Livestream shopping may be something of an enigma to many in the United States, but it is growing in popularity as of late.

According to a 2023 CNBC report, live commerce (another term for livestream shopping) had become a titanic industry in China, accounting for a market estimated to be worth $512 billion in value. In contrast, and although numbers were initially revised upward in 2023, the United States live commerce market was, at that time, worth about $50 billion.

In June 2023, Deborah Weinswig, CEO of Coresight Research, suggested that livestream shopping could account for over 5% of total e-commerce sales in the U.S. by 2026.

TalkShopLive Competes With TikTok for Livestream Shopping Market Share

In more recent news, it appears that TikTok may have a major fight on its hands when it comes to maintaining its position in the live commerce space.

As Modern Retail reported, TalkShopLive — famous for its livestream shopping experiences — has launched TSL Shoppettes. Essentially very brief Reels that can be shared to Meta properties Facebook and Instagram, these Reels are entirely shoppable, containing direct links to products for any interested audience members.

Given that TikTok’s fate in the United States remains uncertain, TalkShopLive and other competitors in the space have signaled a push forward into uncharted territory, building upon previous victories.

In recent years, the company has expanded by forming video commerce partnerships with prominent retailers, as reported by Modern Retail. For instance, in November, Amazon collaborated with TalkShopLive to create a series of shows for its livestreaming platform, Amazon Live. In 2023, TalkShopLive introduced “shoppable simulcasts on Facebook and Instagram Live.” While specific numbers weren’t disclosed, CEO Bryan Moore revealed that these simulcasts drove a 25% increase in platform-wide sales in 2024. According to Moore, Meta was a logical starting point for Shoppettes due to the proven success brands and creators have experienced with simulcasts on the platform.

Currently, TalkShopLive has moved to make its shopping experience more frictionless, allowing sellers to use its embeddable media player to reach audiences across various social media platforms. Moore gestured toward TikTok’s potential exile from the U.S. market as emblematic of the importance of platform diversity.

“I really believe that anybody who’s creating an overall video commerce content strategy doesn’t want to be dependent on a single platform,” Moore said.

“One of the major benefits of TalkShopLive is that while we’ve created a technology that cuts the friction and path to purchase for the customer, we’ve also really created a technology that cuts the friction and path to use for a brand or retailer,” he added.

Is Live Commerce or Livestream Shopping Here To Stay?

It seems very likely that live commerce or livestream shopping will persist in the American market, although it does face some headwinds.

According to a 2023 McKinsey & Company report, China is already considered a mature market in this context. However, nearly half of American consumers surveyed were hungry for a bit more opportunity to buy via livestream or live commerce.

“Yet even in its most mature market, live commerce retains growth potential,” McKinsey & Company reported. The firm shared that approximately 72% of users in China “agreed or strongly agreed” that they wanted to purchase more products through this shopping format, surpassing users in Latin America (63%), the United States (49%), and Europe (38%). Similarly, 67% of Chinese users “agreed or strongly agreed” that they wanted to increase their spending, compared to 49% in Latin America, 39% in the United States, and 33% in Europe.

The report also stated that the barriers to live commerce were varied — for Americans, it was an often questionable value-for-money proposition and inconvenient show timing. U.S. respondents also felt shows were often too long for their tastes.

This could be a trend addressed by the future TalkShopLive and similar platforms. Speaking to Modern Retail, Melissa Minkow, RetailWire BrainTrust member and director of retail strategy at digital consultancy firm CI&T, described Shoppettes as taking “the live out of TalkShopLive.”

Livestream Shopping Still a Nascent Market in the US, Filled With Opportunity (and Risk)

While Meta discontinued its own live shopping services in the past, as both TechCrunch and McKinsey & Company indicated, it appears that TikTok’s potential exit — and a renewed interest in instant or live shopping — could reinvigorate a once-defunct buying option.

“Whether TikTok goes away or not, all the attention that’s being shed on it is forcing everyone from brands and consumers alike to develop a plan B,” Minkow added. “And that’s where TalkShopLive is realizing there’s more of an opening for them.”

Other reselling platforms such as Whatnot are also making gains, particularly among collectors. As TechCrunch detailed, Whatnot recently saw livestream sales on its platform exceed $2 billion per year, a new high-water mark. The company claims that over two-thirds of its sellers earn more than $10,000 a month from livestream sales and that nearly 25% earn more than $300,000 annually.