The explosion of e-commerce has created vast opportunities for hundreds of thousands of individuals, small businesses, and digital vendors in the digital economy. However, behind this dynamic façade lies an uncomfortable reality: these small vendors are increasingly reliant on major platforms with no clear mechanisms in place to protect their rights. Digital vendors on the back foot Since the beginning of the year, many major e-commerce platforms have rolled out new fee structures, raising rates by two to three times compared to previous levels. Platform representatives argue that these rates have been carefully calculated based on market conditions and the needs of both buyers and sellers, with the additional revenue being used to upgrade the platforms and implement solutions to support sellers’ sustainable growth. However, this remains a heavy blow to nearly 500,000 sellers active on the three leading e-commerce platforms, which together account for 98.6% of Vietnam’s e-commerce market, according to data from YouNet ECI. E-commerce has become an indispensable part of Vietnam’s economy, with platforms experiencing significant growth and increasingly serving as key sales channels for both businesses and individual sellers. According to the 2023 Vietnam E-commerce White Paper, 61% of internet users identified e-commerce platforms as their […]