Whatnot Launches New Report On The Future of Shopping
Brits are willing to spend up to 24 percent more when buying via livestream shopping versus any other online shopping experience
Every day we are blown away by what our sellers accomplish on Whatnot. From the communities you build to the products you sell, it’s clear that what you do is the future of shopping. We were interested to learn more about how people felt about live shopping, so we partnered with a survey company to learn more about how Brits feel. The results were pretty fascinating.
The report, called “Live: The Future of Shopping,” uncovered the lucrative market of collectibles and found that 62 percent of the nation believe livestreaming is the future of shopping). And that livestream shopping platforms, such as Whatnot, are where more than half (55 percent) of people in the UK seek out the best high-value collectible items.
According to the research, over a third (38 percent) of Britains are already livestream shopping users, whether to sell or buy, increasing to 6 in 10 (63 percent) 18-29 year olds who are active users of the new shopping behaviour.
Almost four in ten (36 percent) Brits agree that livestream shopping is a more trustworthy and controlled environment because shoppers can see the products live before buying them. Over a third (34 percent) appreciate being able to ask questions live, meaning they can make a more informed decision about their potential purchase.
The interaction between seller and buyer not only creates a more sociable and engaging experience, but also one that increases in consumer trust. And the risk of buying from an unreliable buyer is minimised, because 29 percent believe it’s a real advantage to be able to see exactly who they are buying from.
Equally this seller-buyer relationship provides a better experience for the independent businesses involved too. For luxury fashion sellers Bethany Slack and Austin Aubrey, (@theluxurypickers), this relationship was crucial to building their business. Bethany says that “the ability to engage with other sellers, and customers on the same level is priceless. You can build that sense of trust, and understanding of what both offer. We did our first wholesale show, something we wouldn't have considered without the community support and knowledge we’ve developed via Whatnot”.
The demand to source, bid and curate a collection of niche memorabilia is feeding into the rise of livestream shopping, with Whatnot reporting that globally people are spending an average of over 80 minutes a day watching live streams on the platform. Compared to Netflix’s global streaming average of 200 minutes per day, this shows livestream shopping is just as much of a habitual source of entertainment for some consumers.
One of Whatnot’s longest-standing UK sellers, Adam, 30 from Yorkshire, known as @Yorkshirecollector on Whatnot, sells Sports Cards and Trading Card Games full-time after leaving his previous career as a pharmacist and pharmacy manager. Adam says “I sell over 2,500 items a month. The livestream aspect accelerates sales, often with the ability to condense a large number of sales into a short space of time. Many of my sales are when I open individual boxes of cards. Last Halloween I sold a £10,000 Paris Saint-Germain Topps Chrome box split between buyers all across the world within two hours. From within that box of cards one buyer received an Mbappe Autograph card worth roughly £8-12k. It’s such a thrill experiencing these moments live, and most importantly getting to share the highs with my customers.”
Check out the full report below.
