Livestream sales profession is no longer 'hot'

Tran Lam (white shirt) in a livestream session introducing cosmetics at the end of 2024

Having closed thousands of orders per livestream session, Tran Lam never expected the situation to be as bleak as it is now.

The 26-year-old entered the livestream sales industry in 2022, specializing in introducing and selling cheap cosmetics. At that time, each hour of livestreaming could bring Lam tens of millions of dong in revenue. His record was 200 million dong in two hours, despite selling products priced from tens of thousands to over 100,000 dong. That was the golden age of people like Lam, livestream sales exploded thanks to the pandemic, the support of platforms, and people's psychology of shopping and entertainment at home.

But since the end of 2024, Lam has noticed that the livestream market has clearly deteriorated. Viewership and revenue have halved. Up to now, Lam only livestreams once a month, with the highest viewership of about 100 - 120 people. The session with the best revenue since the beginning of the year has reached 100 million VND despite livestreaming for a whole day.

Thien Thanh, 28, from Ho Chi Minh City, is in a similar situation. In 2022, she only livestreamed to sell cheap clothes two or three times a week and was overwhelmed with orders. For nearly a year now, the number of orders has dropped sharply. "Now I livestream every night but if I sell a few dozen products, I'm happy," Thanh said.

Her store's purchasing power on other e-commerce platforms also decreased.

A report by e-commerce data platform Metric said that in 2024, the number of stores on online platforms generating orders decreased by more than 20%. Shopee has more than 86,300 sellers with no orders. More than 55,000 sellers on Tiktok Shop also had to close. By the end of 2024, more than 165,000 online sellers had left the market due to "no sales" or a sharp decline in revenue.

According to industry insiders like Lam and Thanh, this decline is the result of many complex factors.

The obvious reason is that the market is too crowded. "The fertile livestreaming land is now too crowded," Lam commented. The participation of many influencers and countless small sellers makes the competition fierce, pushing sellers into a price-cutting race and diluting the market.

Ms. Vu Dieu Thuy, livestream training instructor and CEO of Kolin Academy, said that the demand for KOC/KOL has increased since 2020. On average, her unit trains 50 students per month, 80% of whom are between the ages of 25 and 35.

Consumers are also changing. The constant stream of information, bad experiences with cheap, fake, and counterfeit products, has eroded trust.

Ngoc Yen, 30, from Hanoi, spent tens of millions of dong buying goods via livestream because she believed in KOC and was disappointed. "When I checked my inventory, I realized I was 'seduced' and wasted money," Yen said. Buyers are becoming more alert, cautious and prioritizing quality, especially when economic difficulties force them to tighten their spending.

The most obvious sign of loss of trust is that "blockbuster" livestream sessions with billions of dong in revenue have decreased significantly since the beginning of 2025. A series of cases of celebrities advertising falsely and selling poor quality products have been exposed and handled, making buyers, sellers and brands more cautious.

The Kera vegetable candy case advertised as "replacing a plate of green vegetables" in March or the Food Safety Department's repeated warnings against celebrities advertising health protection foods in a misleading manner are examples. The climax was the prosecution and temporary detention of a number of individuals related to the Sisters of the Basket Group Joint Stock Company (chaired by Hang Du Muc) on April 4 for deceiving customers. These events had a strong impact on market sentiment.

According to Metric's report, the change in consumer behavior is very clear. They increasingly prioritize reputable brands and highly trusted stores, thanks to which "certified" stores such as Shop Mall on Shopee and TikTok Shop are going against the trend with strong sales growth, reaching 69.8% and 181.3% respectively.

This situation forces sellers to change. Tran Lam is shifting to cooperate with large, reputable cosmetic brands. "Customers increasingly pay attention to quality. Selling high-end products may have fewer orders, but I am confident in the product, have stable sales and maintain my reputation," he said. Thien Thanh accepts to improve product quality instead of competing on price. She encourages customers to come see the products directly to rebuild trust.

However, not everyone has the perseverance and resources to stick with it. Le Dung, 31, in Hanoi, closed his online jewelry store after more than a year. With an initial investment of 300 million VND, the business went well at first, but since mid-2024, there have been almost no orders. Dung's livestream sessions now have only a few viewers, no one buys. He had to accept holding onto the remaining 50 million VND and change jobs.

"The livestreaming business is no longer profitable. Instead of trying to cling on, especially for small retailers, we need to change direction before it's too late," Dung said.

HQ (according to VnExpress)

Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/nghe-ban-hang-livestream-dang-het-hot-409155.html