Rising fees are changing the role of South-east Asia’s e-commerce enablers

FOR a long time, South-east Asia’s e-commerce 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 e-commerce 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.