Online shop owners are struggling with "fees on top of fees"

VTV.vn - Right before the peak shopping season at the end of the year, the Vietnamese seller community is struggling again as e-commerce platforms such as Shopee and TikTok Shop continue to adjust fees.

Illustration photo.

The seller "couldn't react in time"

Since October 27, the TiktokShop platform has applied a new fee called "order processing fee" of VND 3,000/order, regardless of product value or quantity. This is the second adjustment in a short period of time, before that the platform had increased the platform commission fee to 300% for the standard seller group. The new policy immediately caused the "fee basket" to pile up, putting pressure on profit margins and increasing business risks for online sellers.

TikTok Shop example of how to calculate order processing fees

The continuous changes right before the peak shopping season at the end of the year have left many sellers unprepared. Mr. Dang Thanh Dinh, Founder of the male care cosmetics brand Nerman, said that his system had invested heavily in TikTok Shop with a long-term growth orientation, but the recent fee adjustments are putting great pressure on the entire operating chain.

For large-scale businesses, fee adjustments not only affect profit margins but also impact marketing strategies, budget allocations and production plans. Each order now has to bear a variety of fees such as platform fees, commission fees, promotion fees, operating fees, plus new order processing fees. In total, these fees can account for 23-30% of each order's revenue, a ratio that, according to Mr. Dinh, "cannot be maintained forever."

Mr. Dang Thanh Dinh, Founder of men's care cosmetics brand Nerman.

Not only large enterprises, small retailers are also directly affected by the adjustment of platform fees. Selling cosmetics and personal care products on Shopee, Ms. Do Quyen (Ba Dinh, Hanoi ) said that the recent fees have made her business increasingly difficult.

"Recently, Shopee changed its policy, so the platform fees increased significantly. Previously, a part of the cost was supported by the platform, but now sellers have to bear almost all of it themselves," said Ms. Quyen.

According to her calculations, with an order worth about 400,000 VND, the total floor fee and other operating costs can account for 20-25% of the selling price. "If I don't time my orders right or encounter strong price competition, I can lose about 20,000-30,000 VND per order," she said.

Due to the significant decrease in the number of orders on the platform, she can only sell a few orders per month via Shopee; most customers are now switching to buying directly via Facebook and Zalo to avoid fees. The import price does not decrease, the fees increase, the profit margin is getting thinner, and the business risk is therefore also greater.

Many sellers said that policies changed in a short period of time, especially at the end of the year, forcing some sellers to downsize, suspend advertising or cut operating expenses, leading to a decrease in revenue and less stable business operations.

Building a multi-channel strategy

In fact, fee fluctuations are an inevitable trend when platforms adjust their business models and optimize operations. Currently, the legal framework in Vietnam does not stipulate a platform fee ceiling, so adjusting the collection level is the right of businesses according to market mechanisms. According to e-commerce expert Vu Trung Thanh, short-term fee adjustments can put pressure on the seller ecosystem, especially small retailers who are heavily dependent on the platforms.

"If operating costs increase rapidly without preparation, a segment of sellers may withdraw from the market, affecting the diversity of product sources and consumer choices. The 'urgent' thing businesses can proactively do now is first of all to quickly optimize operations and reallocate resources," said Mr. Thanh.

Mr. Thanh Vu, founder of PBS E-commerce Consulting and Development Company Limited.

Specifically, sellers can expand to multi-platform channels, from social commerce, private websites to community sales models, which can also help businesses reduce risks when the market fluctuates. E-commerce platforms are still important channels, but should not be considered the only channel. When over-dependent, even a small change in the fee structure can have a big impact on business performance. Businesses should prepare alternative plans to stay proactive.

This view is also shared by many businesses that have been involved in e-commerce for a long time. Mr. Dang Thanh Dinh believes that sellers should not just wait for fees to decrease, but need to quickly build multi-channel as soon as possible.

"Our goal is to reduce the proportion of brand revenue from e-commerce to below 50% by 2026. This is not an ambition but a feasible plan, because we have been preparing for a multi-channel strategy for many years," Mr. Dinh shared. According to him, this model helps businesses increase the stability of profits and is the foundation of a sustainable brand.

Currently, in markets like China or the US, brands that depend entirely on one platform are often labeled as "Douyin brands" - implying a lack of credibility because they are not present in traditional channels such as supermarkets or shopping malls. Recognizing this very early, Mr. Dinh developed his brand through 3 channels at the same time: e-commerce, modern distribution channel (Modern Trade) and traditional channel (General Trade) to expand coverage and reduce the impact of fee fluctuations or policy changes of the platforms.

However, the trend of adjusting fees will continue, platforms may switch to a tiered model, pay more to increase visibility or use advanced marketing tools. "This reaction further proves that we are forced to enter a phase that requires sellers to be highly adaptable," Mr. Thanh commented, "Fee fluctuations are factors that sellers cannot control, restructuring the model, optimizing internal costs and diversifying sales channels are considered the most practical direction to maintain operations in the context of increasingly fierce competition."

Source: https://vtv.vn/chu-shop-ban-hang-online-lao-dao-truoc-phi-chong-phi-100251126164913309.htm