Vietnamese e-commerce is undergoing a brutal reshuffle, with nearly 50,000 sellers leaving the market in the past year, rising platform fees, white-hot competition, and now even the bar for affiliate marketing has been raised

"It's getting harder and harder to do e-commerce in Vietnam."

This is probably the common sentiment of nearly 48,000 sellers who have exited the Vietnamese marketplace over the past year. And now, a new rule from TikTok Shop Vietnam has made many sellers' hearts tighten again:

sinceFrom April 6, 2026, TikTok Shop Vietnam to tighten affiliate marketing threshold. Requires merchants to have spent the last 30 daysNo negative service category ratings, before you can participate in affiliate marketing. If there are complaints of sending empty packages, fake goods or fraud, they will also be disqualified from the category.

Vietnam's e-commerce market is accelerating reshuffle, platform rules tighten step by step, your store can still carry? Today, an article to give you a thorough: the new rules in the end changed what? Why is the platform suddenly tightened? What should you do now?

First, the core of the new rules: poor evaluation directly cut off the qualifications of the Union

According to the latest notice issued by TikTok Shop Vietnam, the core points of this affiliate marketing threshold adjustment are as follows:

Effective time: April 6, 2026

Core requirements: Merchants within the last 30 daysNo negative service category ratingsParties may participate in affiliate marketing

One-vote veto items: if presentComplaints about sending empty packages, fake goods or fraudand will also be disqualified from affiliate marketing

This means that affiliate marketing, a core channel for TikTok sellers to get traffic, will no longer be open to sellers with poor service reputation. Poor reviews not only affect conversions, but also directly cut off one of your traffic lifelines.

Second, why did the platform suddenly become tighter? Three major signals behind

Signal 1: Vietnam market is going through a brutal reshuffle

According to a new report released by e-commerce data platform Metric, over the past yearAbout 48,000 sellers quit the Vietnamese marketplace.. The number of sellers still operating on the four major platforms - Shopee, TikTok Shop, Lazada, and Tiki - has dropped to about 602,000, a year-on-year decrease of about 7%.

At the same time, the broader market is still growing rapidly, which means that theShares are concentrating at the head of the pack. Despite the decrease in the total number of sellers, Shopee and TikTok Shop saw an increase in the number of mall stores by 11.811 TP3T and 1.141 TP3T, respectively.These two platforms accounted for just over 21 TP3T of the total number of stores, but accounted for more than 301 TP3T of the total annual sales.

Signal 2: Platform fees rise, forcing sellers to transition

In 2025, almost all platforms have implemented new fee rules, and the average fee increase is 10%-15%. For those small and medium-sized sellers who are not too large and do not occupy the market advantage per se, compressing profits or raising prices becomes a choice that has to be made. But no matter which way you choose, you may face negative results.

Signal 3: Sharp changes in the competitive landscape of the market

Shopee, TikTok Shop, Lazada and Tiki are the four largest e-commerce platforms in Vietnam in 2025, with market shares of 57.5%, 39.6%, 5.7%, and 1%, respectively, according to a survey by YouNet ECI, a Vietnamese data analytics company.

Notably, TikTok Shop is fast catching up with Shopee. in Q3 2025, TikTok Shop sales soared 69% year-on-year and market share jumped to 41%, while Shopee, though still holding on to the lead with a market share of 56%, is showing signs of weakness with a year-on-year sales growth rate of 4%.

In this situation, all major platforms are eager to solidify their share. And comparing the buyer and seller sides, it is often easier to attract quality buyers than quality sellers at this time. Thus, platforms are heavily investing in sustainable models to try to attract more long-term users. Raising seller fees and tightening the threshold for alliances are all manifestations of this strategy.

If you still have questions about TikTok Shop Vietnam's new regulations, or need to improve store ratings and optimize the quality of service, please feel free to contact me (micro-signal: qcygscszk, or call me on my cell phone: 18676749275). Let us use our professional experience in serving the Southeast Asian market to help you retain your affiliate status and grow your business.

III. Direct impact on sellers: three life and death lines

1. Bad reviews directly cut off traffic

In the past, a bad review might just affect conversions. Now, bad reviews directly disqualify you from affiliate marketing. This means that your products can't be brought through Daren, can't participate in affiliate promotion, and the traffic acquisition channels are severely compressed.

2. Service capacity as a hard threshold

The requirement of "no negative service evaluation" means that customer service response speed, after-sales processing efficiency, dispute resolution ability, will be included in the assessment. Those sellers who can't keep up with the service will be eliminated.

3. The bottom line of compliance is untouchable

Sending empty packages, fake goods, fraudulent complaints, once these behaviors occur, a direct vote. The Vietnamese market is moving from barbaric growth to compliance, and sellers who are lucky will have no way out.

IV. What should you do now? The four-step response method

Step 1: Immediately self-check your store ratings

Log in to the TikTok Shop back office to see if there have been any negative service reviews in the last 30 days. If so, address them as soon as possible, make improvements, and make sure you stay "clean" until April 6th.

Step 2: Upgrade the after-sales service system

• Speed up customer service response, preferably within 24 hours to reply
• Establish a mechanism to deal with bad reviews, timely communication to solve problems
• Optimize the return and refund process to reduce disputes

Step 3: Eliminate irregularities

• Ensure that the shipment is real, never send empty packages
• Guarantee that the product is consistent with the description, never sell fake
• Fill in the information truthfully to eliminate fraud

Step 4: Layout multi-channel traffic diversion

Affiliate marketing has been tightened up after it was suggested to sellers:

• Strengthening the store's own content creation capabilities (short videos, live streaming)
• Build a private fan base, precipitate repeat users
• Consider other platforms for lead generation channels to diversify risk

V. What can we do for you?

Facing the challenge of tightening the threshold of TikTok Shop Vietnam affiliate, you need not just an information provider, but a professional partner who really understands the Southeast Asian market and can help you operate in compliance.

The value that Enterprise Finance earnings can bring to you:

Let's you quickly figure out how much the new rules really affect you.
We will help you analyze the scoring situation, risk points, and tell you which parts of your store are most in need of urgent rectification based on the current state of your store.

Allows you to improve the quality of your service and retain your affiliate status.
From customer service tactics to the process of handling bad reviews, from the refund mechanism to dispute resolution, we will help you sort out a set of service upgrade program that can be put into practice, so that you can successfully pass the "no negative evaluation" assessment.

Let's get you set up with a compliant operating system and stay out of the red.
We'll help you sort out your supply chain management, product descriptions, and shipping processes to make sure you're on the right side of the red line when it comes to "sending empty packages, fakes, and frauds".

Getting you professional support for the Vietnam market.
Whether you need to register a Vietnamese company, docking local services, or store operations to accompany you, we can provide one-stop services to get you firmly established in the Vietnamese market.

If you still have questions about TikTok Shop Vietnam's new regulations, or need to improve store ratings and optimize the quality of service, please feel free to contact me (micro-signal: qcygscszk, or call me on my cell phone: 18676749275). Let us use our professional experience in serving the Southeast Asian market to help you retain your affiliate status and grow your business.