Should You Sell on Your Own Website or Stick to Shopee & Lazada?

You’ve got traction. Orders come in, maybe even daily. But growth has slowed.

You're running ads. You’re on flash sales. But somehow, it feels like you're running harder just to stay in place. Sound familiar?

If you're a Singapore-based seller currently active on Shopee, Lazada, or even TikTok Shop—and wondering whether it’s time to build your own online store—this post is for you.

We’ll unpack the pros and cons of platform selling vs. running your own e-commerce site, and when it actually makes sense to do both.

Platform Selling (Shopee, Lazada, TikTok Shop): Fast, Familiar, but Fee-Heavy

✅ Pros:	❌ Cons:
Built-in traffic – Millions of eyeballs daily. No upfront tech work – Store setup takes minutes. Customer trust – Buyers feel safer with platform protection. Platform promos – Flash sales, free shipping, etc., drive volume.	Hefty commissions & platform fees – Eating into your margins. Zero customer data ownership – You can't retarget past buyers. Algorithm dependency – Visibility can drop overnight. Limited brand control – Your store looks like every other one.

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Selling on Your Own Website: Freedom with a Learning Curve

✅ Pros:	❌ Cons:
Higher profit per order – No platform cuts. Full customer data access – Build loyalty, email lists, remarketing flows. Custom brand experience – Control every detail of design, message, and checkout. No algorithm drama – SEO and retention become your growth levers.	Requires traffic-building – You'll need to learn marketing (or hire it out). Slightly higher setup cost – Though tools like Wix, Shopify, and WooCommerce make it easier than ever. Customer trust – Needs to be earned without platform protection.

So... Which One Wins?

Let’s reframe that question.

✅ If you're just starting out, platforms make sense. Get your feet wet, validate demand, and leverage the marketplace firehose.

⚠️ If you’re plateauing or stuck with slim margins, your own website becomes the strategic move.

You don’t have to choose one or the other—you just need a clear role for each.

What Top SG Sellers Are Doing Now

Smart brands in Singapore are:

1. Using Shopee/Lazada as acquisition engines.

2. Redirecting traffic to their website for better margins.

3. Offering exclusive bundles, subscriptions, or first-dibs on their site.

4. Using YouMart to handle fulfilment seamlessly across both.

They don’t abandon platforms—they just stop being trapped by them.

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The Fulfilment Puzzle: Solved

Whether it’s Lazada or your own Wix site, the same problem creeps in: inventory syncing, packing, shipping, customer updates.

That's where YouMart steps in. We help you scale—without breaking your ops. Ship from one inventory pool. Manage orders from one dashboard. Grow on multiple channels without the chaos.

If you're tired of depending on one marketplace...

If you're seeing more costs and fewer conversions...

If you're ready to build something you actually own...

Then it’s time to seriously consider launching your own website—and pairing it with a smarter fulfilment strategy.

Curious how YouMart can help you run both your own store and marketplaces without the fulfilment headache?

👉 Talk to our team or book a free consult to get started.