New homegrown competitors to Trade Me, which include Wheedle, are "nowhere to be seen", chief executive Jon Macdonald told several dozen shareholders at the company's annual meeting in Wellington.

But he warned investors that the company was facing tough competition from overseas e-commerce firms which were selling online to New Zealand consumers.

Without improvements, Trade Me risked "falling behind" when it came to providing the experience people now expected when shopping online, he said.

"To be straight with you, that means spending more," Macdonald told investors.

"That means we expect our growth to be subdued in the coming year.

"While we will remain a high-margin business, we do need to grow our team and increase our marketing spend."

Trade Me chairman David Kirk said Fairfax's decision to sell its 51 per cent stake in Trade Me last December had proved beneficial for the online auction house and listings site.

The selldown and the influx of new investors had propelled the company into the NZX10 and ASX200 indices.

Shareholders passed a motion to increase the annual cap on Trade Me's directors' fees from $650,000 to $800,000.

Kirk said Trade Me might add an additional sixth director to its board.