Prompt responses = happy customers = more sales!The 24-Hour Response Rate aims to help you build trust with your customers and create the best possible shopping experience. This guide covers everything you need to know to meet your 24-Hour Response Rate.

What is the 24-Hour Response Rate?

This metric measures the percentage of customer-initiated chats that receive a response within 24 hours. The 24-hour countdown starts from the moment your customer initiates a chat with you. You need to respond within 24 hours for the chat to count as answered.

Please note: Casual or smalltalk replies (e.g., "Hi" or "Hello") do not count as valid responses. You must provide a meaningful reply that addresses the customer's inquiry.

The 24-hour response rate is calculated using the following formula:

What's included in the 24-hour Response Rate?

There are two elements to your 24-Hour Response Rate. One is the total number of chats you receive. The following table outlines which chats are included and which are not included in this total:
Now, let's see how this works in practice:

Weekend Messages

For sellers using Chatbot, weekend messages (received from 12:00 AM Saturday to 11:59 PM Sunday) are excluded from the 24-hour window, but they must still be answered by Monday 12 PM local time. Failure to do so will negatively impact your 24-hour response rate.
Please ensure that all 3 chatbots are activated to exclude weekend messages from your 24-hour response rate.

Where do I find my 24-Hour Response Rate?

You can check your 24-Hour Response Rate as follows: Seller Center > Customer Messages > Service Analytics > Shop Performance > 24h Response Rate

Tools for Faster and Smarter Response

• AI Recommended Replies: During a chat, the system will offer real-time reply suggestions based on the customer's message. These automated suggestions help sellers craft meaningful, high-quality responses, improving customer satisfaction. The feature is auto-enabled for all sellers, so you can start using it immediately.
• Customer Insights: To give sellers more context about each customer, the chat workbench displays useful information such as contact history, sentiment, order activity, and engagement. These insights help sellers prioritize messages and respond more effectively, improving the overall customer experience.
• High Priority Folder: Chats will be organized to highlight your most important messages. For example, frequent shoppers, high-value orders, or customers showing negative sentiment may appear here. This can help you prioritize your responses!

For more information, refer to our Customer Messages feature guide.

✅ Best Practices

• Stay on top of incoming messages. Check your Customer Messages daily and enable notifications so you never miss a message.
• Use automated tools to ease your load. Enable Chatbot and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to resolve common questions, like estimated delivery dates, when customers enquire. This will help reduce your message load. Learn how to set up your Customer Service Chat Assistant and Saved Replies to improve your service efficiency!
• Close completed chats.
• File spam away. Click on the "Mark as no response needed" icon for spam messages, so they do not affect your response rate.
• Track your 24-Hour Response Rate regularly.

⛔ What to Avoid

• Ignoring messages. The 24-hour rule applies every day, except when the Chatbot is turned on or if the message is received on a weekend. In that case, messages received over the weekend must be responded to by Monday 12 PM local time to count toward the 24-hour response rate. Failing to reply within this time frame can lower your 24-Hour Response Rate. If you will not be available for an extended period, consider using "Holiday Mode". This will temporarily close your shop and pause customer enquiries. Refer to this guide for more information about Holiday Mode. Ignoring messages on holidays.
• The 24-hour rule applies every day, regardless of your shop’s operating hours. For sellers using the Chatbot, weekend messages are excluded from the 24-hour rule but must be answered by Monday 12 PM local time. Failing to reply within these time frames can lower your 24-Hour Response Rate. If you will be unavailable for an extended period, consider using “Holiday Mode” to temporarily close your shop and pause customer inquiries. Refer to this guide for more information about Holiday Mode.
• Avoid relying solely on automated responses. The Chatbot will not be able to resolve every questions from your customers. If it encounters a question it is unable to answer, it will forward the chat to you for resolution. You must answer these questions within 24 hours (except for weekends when using the Chatbot) because they count towards your 24-Hour Response Rate!
• Replying with smalltalk only (e.g., “Hi” or "Hello"). These messages will not count as valid responses in your 24-hour response rate calculation.
  

What if my 24-Hour Response Rate falls below 90%?

If your 24-Hour Response Rate falls below 90%, you will receive a warning. If it falls below 85%, additional enforcement actions may be taken.You can appeal these violations if your 24-Hour Response Rate is affected by the following:

• Customer messages that are abusive, spam or irrelevant to shopping on TikTok Shop.
  • Tip: Casual greetings like "Hi!" and vague messages are not considered irrelevant and still require a response from you! If you feel they are spam or do not require a reply, click the "Mark as no response needed" icon.
• System bugs when using the Shop Chat tool.
• Force majeure events that severely impact your shop operations. This includes unforeseen incidents like fires or natural disasters.

TIP! Before appealing your violation, always check your chats marked under "Late response" or "No response". Gather evidence showing why you were not able to reply to them in time. Head over to Service Analytics > All chats > Late response OR No response to check these messages.

Read our Seller Enforcement Policy for more information on violations and appeals.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

When does the 24-hour countdown to respond to customers' messages start?

The 24-hour countdown starts from the moment a customer initiates a chat with you. Make sure to respond within 24 hours for the chat to be counted as answered.

My shop is closed on weekends and holidays. Do messages sent on these days count toward my 24-Hour Response Rate?

• These messages will NOT count towards your 24-Hour Response Rate if your shop is in "Holiday Mode" during weekends and holidays.
• However, they WILL count if your shop is not in "Holiday Mode" during these days. This metric applies to all customer-initiated chats you receive from Monday through Sunday, regardless of weekends, holidays, and your business/working hours.
• If the Chatbot is turned on, sellers must respond to any messages sent over the weekend (Saturday 12AM – Sunday 11:59PM local time) by 12PM local time on Monday.

Can automated replies (e.g., Chatbot, FAQ Library) help improve my response rate?

• No, automated replies are not counted in your 24-Hour Response Rate. That is not to say they are not helpful! They are very useful in quickly addressing frequently asked questions, which in turn reduces the number of messages that actually require your attention.