Shopping small these days can look like brick-and-mortar stores, social media marketplaces, and online DTC shops. But there’s one up-and-coming channel where small businesses are absolutely thriving: live selling.
According to leading live shopping platform Whatnot, sellers generated over $3b in live sales last year alone. And their top 500 sellers have each earned over $1m.
Never heard of live selling? You’re probably wondering how Whatnot’s sellers are hitting those numbers. The magic seems to happen in the seller-buyer interaction. Small-business owners on the platform connect with customers in real-time, giving them space to chat, build relationships, and answer questions. SMBs can host auctions or flash sales, turning regular ol’ transactions into memorable experiences for customers. And those experiences act as gateways to loyalty, repeat business, and community building.
Next-level engagement
Know someone who’s made purchases on Whatnot? Because users seem to really love it. Buyers spend an average of 80 minutes daily on the platform. That’s almost an hour and a half every day!
It helps that there are so many categories, too: from fashion, plants, electronics, and beauty, you can sell a wide range of products on Whatnot, and you’ll find an engaged audience for it.
All that time buyers spend on the platform leads to consistent transactions, too—an average of 12 purchases each week. It’s no wonder McKinsey forecasted that 10%–20% of all e-commerce will come from livestream shopping by 2026.
Standing out from the marketplace crowd
SMBs, the case for live selling is pretty clear. On Whatnot, sellers achieve 10x more sales compared to other marketplaces. And since live selling enables them to move high volumes of product quickly, the opportunity for growth is huge. Whatnot’s State of Livestream Selling Report disclosed that two-thirds of sellers earn over $10k per month through live shopping sales, and 1 in 4 report making over $300k annually.
Thanks to these results, 1 in 10 sellers have turned their business passions into full-time careers on the platform. And 88% have plans to increase their live selling efforts in the next year.
Good for online shops, you say. But what about in-person shopping? Great news: Brick-and-mortar stores are using live selling to bring their in-store experience to a global audience, all with a few clicks.
Onwards and upwards (to the right)
Looking at the behaviors and the numbers, live selling isn’t just a fleeting trend. The demand is there from buyers, and sellers have high opportunity with a low barrier to entry.
Learn more about Whatnot, live selling, and how to get in on this potential-packed revenue stream.