Platform Fees and Advertising Costs Account for 22% of Sales, Leaving Online Small Businesses Sighing

[Financial News] Small and medium-sized businesses operating on online platforms such as Coupang, NAVER and Baedal Minjok spend about 21% of their monthly sales on platform transaction costs, according to a survey. Some businesses were found to pay as much as 45% of their sales in such costs.
The Korea Federation of SMEs (KBIZ) said on the 15th that, according to the results of its 2026 Survey on Transaction Conditions for Businesses Operating on Online Platforms, participating small and medium-sized businesses pay an average of 21.7% of their monthly sales for platform-related costs, including brokerage commissions, advertising fees and data-use charges.
By platform type, delivery apps imposed the heaviest transaction-cost burden at 26.2%. They were followed by online shopping malls at 20.6% and accommodation apps at 18.3%. The burden also increased from last year, rising by 5.2 percentage points for delivery apps, 2.0 percentage points for online shopping malls and 0.8 percentage points for accommodation apps.
Among individual platforms, Coupang Eats had the highest burden at 27.5%. It was followed by Yogiyo at 26.4%, MUSINSA at 24.3%, Baedal Minjok at 23%, Coupang at 22%, Gmarket and 11st at 19.6%, NAVER and Lotte ON at 18.8%, Yanolja at 18.6%, Yeogi Eottae at 18% and SSG.COM at 17.2%.
By individual business, the highest burden reached 45% for online shopping malls among businesses operating on Coupang, 45% for delivery apps among businesses operating on Baedal Minjok and Coupang Eats, and 40% for accommodation apps among businesses operating on Yanolja and Yeogi Eottae. In other words, some businesses spend nearly half of their monthly sales on platform transaction costs.
Dependence on platform-generated sales is also increasing. Some 53.7% of businesses operating on online shopping malls said that sales through their primary online shopping mall accounted for 100% of their total sales. Over the past three years, from 2024 to 2026, the proportion of businesses reporting that at least 75% of their sales came through their primary platform rose across all platform types.
Online shopping malls recorded the highest share of respondents reporting unfair or improper practices, at 17.8%. Delivery apps followed at 14%, and accommodation apps at 9.2%. Major types of harm included unjustified product returns by online shopping malls at 14.2%, avoidance of customer-service and compensation responsibilities by delivery apps at 3.1%, and pressure from accommodation apps to sign up for unnecessary advertising or additional services at 2.4%.
The share of respondents calling for the enactment of the Online Platform Fairness Act was highest among businesses operating on delivery apps, at 66.9%. More than half of respondents operating on online shopping malls and accommodation apps also supported the legislation, at 62.2% and 50.0%, respectively.
Businesses operating on delivery apps were found not to feel that the tiered commission system introduced by delivery apps last year had reduced their costs. Under the system, brokerage commission rates vary according to a merchant’s sales volume. Among those who said the system was not helpful, 35.5% cited the fact that brokerage commissions remained high even after reductions, while another 35.5% said costs remained burdensome because of changes to the delivery-fee structure.
Kim Hee-jung, head of the Economic Policy Division at KBIZ, emphasized, "The fundamental solution to resolving the imbalance in transactions between online platforms and businesses operating on them is to establish a horizontal structure that recognizes merchants’ autonomy in negotiating transaction terms. Effective regulation is needed through the enactment of an Online Platform Fairness Act to make this a reality."

[email protected] Lee Ju-mi Reporter