Key Points:

• Sellers must provide professional, timely, and accurate customer service through TikTok Shop Chat.
• Sellers must not use customer communications to harass users, solicit off-platform transactions, request extra payments, or misuse customer data.
• Sellers are expected to maintain service quality standards, including a 24-Hour Response Rate of 90% or higher.

This policy outlines the customer service requirements sellers must follow on TikTok Shop. It applies to all communications between sellers and customers on the platform, including through TikTok Shop Chat (TikTok Shop's messaging tool that allows sellers and customers to communicate directly). We enforce these requirements to protect customers from harm and maintain a safe and trustworthy shopping experience. Sellers must comply with this policy, TikTok Privacy Policy, TikTok Community Guidelines, and Seller Terms of Service.

Customer Service

Customer service refers to communications between sellers and customers regarding products, orders, shipping, returns, refunds, and other TikTok Shop-related matters.
Customer service includes, but is not limited to:

• Product-related consultations and general inquiries
• Shipping and delivery inquiries
• Order-related support
• Returns, refunds, and other after-sales support
• Customer complaints and dispute resolution

Customer service issues typically occur when sellers fail to meet the service standards outlined in this policy. This can happen if sellers fail to respond to customer inquiries, provide inaccurate or misleading information, or communicate unprofessionally.

Requirements for Customer Service

Customer Service Standards

• Sellers must communicate professionally, provide accurate information, and comply with all applicable TikTok Shop policies when interacting with customers.
• Sellers should use TikTok Shop Chat to provide customer service where possible. Sellers must ensure they can be contacted through TikTok Shop Chat when selling on the platform.
• When using TikTok Shop Chat, sellers must:
  • Manage the seller's customer service team or personnel at all times
  • Manage the seller's customer service team's account access and permissions appropriately
  • Manage all activities and communications sent using the seller's account
• Sellers must set the shop's operation hours in the Seller Center (the portal sellers use to manage their shop). Operation hours will then be displayed to customers who message sellers through TikTok Shop Chat.
• Customers seeking support through the Order Detail page may be directed to several channels. These include the Help Center, TikTok Shop customer support agents, or seller customer service representatives via TikTok Shop Chat. When seller representatives are unavailable, customers may be directed to submit a support ticket.

Prohibited Communications

Sellers must not use TikTok Shop Chat or any other communication channel to harass, deceive, manipulate, pressure, or direct customers off-platform.
If sellers experience any prohibited behavior from a customer, sellers can raise a ticket in Seller Center with relevant supporting materials.
All communications must adhere to the TikTok Community Guidelines and Seller Terms of Service.

Minor Exploitation and Abuse

• Sellers are prohibited from sending messages that contain or suggest Child Sexual Abuse Materials (CSAM), grooming, sextortion, sexual solicitation, or pedophilia. Sellers must also not send messages depicting physical or psychological abuse of minors. Sellers must not promote or redistribute any content that contains or suggests CSAM, sextortion, grooming, or similar.

Harassment, Bullying, and Hateful Behavior

• TikTok Shop strictly prohibits any harassment, slander, bullying, or hateful behavior.

Illegal Activities

Sellers are prohibited from promoting illegal activities through TikTok Shop Chat, including:

• Selling or promoting of prohibited, counterfeit, and illegal products
• Any form of gambling or incentivizing gambling
• Fraudulent activities and scams
• Actions that deceive customers for unlawful advantages
• Sending viruses, malicious code, or software

Intellectual Property

• Sellers are strictly prohibited from violating, encouraging, or enabling the violation of the intellectual property or personal rights of others. This includes transmitting texts, images, photos, software, or other materials protected by copyright or trademark rights. Refer to our Intellectual Property Policy for more information.

Data Privacy

Sellers must not disclose, misuse, or solicit customer personal information. Sellers are prohibited from using customers' personal information in any way other than to fulfill orders placed on TikTok Shop. This includes sending customers any unauthorized third-party information such as external contact details, payment accounts, or account credentials not related to fulfilling their TikTok Shop order.
Customer personally identifiable information (PII) includes any information that can identify a customer, such as:

• Full name, phone number, email address, or delivery address
• Social media handles or usernames (such as TikTok username)
• Payment information or national identification numbers
• Order details that could re-identify a buyer

Pornography, Adult Nudity, and Sexual Content

• Sellers are prohibited from sending messages that contain or suggest pornography, sexual behavior, or adult nudity.

Soliciting Additional Payments

• Sellers are strictly prohibited from soliciting additional payments for purchases made on TikTok Shop, either on-platform or offline. This includes, but is not limited to:
  • Additional/add-on purchases
  • Price increases
  • Return/shipping fees
  • Exchange fees
  • Stocking or restocking fees
  • Warranty or extended warranty fees

Redirecting Customers

TikTok Shop prohibits any attempt to bypass the sales process or redirect users to other websites or sales processes. Prohibited behaviors include, but are not limited to:

• Diverting transactions off TikTok Shop
• Sending unauthorized information to customers, which includes but is not limited to:
  • Unauthorized third-party links
  • Bank accounts or third-party payment accounts
  • QR codes
  • Other instant communication accounts
  • Contact information, including email addresses and offline store addresses
• Prompting customers to purchase through external links, usernames, or websites, or by adding contact information in video and product descriptions or direct messages
• Sharing off-platform promotions (discounts, free shipping, wholesale prices)

Refer to our guide on Avoiding Redirecting Traffic for more information.

Soliciting Feedback and Tampering

• Sellers must not use TikTok Shop Chat to solicit, incentivize, or offer rewards for positive reviews or altered feedback. Communication must also adhere to our Review Policy.

Spam or Unsolicited Marketing

• TikTok Shop prohibits unsolicited marketing or promotional messages. This includes, but is not limited to, sending spam or any repeated advertising information without the customer's consent.
• Sellers must not send SMS messages unless the customer has explicitly opted in off-platform.

Response Time

• Customers may raise inquiries at any stage, including before purchase and on order cancellation, shipping status, returns, and refunds.
• Sellers must respond to all inquiries within 24 hours. When Chatbot is enabled, this requirement does not apply on weekends, but weekend messages must be answered by Monday 12 PM local time.

Accuracy of Information

• Information sent to customers must be accurate and consistent with the product detail page.
• Sellers must take immediate action to correct information that is inaccurate about a product.
• Sellers are solely responsible for disputes arising from unclear, incomplete, or inaccurate information.
• Sellers are prohibited from using misleading or fraudulent language (for example, offering better prices/warranties for after-sale deductions).

Return and Refund Requests

• Sellers must strictly follow the cancellation, returns, and refund information displayed on the product detail page.
• Changing service conditions to less-preferential ones after an order is placed is prohibited.
• Sellers must handle inquiries and complaints swiftly and comply with applicable laws and regulations.
• Sellers must comply with our Customer Order Cancellation, Return, and Refund Policy.
• Offering off-platform returns or refunds is prohibited.
  • All return and refund requests must be carried out through TikTok Shop. See our Customer Order Cancellation, Return, and Refund Policy.
• Asking customers to cancel orders outside of TikTok Shop's processes is prohibited. See our Guide to Managing Order Cancellations.

Performance Evaluation

24-Hour Response Rate

• This metric measures the percentage of customer-initiated chats that receive a response within 24 hours over the previous 7 calendar days.
• This rate is calculated by dividing the number of customer-initiated chats that receive a response within 24 hours by the total number of chats requiring a manual response.
• Fully handled chatbot conversations without being transferred to a seller are excluded.
• When Chatbot is enabled, this requirement does not apply on weekends, but weekend messages must be answered by Monday 12 PM local time.
• Responses must meaningfully address the customer's inquiry to be included in the calculation. Casual/small-talk responses (for example, "Hi") do not count as valid responses.
• Sellers are required to maintain a 24-Hour Response Rate of at least 90%.

Satisfaction Rate

• This metric measures the percentage of customer-rated chats that received 4 or 5 stars over the previous 30 calendar days. It is calculated by dividing the number of chats rated 4 or 5 stars by the total number of rated chats in that period.
• Sellers are required to maintain a Satisfaction Rate of at least 75%.

Evaluation Process

TikTok Shop evaluates seller performance using customer service metrics. We review the 24-Hour Response Rate weekly, based on the previous 7 days of performance. Sellers are only evaluated during periods when they receive customer messages.

• Several types of communications are excluded from this evaluation. These include automated responses, inquiries handled by TikTok Shop, and chats initiated while in Holiday Mode. Holiday Mode is a feature that temporarily prevents new orders from being placed when a seller is unable to fulfill them.
• Failure to maintain the required rate may result in violations and enforcement actions.
• Appeals may be submitted through the Account Health Rating page in Seller Center.

Enforcement and Appeals

We regularly review shops for compliance with our policies. If violations are identified, enforcement actions may be applied. This may include, but is not limited to:

• Deducting points from Account Health Rating (a metric that measures performance against seller policies and targets)
• Blocking specific messages from being delivered
• Removing product listings
• Restricting access to TikTok Shop Chat
• Shop deactivation

For more information on enforcement actions, refer to our Seller Enforcement Policy. To appeal an enforcement action, visit the Appeals section for guidance.