After a series of scandals, consumers are indifferent to livestreaming.

A series of incidents involving celebrities livestreaming to sell fake cosmetics and food has caused the online sales market to cool down significantly.

Small traders learn professional livestream skills in the program "Professional livestream sales skills" at E2E Studio (HCMC)

Consumers no longer easily believe in "buy now" advertisements, have a sharp decrease in trust in KOLs/KOCs (influencers) and are more cautious with products introduced on social networks, regardless of whether they are famous at home or abroad.

KOLs livestream cautiously

After a series of cases were exposed involving celebrities, beauty queens, DJs... selling fake cosmetics, food and functional foods, the livestream sales market in Vietnam is gradually cooling down, and KOLs are also more cautious. According to records, there are many celebrities and TikTokers who are famous for selling and advertising food, quietly removing products from shopping carts, deleting advertisements on Facebook, TikTok..., and even deleting a series of videos on YouTube to avoid legal risks.

Previously, the livestream market in Vietnam seemed to explode with many online sales sessions aiming for sales of tens to hundreds of billions of VND after only 12 - 24 hours. Names that once "made waves" such as Quyen Leo Daily, Pham Thoai... causing viewers to rush to buy, have now gradually faded away.

In the livestreaming world, there have been some people who have been dubbed "war gods" thanks to their outstanding sales. However, Hang Du Muc is currently involved in a case related to the sale of fake Kera vegetable candy. Meanwhile, "war god" Vo Ha Linh still maintains her appeal, but her livestreaming activities and promotional content have become more strict and cautious due to the attention of many people, not to mention the controversy about unfair competition.

Even "rich lady" Hanna Olala (Hanna Nguyen) recently had to deal with a crisis when she was accused of selling makeup remover cotton pads with maggots. The incident has not yet determined who is right or wrong, but it shows the great challenge that KOLs have to face.

Consumers also no longer put as much trust in celebrities selling products as before. Ms. Nguyen Bich Ngan (25 years old, Ho Chi Minh City) often stays up until 1 am to hunt for cheap products and "huge" gifts in livestream sessions on TikTok. But the excitement quickly subsided when she realized that discounts do not mean quality. Many products promoted by KOLs carry strange brands, are cheap but pose potential health risks. "What's the point of being cheap if it's not safe?", she said.

Similarly, Ms. Nguyen Hai Yen (HCMC) also bought an oven recommended by a celebrity, thinking it was from Germany, but when she received it, she discovered that the address on the packaging was fake and the quality was not as advertised. When she asked again, the seller answered in a roundabout way and then quietly deleted the product. "I have to be careful with my money," Ms. Yen said indignantly.

Shipper delivers goods to customers who order online at an office building in Ho Chi Minh City - Photo: Quang Dinh

E-commerce platforms tighten livestream activities

Speaking to Tuoi Tre, e-commerce platform Shopee said it has just launched the "Shopee Live Content Management Score" tool to control the quality of livestreams, effective from October 15, 2025. Accordingly, this tool helps sellers easily monitor quality, identify violations and optimize livestream effectiveness.

In addition to the existing forms of handling violations, Shopee will base on the above tool to apply the form of handling violations by blocking the livestream posting feature for 3 days, 7 days, 30 days or permanently.

A Shopee representative said the new tool will help control the quality of livestream sessions better, and at the same time, provide early warnings so that sellers can make timely adjustments to limit violations and avoid affecting revenue. And more importantly, it will build a long-term image of a reputable and professional seller.

Lazada also said that it has implemented many measures and control mechanisms to manage livestreaming on the platform. Among them, some basic and mandatory criteria include: fully complying with legal regulations related to advertising and promotion.

The seller ensures that it has sufficient business/product promotion licenses as required by the regulatory agency in each market; does not livestream products on the banned or restricted list; limits low-quality livestreams that reduce the viewer experience.

"Depending on the severity of the violation, livestream accounts may be subject to measures ranging from livestream suspension for 7-30 days to permanent suspension," said a Lazada representative.

TikTok representatives also said that livestream participants will be managed by both TikTok's community standards and TikTok Shop. Specifically, according to TikTok's community guidelines, all content uploaded to TikTok initially undergoes video inspection technology to detect potential policy violations.

This technology will remove content if it violates our policies. If there is any uncertainty about a potential violation, a member of our safety team will review it further and, if a violation is found, the video will be removed.

"Sober" buyers, chaotic livestreams are hard to survive

Speaking to Tuoi Tre, MSc. Nguyen Pham Hoang Huy (Head of Digital Marketing Department,FPT Polytechnic) commented that currently, management policies and consumer behavior are changing dramatically, leading to the decline of shocking and controversial livestreaming styles that used to attract viewers in previous years. Viewers are increasingly losing faith, even feeling disgusted with this type of sales method.

Many customers have noticed that many influencers’ livestreams sell cheap, sometimes low-quality, or even fake products. Not only are these products costly, they also pose health risks. In particular, those who have been scammed when buying through KOLs, KOCs, TikTokers, or Facebookers have become more cautious.

Nowadays, consumers demand transparency about the uses, ingredients, and origins of products. They are smarter and more alert than before. This is clearly shown by the fact that products such as "mixed creams", which were easy to sell in the past, are now having a harder time surviving because users understand more about the corrosive effects and the risks of harm to the skin and health.

Mr. Huy added that many customers have discovered that some celebrities use tricks, including through charity activities, to take advantage of the image of the poor and sympathy, thereby selling products of unclear quality. These actions make customers more suspicious of honesty.

In that context, according to Mr. Huy, consumers not only expect but also require KOLs and KOCs to build a friendly and kind image. They do not need sellers to dance or do excessive attention-grabbing actions. What customers need in livestream is real, complete and honest information.

From this year onwards, users will be more careful about the expiry date, ingredients and safety of products, with "higher intelligence and vigilance". Although the number of "chaotic" livestreams has decreased, the expert believes that this is an opportunity for well-organized brands to rise up, especially genuine units, reputable sales and good after-sales service.

Sellers control how they sell

As an official Apple authorized reseller (AAR) in Vietnam, the 24hStore retail system has also hired famous people to livestream to sell products. The advantage of cooperating with KOLs/KOCs is that they have a good reach thanks to the existing number of followers, and at the same time, it is easy to create trust for viewers, especially in the early stages of opening the channel. Moreover, the content is professionally staged, because KOLs are familiar with the camera and create emotions when livestreaming.

However, high costs, low conversion rates and reputational risks when KOLs misrepresent information make businesses spend a lot of effort controlling scripts, prices, promotions and techniques.

Since then, this business has tried to switch to using "homegrown" information from internal employees. After many trials, it was found that internal employees have better product information, because they understand clearly the selling price, promotions, policies, genuine information, after-sales process, and technical knowledge.

Furthermore, using "family members" to livestream makes it easier to control the transmission style because internal staff must comply: do not exaggerate, do not mislead customers, do not use "tricks" and always use official data.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/sau-loat-be-boi-nguoi-tieu-dung-ho-hung-voi-livestream-20251115080227423.htm