TikTok Shop charges 1250 guilders per unit for order processing! New rules for the three main electric operators in Indonesia.

TikTok Shop introduced a new policy in the Indonesian market to charge a processing fee of 1250 guilders (approximately $0.08) per successful order, which includes value added tax (VAT), but does not include management fees, and the cost of multiple purchase orders is prorated among commodities. This new rule marks a shift from TikTok Shop’s initial strategy of “blowing the market” to a more refined and sustainable business model.

At the same time, the Indonesian electricity market is increasingly competitive, and major platforms, such as Hopee and Lazada, are adjusting their fee structures, and vendors face multiple pressures to raise taxes and commissions. According to TikTok Shop ‘ s policy, the rules for refunds are slightly different from those for Hopee and Lazada. For example, TikTok Shop allows sellers to be exempt from refund costs in certain circumstances (e.g. unjustified refusal by the buyer), while Hopee and Lazada usually require sellers to bear higher refund costs.

TikTok Shop’s fee model is consistent with Shopee and Lazada. According to data for 2023, the commission and transactional service charges of Shopee in the Indonesian market usually exceeded 5 per cent, while the commission rate of Lazada fluctuated between 1 and 20 per cent, depending on the type of product. TikTok Shop, which had previously attracted vendors at a commission rate of as low as 1 per cent and at a cost of guilders 2000 per commodity, had moved upwards to 2-8 per cent since 2024, indicating a strategic shift towards profitability. This new TNI 1250 processing fee, which is further aligned with Shopee (logistic subsidy costs of about guilders 1000-2000 per unit) and Lazada (goods-related costs plus fixed service fees), reflects the transition from price wars to competition for services in Indonesia ‘ s electricity market.

Indonesia is the second largest global market in TikTok, with more than 106 million users, with a total electricity dealer (GMV) of $65 billion in 2023 and expected to increase to $90 billion in 2025. TikTok Shop, through its merger with Tokopedia (a purchase of 75.01 per cent of the shares of $1.5 billion in December 2023), rapidly expanded its market share, reaching $42 billion in 2024, or 14.2 per cent of the electricity market in South-East Asia. However, Shopee still leads by 48 per cent of the market share, Lazada is the second largest with 20 per cent, followed by TikTok Shop and Tokopedia.

The cost pressures faced by vendors are not only due to the Platform ‘ s cost adjustments. Since July 2025, the Indonesian Government plans to introduce an income tax on vendors of electric power platforms, which will be increased from 0.1 per cent to 0.21 per cent (domestic exchange) or 1 per cent (Overseas exchange), plus 11 per cent of value added tax (VAT) to further reduce the margin of profit for vendors. In addition, logistical challenges are painful, with the geographical characteristics of more than 17,000 islands in Indonesia leading to high inter-island transport costs, and the handling costs of TikTok Shop may further increase the burden on small and medium-sized vendors.