Shopee tightens grip on Southeast Asia’s sellers as take rates climb

Elyssa Lopez co-reported this story.

Iza, a seller of customized bags and keychains on Shopee Philippines, used to earn 240,000 pesos (US$4,200) a month across her three shops on the platform. But that was before Shopee began raising its commission fees in the second half of 2024.

Since then, the total fees Shopee deducts – including shipping and transaction charges – can climb as high as 25% of her sales.

“These days, I only take home around 70,000 to 90,000 pesos (US$1,200 to US$1,600) a month,” Iza tells Tech in Asia.

Over the past year, Shopee has gradually increased seller fees across its markets. While other platforms have also raised their fees, Shopee’s rates generally remain the highest.

And that’s not all – the company recently introduced additional flat fees per transaction in certain markets.

In response, a growing number of sellers are starting to speak out. But a Shopee spokesperson points out that the fees will be “reinvested to benefit buyers – whether through shipping perks or payment benefits.”

“We hope to continue supporting purchasing power and domestic consumption, which will in turn stimulate economic activity and benefit our sellers,” the spokesperson adds.

Pressure builds

Rezky, an ecommerce specialist at an FMCG brand in Indonesia, echoes Iza’s complaints. With rising fees and newly introduced charges, his product margins have dropped by around 3% to 5%.

This has forced his store to raise product prices as well as cut back on marketing spend, limiting the shop to run campaigns that have already proven effective.

“We can’t afford trial and error in marketing this year,” he says. While his store’s revenue is still growing, the pace has slowed year on year, Rezky admits.

The new flat fees – at 1,250 rupiah (US$0.08) in Indonesia, 3,000 dong (US$0.11) in Vietnam, and 0.54 ringgit (US$0.15) in Malaysia – are hitting low-priced items the hardest. Sellers may even choose to bundle such products rather than sell them individually.

This move has also been followed by Lazada, where the platform will implement similar flat fees — with the same amount — starting August 1 in Indonesia.

Maintaining profitability

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