After the era of “orders guaranteed upon listing,” e-commerce platforms entered a consolidation phase as platform fees increased and seller profit margins narrowed.
After years of selling on Shopee and TikTok Shop, Ms. Nguyen Hoai Thuong, owner of the Thao Nguyen Farm agricultural product brand, decided to stop selling on both platforms from August 4th.
According to Ms. Thuong, this decision did not stem from a lack of customers, but rather from no longer being able to keep up with the changes on the platforms.
On Shopee, Thao Nguyen Farm’s store currently has over 9,400 followers and has been operating for over 9 years. Meanwhile, the brand’s TikTok channel has over 414,000 followers.
“I decided to leave the trading floor partly because the fees were high, and partly because I didn’t have enough knowledge to keep up with the new regulations. And for a small business like mine, hiring an accountant would drive up the costs too much,” Ms. Thuong shared.
After leaving Shopee and TikTok Shop, Thao Nguyen Farm now only sells products on Facebook and Zalo.
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Many shop owners have had to close their stores when they couldn’t survive. Photo: Shopee/Thao Nguyen Farm. |
The days of getting orders just by posting a product are over.
In fact, the case of Thao Nguyen Farm is not unique, as the business environment on e-commerce platforms is becoming increasingly harsh, especially in the context of rising costs and operational requirements.
According to the first half of 2026 report published by e-commerce growth consulting firm YouNet ECI, the market only recorded 43,829 revenue-generating stores across four e-commerce platforms: Shopee, Lazada, TikTok Shop, and Tiki, a 27% decrease compared to the same period in 2025, equivalent to a reduction of 162,724 stores.
According to Mr. Do Quang Huy, a Master’s degree holder in e-commerce, those who have been working in the marketplace for many years may still remember the early days when opening a store on the platform was almost free, traffic was cheap, customers were attracted by the platform through vouchers, and shipping fees were subsidized.
“Back then, anyone could sell on the platform. Just post a product and get an order. You didn’t need to be skilled, just quick, and you could make money,” Mr. Huy said.
NEARLY 163,000 ONLINE SHOP OWNERS LEAVE E-COMMERCE PLATFORMS AFTER ONE YEAR
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However, this expert asserts that “those times are over.”
“Now it’s a completely different game. The marketplace has to make money, while small sellers have to fend for themselves with increasingly thin profit margins. Everyone knows this, but few are willing to face it,” Mr. Huy observed.
According to experts, changes in fees across platforms are creating a weeding-out process for sellers. The question is, with costs rising, how will sellers with low profit margins sell their products?
For shop owners operating as distributors, importing goods to resell, a profit margin of around 30% is now almost insufficient to sustain operations. After adding advertising costs and related fees, there is virtually no profit left.
Manufacturers and factory owners have an advantage.
According to Mr. Huy, the group that is still able to survive on e-commerce platforms today is mainly those with better profit margins, especially manufacturers, factory owners, and wholesale distributors.
For example, in the fashion industry, businesses that have their own factories, directly producing and selling products, will have a significant advantage in securing good profit margins.
Conversely, those who act as agents, import goods for resale, or operate under a commercial model will face greater pressure.
Manufacturers now tend to sell directly to consumers, without going through distributors or intermediaries.
Those who are agents, import goods to resell, or engage in trading have almost no chance on the platform.
Mr. Do Quang Huy, Master’s degree in E-commerce.
Through discussions with several manufacturing units, this expert stated that the cost of production typically ranges from 20-25%. This is not a level indicating excessively high profit margins for manufacturers, but rather the minimum necessary to maintain operations, as products must go through many distribution stages before reaching consumers.
In some cases, the discount offered to dealers can be as high as 50%. When this discount is added to the approximately 20-25% of the production cost, the total cost is equivalent to 70-75% of the selling price, leaving very little for other business operations.
Therefore, when manufacturers no longer need to distribute through dealers or other intermediaries, the value previously allocated to these stages can be used to sell directly on the platform and continue operations.
“Those who are agents, importers for resale, or traders have almost no chance on the exchange,” he said.
Where do online shop owners go after leaving the physical store?
Data from Metric also shows that retailers are finding different ways to adapt to the new environment.
According to Ms. Nho Dinh, Business Director of the data aggregation and mining platform Metric.vn, shops that are thriving and continuing to grow on the platform usually possess at least one of the following advantages.
First are the direct-to-consumer (D2C) manufacturers or brand representatives. This group controls the supply chain at itssed costs of the marketplace, and can invest in long-term marketing
The second group consists of sellers or brands with professional, data-driven operational capabilities.
“They don’t do business instinctively. They know how to read market reports to optimize inventory, forecast product trends, and allocate advertising budgets precisely down to the last penny,” said Ms. Nho Dinh.
According to her, the biggest brands in the offline channel have now moved to the online/ecommerce channel and are increasingly investing in this new sales channel.
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Many shop owners are switching to selling through social media instead of relying on e-commerce platforms. Photo: Phuong Lam. |
The third group consists of sellers with strong personal brands or content creation capabilities, especially on e-commerce platforms that combine entertainment.
“The ability to be self-sufficient in livestreaming and content production helps them reduce their dependence on booking expensive KOLs/KOCs from outside,” she said.
Meanwhile, with small retailers having left online marketplaces, Ms. Nho Dinh said many are shifting to social commerce, which means selling through personal Facebook and TikTok accounts, groups, and Zalo.
This channel allows sellers to interact directly with customers, while also giving them more control over payments and eliminating the need to pay platform fees.
However, this approach also has its own challenges.
“The biggest challenge here is the very high cost of acquiring new customers and the lack of a systematic approach,” said Ms. Nho Dinh.
Sellers have to handle everything themselves, from manually processing orders to shipping, and face a higher risk of order cancellations on the platform.
Back to the traditional store?
Another strategic shift is to open small-scale traditional stores or operate as dealerships, thereby re-tapping into the local customer base.
According to Ms. Nho Dinh, this approach can help retailers optimize their target customer base in a given area. However, the challenge lies in the burden of fixed rental costs and geographical limitations in reaching buyers.
This shows that leaving e-commerce platforms doesn’t necessarily mean the business becomes easier. Sellers are simply shifting from being dependent on the platform to taking more responsibility for finding and retaining customers.
For those who already have a brand or customer base, social media can be a viable option. But for those who don’t yet have their own customer base, this is not a simple problem.
In the context of increasing competition and rising costs, Ms. Nho Dinh believes that shop owners need to proactively change their operating methods instead of just focusing on increasing selling prices.
Offering advice to shop owners who have left the platform, the expert suggested that sellers should use market data analytics tools to understand their competitors, know the exact market size of each product niche, and thereby optimize their product portfolio and minimize inventory costs.
In addition, shop owners need to optimize internal operating costs, from packaging and shipping processes to staffing. Implementing sales management software can also help automate processes and reduce costs.
In particular diversifying sales channels is essential
Accordingly, sellers can maintain storefronts on major platforms like Shopee, Lazada, and TikTok Shop to build their brand funnel, while also developing social media channels to nurture loyal customers. If resources permit, businesses can build their own website or sales application.
Diversification not only reduces the risk of dependence on the policies of a single platform but also helps maximize touchpoints with consumers everywhere.
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