WHAT HAPPENED
Shopee, a leading e-commerce player in Southeast Asia, recently hosted a large-scale forum. Its stated goal was to foster connections and explore new directions for the entire e-commerce ecosystem. The event, which gathered sellers, partners, and industry experts, was positioned as a platform for sharing experiences, implementing innovations, and enhancing operational efficiency on the platform.
Discussions and presentations were, as anticipated, focused on deepening integration within Shopee's offerings: from logistics optimization to the use of internal payment systems and advertising tools. Such initiatives might seem beneficial to the seller community at first glance, providing them with resources and knowledge to improve their businesses. However, behind the benevolent goal of "ecosystem development" often lie deeper strategic objectives aimed at strengthening the marketplace's own position.
Forums like this serve as powerful tools to train sellers to operate exclusively within the platform's rules and tools, which inevitably leads to greater dependency and the investment of resources into the aggregator's ecosystem. This not only reinforces Shopee's dominant market position but also allows it to control an increasingly larger portion of the e-commerce value chain.
WHAT IT MEANS
Shopee's initiative, despite its outward appeal, vividly reflects a global trend affecting major marketplaces worldwide—from Amazon and Alibaba to Russia's Wildberries and Ozon. This trend involves a drive towards maximum possible power consolidation and the creation of extensive, often closed, ecosystems. The goal of such platforms is not merely to provide a storefront for products but to control every stage of seller-buyer interaction: from manufacturing and logistics to payment and after-sales service.
Marketplaces are actively developing their own logistics networks (Fulfillment by Shopee, FBO/FBS for Wildberries and Ozon), payment services, advertising tools, and sometimes even credit offers for sellers. They invest significant resources in analytical tools and training programs that are, in essence, designed to tie sellers to their services. In this "golden cage," sellers gain access to a vast audience and ready-made infrastructure, but in return, they gradually lose control over their data, customer base, and even their own pricing policies.
For the Russian e-commerce market, this trend is particularly relevant. Wildberries and Ozon, following in the footsteps of global giants, are also actively organizing forums, webinars, and training programs. They are expanding their own logistics capabilities, offering comprehensive advertising solutions, and implementing new rules that encourage sellers to integrate as deeply as possible with their platforms. Examples include the development of internal financial instruments or strict requirements for using their own warehouses and delivery services. This allows marketplaces to collect unprecedented volumes of data on product flows, consumer preferences, and competitors' pricing strategies, giving them a colossal competitive advantage, including for the development of their own private label brands.
Thus, outwardly benevolent initiatives for ecosystem development are, in fact, part of a long-term strategy to increase seller dependency and expand control over the entire supply chain. It is crucial for entrepreneurs to critically evaluate such steps, understanding that every new service or tool offered by a marketplace comes with a price in the form of growing reliance.
VIETSMART EXPERT COMMENTARY
Russian entrepreneurs must understand that such marketplace initiatives are not just benevolent offers of help. They represent a strategic move to deepen integration and dependency. We observe how Wildberries and Ozon, learning from global leaders, are following a similar path. Your task is to leverage the platforms' advantages without losing control over your business. Treat marketplaces as powerful, but not the sole, sales channel.
CONCLUSIONS AND WHAT TO DO
- Diversify Sales Channels: Don't limit yourself to a single platform. Presence on multiple marketplaces (Wildberries, Ozon, Yandex.Market, Megamarket) and, if possible, having your own online store reduces risks of dependency and allows you to reach a wider audience.
- Invest in Brand and Loyalty: Develop your brand's recognition outside of the marketplace. Utilize opportunities to build your own customer database (through packaging inserts, flyers, social media) to have a direct communication channel and enhance your product's value independently of the platform.
- Continuous Learning and Analysis: Carefully study new tools, tariffs, and platform rules. Understand how they affect your profitability, logistics costs, and product visibility. Use marketplace analytics, but supplement it with your own data.
- Control Over Data and Marketing: Understand what data about your business and customers you are providing to the platform. Strive to develop your own marketing competencies and do not delegate 100% of your promotion to marketplace advertising tools, which are often expensive and not always transparent.
- Develop Own Logistics Competencies: While FBO/FBS are convenient, have alternative options and competencies in logistics. This will make you less vulnerable to changes in marketplace storage and delivery costs or conditions.
Source: Vietnam.vn dated June 24, 2026