Ministry urges transparency as platforms raise seller fees

HÀ NỘI — Mounting fees on major e-commerce platforms are putting growing pressure on online sellers, prompting the Ministry of Industry and Trade to call on companies, including Shopee and TikTok Shop, to adopt transparent and reasonable pricing policies.The ministry’s comments came after sellers voiced concerns over a series of fee increases introduced by major online marketplaces in recent weeks.Hoàng Ninh, deputy director of the ministry’s Vietnam E-commerce and Digital Economy Agency, said authorities had received feedback from businesses, household merchants and online sellers regarding the recent increases.He said rising costs linked to storefront operations, logistics, product promotion and visibility could create significant pressure, particularly for small- and medium-sized enterprises and new online sellers.However, Ninh said the adjustments were taking place as platforms restructure their business models and move away from subsidy-driven competition towards more sustainable operations.“Under market principles, enterprises have the right to determine service pricing,” Ninh said.However, he added that e-commerce platforms must comply with regulations governing e-commerce, competition and consumer protection while ensuring transparency regarding fee policies and changes that directly affect sellers.Ninh said the Law on E-commerce 2025 and related regulations include additional provisions aimed at improving transparency, ensuring fair competition and preventing practices that could unreasonably affect merchants.He added that the agency was continuing to monitor market developments and work with platforms to gather feedback from sellers.Authorities have also asked e-commerce platforms to review fee policies to ensure they are transparent, reasonable and introduced according to appropriate roadmaps.Shopee, earlier this month, increased transaction processing fees for some prepaid payment methods from 4.91 per cent to 6 per cent.Starting on May 23, the platform will also raise several service charges linked to sales support programmes, including Voucher Xtra and PiShip, while increasing seller contributions towards discount campaigns.From May 29, Shopee plans to introduce an automatic visibility maintenance mechanism under which at least 1 per cent of the value of successful orders will be deducted and credited to sellers’ advertising accounts to maintain product visibility on the platform.Some sellers estimate total fees on Shopee could rise from around 24.5 per cent to more than 30.5 per cent of order revenue, excluding advertising, livestreaming, affiliate marketing and internal operating costs.In some product categories, sellers say total costs could reach between 40 and 45 per cent of revenue once promotional and operational expenses are included.TikTok Shop has also increased commission fees since early May across several categories, including cosmetics, fashion, healthcare and mother-and-baby products. Some product groups are now subject to commission rates approaching 18 per cent.Đỗ Thu Hương, an online bookseller in Hà Nội, said high platform fees were forcing sellers to operate on increasingly narrow profit margins to maintain market share.She added that some merchants were reducing their reliance on online marketplaces and shifting towards other channels such as Facebook, Zalo, independent websites and loyal customer communities.According to the Vietnam E-commerce Association, Việt Nam’s e-commerce market is entering a new phase focused on operational efficiency and profitability rather than aggressive subsidy-driven expansion. — BIZHUB/VNS