As E-commerce Marketplace Fees Keep Rising: Is It Time for Businesses to Own Their Own Website?

Vietnam’s e-commerce market is not slowing down. In fact, the market continues to experience strong growth. According to data from Metric, the total GMV generated by the four major platforms — Shopee, TikTok Shop, Lazada, and Tiki — reached approximately VND 429.7 trillion in 2025, representing a 34.75% increase compared with the previous year. In Q1 2026 alone, sales across these four platforms reached approximately VND 148.6 trillion, up 46.6% year over year. But there is one change that sellers are increasingly feeling: Selling on marketplaces is becoming more expensive. The issue is not necessarily one individual fee. It is the fact that multiple costs can now accumulate within a single order.

From “Easy-to-Start Selling” to an Increasingly Complex Cost Structure

In the early days of e-commerce, selling through a marketplace was relatively straightforward. A seller listed a product. A customer searched for it. An order was placed. The marketplace collected a portion of the transaction. But as the market has matured, the model has changed. A single order can now involve multiple types of costs: Transaction and processing fees Platform commissions or fixed fees Promotional program fees Voucher costs Infrastructure fees Advertising costs Shipping-related costs or subsidies Campaign and visibility-related costs For example, Lazada announced that from May 26, 2026, it would apply a 6% successful order processing fee, along with technical infrastructure fees under its platform policies. TikTok Shop also applies multiple layers of fees, with platform commission rates varying depending on the product category. According to information published through its Seller Center, commissions for certain categories can reach double-digit percentages. Shopee has also introduced and adjusted various fees throughout 2026. Changes announced in May 2026 have brought increasing attention to the overall cost of selling through marketplaces. This is why the “nearly 50%” figure needs to be understood carefully. It does not mean that every seller is directly charged 50% of their revenue by a single platform. The actual cost varies depending on the product category, seller type, promotional programs, discounts, advertising, vouchers, and other factors. However, for businesses operating with relatively low margins, the accumulation of multiple costs can significantly reduce the actual profit retained from each order. The Problem Is Bigger Than “Marketplace Fees” There is a more important question to consider: Who owns the platform your business is being built on? When selling through a marketplace, a business is taking advantage of an existing ecosystem. And that is a major advantage. You do not have to build a customer discovery system from scratch. You do not have to develop your own payment infrastructure. You do not have to build a product review system. You do not have to establish your own logistics network. And most importantly, the customers are already there. That is why marketplaces remain extremely important for businesses. But this advantage comes with dependency. You do not have complete control over the rules of the game. A platform can change: Fee structures Search and visibility algorithms Promotional policies Program eligibility Advertising mechanisms Operational policies Seller requirements These changes can directly affect the economics of running an online store. And that is the issue businesses should pay closer attention to. E-commerce Marketplaces Are Not the Enemy This is not an argument for: “Stop selling on Shopee.” Nor is it: “Do not sell on TikTok Shop.” That would be an overly simplistic conclusion. The reality is that major marketplaces continue to play an important role in Vietnam’s e-commerce market. In 2025, Shopee and TikTok Shop accounted for the majority of sales among the major platforms, while the combined GMV of the four leading marketplaces reached approximately VND 429.7 trillion. The question is not: Marketplace or website? The better question is: Should a business rely exclusively on marketplaces? The answer is increasingly clear: It should not. Your Own Website: From a “Sales Channel” to a Business Asset Having your own website does not eliminate the cost of selling online. This is important to acknowledge. You still need to pay for: Hosting or servers Domain registration Payment gateways Logistics Advertising, if used Development and maintenance The difference lies in control. With your own website, your business can take greater control over: 1. Your Brand Customers visit your brand directly instead of entering a marketplace where thousands of competing products are displayed alongside yours. Your website can be built entirely around your brand identity: Logo → Colors → Typography → Products → Content → Customer Experience Your business is no longer simply another storefront inside a massive digital marketplace. It becomes its own digital destination. 2. Customer Data A website allows a business to build and manage its own customer data infrastructure in accordance with applicable privacy and data protection regulations. This can include: Customer profiles Orders Products Website behavior Traffic sources Conversion data Remarketing audiences Email / SMS CRM data This is an important distinction. Because a customer is more than a single order. A customer may purchase a second time, a third time, or become a loyal customer for years. The ability to build a direct relationship with that customer can become a valuable long-term asset. 3. Control Over the Customer Experience On a marketplace, businesses have to work within the platform's interface and customer journey. With your own website, you can decide how the experience works: Homepage Landing pages Product pages Checkout Membership Loyalty programs Blog SEO Content Upselling Cross-selling CRM integration Your business can build the customer journey around its own strategy rather than adapting entirely to the structure of a third-party platform. 4. Build Your Own Traffic This may be the most important point. Having a website does not mean: “Build a website and wait for customers to arrive.” A website should work together with: SEO + Google Ads + Meta Ads + TikTok + Content + Email + CRM + Social Media The key difference is that: Traffic can be directed toward a digital asset that your business owns. Instead of having your entire customer acquisition system exist inside someone else's ecosystem. The Future Is Not Marketplace vs. Website It is Marketplace + Website. Marketplaces can help businesses access existing demand. Social media can help businesses build awareness and community. Advertising can generate targeted traffic. But your website can become the place where these channels come together. Marketplace → Reach customers Social Media → Build attention Advertising → Generate traffic Website → Convert visitors CRM → Build long-term relationships The goal is not to abandon marketplaces. The goal is to avoid becoming completely dependent on them. Because when you own your website, your business gains something that a marketplace cannot give you: A digital platform that is truly yours. Build Your Own Digital Asset E-commerce is continuing to grow. Marketplaces will continue to evolve. Platform fees may change. Algorithms may change. Consumer behavior may change. The businesses that are best prepared for these changes will not necessarily be the ones that abandon marketplaces. They will be the ones that diversify their digital presence. Sell where your customers are. Advertise where your audience spends time. But build your brand, customer relationships, and digital infrastructure on a platform you control. Don't build your entire business on someone else's platform. Build a digital platform that belongs to you.