The rise of Whatnot and live shopping
Live shopping is no longer a quirky experiment – it’s a proven, fast-scaling revenue channel that smart startups and small businesses are already using to build real, defensible businesses.
I recently had the chance to meet with two Whatnot sellers, Oliver’s Bullion and Wear Deadstock, to learn how entrepreneurs have tapped into this shift and speak with Whatnot UK General Manager Daniel Fisher to learn more about the company’s recent State of Live Selling report.
Why live shopping is no longer a bet
Whatnot positions itself as the largest live shopping app in the US and Europe, frequently topping the free shopping charts on the App Store. But beyond the bragging rights, the numbers reveal a structural shift. In Europe and the US alone, live shopping already represents a $22 billion market, having doubled last year and expected to double again. On Whatnot, live sales exceeded $8 billion in GMV (Gross Merchandise Volume) in 2025, three times the 2024 figure. Crucially, this isn’t just drive‑by traffic: the average user spends around 95 minutes a day on the app – a level of engagement approaching long‑form entertainment platforms like Netflix – and monthly retention is over 80%. These are not the metrics of a passing fad; they are the hallmarks of a new default way to shop.
At its core, live shopping reimagines retail around people rather than pages. Instead of static product listings and anonymous carts, Whatnot enables shoppers to interact with sellers and each other in real time. The experience feels closer to a boutique owner closing the shop just for you and your friends – talking through stock, answering questions, and making recommendations – than to a conventional e‑commerce site. For startups and small businesses, this means success is no longer just about having the right product catalogue; it is about creating a live show, a repeatable experience, and a sense of belonging around your brand.
From viewers to sellers
The story of Oliver and Anna from Oliver’s Bullion illustrates just how accessible – and how powerful – this model can be. Before joining Whatnot, neither had serious selling experience beyond an occasional listing on eBay. They were drawn in as viewers first, watching coin streams and buying more than they expected. That behaviour triggered an insight: if they, as casual viewers, were spending this much, perhaps there was a real business opportunity in front of them. They started small, selling old silver coins for a few pounds each. The progression from there was rapid and compounding. Weekly sales moved from £1,000 to £5,000, then to £5,000 per stream, then £10,000 per stream. Within roughly a year, they were doing between £700,000 and £800,000 a month and now eye £1 million a month as a realistic target.
What makes this especially instructive for entrepreneurs is how modest their setup was. They streamed from a cramped bedroom in a flat and early on, they carried a single supermarket bag of parcels to the post office and felt proud; within months, they were shipping over 200 parcels per stream, four times a week, and had to move to collections and more industrial processes. Until very recently, it was still just the two of them running the Whatnot side of the business, with only light external help. They did not wait for a perfect studio, a warehouse, or a large team. They began with what they had, iterated fast, and let the momentum of live shopping pull them into scale.
Turning inventory into entertainment
Michael and Annabel from Wear Deadstock offer a complementary perspective, coming from fashion resale rather than starting from scratch. Both were working in the NHS before they bought a random pallet of lost‑and‑found items for a few hundred pounds. Hidden within it was a Balenciaga jacket that sold for around £900, and that single sale was enough to push them into full‑time reselling. They built an early business on platforms like Depop, but as Depop’s momentum slowed, they needed the “next thing.”
Whatnot became that next step. They now work directly with brands, taking returns and end‑of‑line stock and auctioning everything from £1. Rather than relying on static listings, they turn their inventory into a live event. They favour “sudden death” auctions, where the clock does not reset with each new bid. That format creates urgency, tension, and entertainment value: viewers are not just shopping; they are witnessing a series of micro‑dramas. The operational impact of this shift is dramatic. Whereas they might previously have sold 10-20 items in a day, they now routinely move 100-150 items in a single hour. Long, 10–12-hour streams from their warehouse are no longer exceptions but a normal part of their calendar, especially during key moments like Black Friday.
Underpinning both of these stories is a critical insight: consistency is a force multiplier. Data from the Whatnot report shows that UK sellers who go live daily make, on average, £30,000 a month – an astonishing 166 times more than sellers who go live once a month. Going live regularly turns your content into a habit. Viewers begin to plan around your shows, book time off work for major events, and integrate your brand into their daily routines. Both Oliver’s Bullion and We Are Deadstock have leaned into this, with one aiming to increase weekly streams and the other setting a goal to stream every single day and gradually introduce additional on‑camera hosts to ensure the brand is not dependent on one face.
Building a business on belonging
Another recurring theme is the centrality of community. At first, turning on the camera felt daunting: hundreds of unknown usernames in chat can be intimidating. Over time, those usernames became familiar. Sellers now know who is likely to show up to each stream, remember regulars by name, and can pull specific items because they know a given customer’s taste. Buyers chat with one another, organize meetups, and in some cases even invite sellers to community events. Moderators emerge organically from these groups – unpaid volunteers who spend hours in chat managing questions, reinforcing culture, and supporting the host. The depth of that commitment is striking: during a 12‑hour Black Friday stream, one moderator stayed active the entire time. This level of engagement is something traditional e‑commerce struggles to achieve.
Trust is intertwined with that community. Viewers see the seller’s face, hear their voice, and watch them handle the item live. Questions can be answered in real time. In more technical or niche categories, such as coins and bullion, that interactive layer is particularly powerful. Newcomers can ask about premiums, collectability, and metal value, and receive immediate explanations. This combination of education and commerce builds confidence and reduces the friction that often prevents a first purchase.
None of this works, however, without strong operational discipline behind the scenes. Both seller teams emphasise next‑day shipping, even after huge shows. Every item sold on a big stream is quickly moved from rails to packing stations, labels are printed in bulk, and parcels are loaded into large cages ready for collection. They are acutely aware that high revenue does not automatically translate into a healthy business. As Oliver puts it, “revenue is vanity, profit is sanity.” Cost of goods, shipping, fees, and overhead must all be managed carefully if live shopping is to support sustainable growth rather than just eye‑catching screenshots. Luckily, this entire process can be organised through the Whatnot app.
Live shopping as a business model, not a tactic
Stepping back, Fisher frames all of this as part of a broader transition. In the early days, live shopping in Western markets felt experimental. Six years on, the platform holds around 60% market share in North America and Europe across key markets like the UK, France, and Germany, and sellers are building real teams, renting warehouses, and hiring staff off the back of their live shows.
For startups, entrepreneurs, and small businesses, the opportunity is clear. You no longer need a prime retail lease or a massive marketing budget to reach thousands of engaged buyers. With a mobile phone, a basic setup, and a willingness to show up live, you can test products, build a loyal audience, and scale much faster than through traditional channels. But to make the most of this, you must think like both a retailer and a broadcaster: cultivate a recognisable on‑air presence, commit to a consistent schedule, and design your operations so that when demand surges, you can deliver reliably.
For many startups, live shopping will not just be an optional marketing tactic; it may be the most direct path to building a durable, community‑driven brand in the years ahead.
