Sea Raises Seller Fees to Above TikTok, Temu to Lift Margins
- Company is betting merchants won’t defect to new contenders
- Quarterly earnings out Tuesday will show if strategy working
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Sea Ltd.’s Shopee has raised the commissions it charges merchants in many core markets by about a third since the start of the year, underscoring the Southeast Asia e-commerce leader’s renewed attempt of boosting its bottom line.
The moves, which haven’t previously been reported, reflect Sea’s growing confidence it can retain merchants in key markets, despite competition from TikTok, Temu and Lazada. Its commission now exceeds its rivals’, with its fee in Thailand rising to as much as 13% in July from 10% previously, according to its website. TikTok charges as much as 8% and Lazada up to 10%, according to a JPMorgan report. The commissions are also known as take rates and are levied as a percentage of a product’s sale or transaction price.