Live shopping: a digital bazaar just a click away

Teleshopping has not died; it has simply migrated to mobile phones. Live shopping, a blend of live video and instant purchasing, is revolutionising e-commerce. This has prompted tech giants, brands and small boutiques to invest in the format.

“One euro starting price... 20 seconds to bid. Three, two, one, go!”. In front of multiple screens, Hugo Carvalho, founder of the Parisian boutique Swave, a specialist in collectable trainers, shouts live on the Whatnot app. The young entrepreneur acts as an auctioneer for around 400 people gathered virtually, bidding with a single click on their phones.

Live shopping, a next-generation form of teleshopping, allows customers to buy products presented live by a seller, often an influencer, through an auction system or at a fixed price. “It is a very good way to sell our unsold stock, accounting for about 20 percent of our sales,” Carvalho explained to the AFP. “It also allows people to get pairs at a fair price.” He added that the format offers interaction with people.

Launched in 2016 by Chinese giant Alibaba, live shopping remains primarily driven by Asia. According to Grand View Research, the region will account for 66.8 percent of global revenue in 2025. Valued at 173 billion dollars in 2025, this market is expected to exceed 2.5 trillion dollars by 2033.

Giants and SMEs

Aware of this potential, giants like the American company Amazon and the Chinese platform TikTok are positioning themselves in this market, including in France. One year after its launch in the country, TikTok Shop claims to have nearly 33,000 French small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and more than 29 million users, out of a total of 200 million in Europe.

“Over the past six months, we have seen triple-digit growth in daily gross merchandise value,” Mehdi Meghzifene, head of France at TikTok, told the AFP. He specified that live shopping accounts for nearly 20 percent of this total. Brands such as Samsung, Moulinex and L'Oréal have invested in the network. L'Oréal relies on an army of 2,200 influencers who create numerous commercial videos, both live and pre-recorded.

The American auction giant Ebay, which focuses on collectors, also launched in France in January. According to a study by Ifop for Ebay, 30 percent of French people and 56 percent of Gen Z are already familiar with the concept. Gamified mechanics encourage spending, with the average basket value rising to 120 euros during a live session—three times more than in traditional e-commerce.

In contrast to TikTok, Ebay cultivates its difference. “We are not about scrolling; we are not a social network,” Sarah Tayeb, managing director of Ebay France, told the AFP. “We focus on rare products, items that require a seller, a story and details, whether for Pokémon cards or works of art.” To explain the success of live shopping, she points to a shift in younger generations’ relationship with time, noting that this audience does not want to wait seven days to place a bid.

Addiction and counterfeiting

Whatnot, an app specialising in live shopping, claims growth of 427 percent in France, its leading European market. It projects a global transaction volume of eight billion euros in 2025. Pierre Tettart, managing director of France at Whatnot, told the AFP that the entertainment aspect makes commerce more human, an element lost with traditional e-commerce. Live shopping provides an additional revenue stream for independent boutiques or allows others to create a virtual store.

The efficiency of this channel, optimised by artificial intelligence, raises concerns about overconsumption. Tettart insists that safeguards exist, such as limits on the amount spent. TikTok is under particular scrutiny from the European Union, which deems its interface addictive and threatens heavy fines. A French parliamentary report on the psychological effects of TikTok on minors recently highlighted the danger of live streams, stating they create strong incentives to spend and facilitate the promotion of counterfeit, dangerous or non-compliant products.

This article was translated to English using an AI tool.

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