Rising fees are changing the role of SEA ecommerce enablers

For a long time, Southeast Asia’s ecommerce enablers rode the region’s online shopping boom by helping brands do one thing better than anyone else: sell on marketplaces.

But the economics of ecommerce have changed in recent years.

Marketplace commissions have risen across the region. On top of that, sellers are spending more on advertising, logistics, returns, affiliate commissions, and platform campaign incentives.

As costs continue to pile up, brands are becoming less focused on simply increasing sales and more concerned with whether those transactions remain profitable.

“The conversation has shifted from ‘how do we grow GMV?’ to ‘how do we grow profitable GMV?’” says Paul Srivorakul, co-founder and CEO of Thailand-headquartered aCommerce.

That change is reshaping not only how brands sell online, but also the ecommerce enablers that support them. With margins under pressure, brands are becoming more selective about which services they truly need and which they can cut to rein in costs.

As a result, the industry is moving away from basic marketplace management services toward those that help improve profitability.

A new value proposition

While brands and sellers are feeling the squeeze from higher marketplace fees, ecommerce enablers remain very much needed. However, their value proposition is changing.

“A few years ago, the enabler industry was a proper red ocean,” says Jasper Knoben, CEO of Singapore-based Intrepid, noting that the old model was centered on marketplace store management services.

“Today, that is a baseline commodity,” he adds.

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

ACommerce says brands are showing less willingness to pay for basic store operations such as uploading product listings, running standard campaigns, or producing generic content.

Some of these functions are increasingly being automated, while others can be handled in-house or outsourced at a lower cost.

Here to stay

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