms and invest more heavily in their own websites, Facebook, and other direct sales channels. Previously, many businesses relied almost entirely on orders from these platforms, but now many will invest more heavily in their own customer base to reduce dependence on platform fees.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ai-dang-tra-phi-san-185260602165940606.htm