Europe sees a surge in live selling as the latest profitable venture
Whatnot, a pioneering live shopping and social commerce platform, is experiencing a surge in popularity across Europe, outpacing many traditional peer-to-peer marketplaces.
Jon-Luc Greenwood, a 26-year-old from Manchester, UK, and Char Williams, a 27-year-old from Plymouth, Devon, were among the early adopters, starting to sell together on Whatnot as @jonlucandchar in November 2023. Today, they generate 90% of their income through the livestream app, with weekly sales reaching £15,000 (€18,000) by Q4 of 2024.
The app's success is not limited to these two sellers. Andrew Tubman, a seller on Whatnot, made over £1mn in monthly turnover after leaving his full-time job in the motor trade industry. A teenager, whose identity remains undisclosed, made €1,000 in sales after live streaming for just over an hour.
Whatnot's unique selling proposition lies in its live streaming platform, which has gained significant traction in Europe. The platform hosts more than 20,000 hours of live shows a week, and the number of European sellers has increased by 600% year-on-year. The app has also seen a 100% increase in both new sellers and first-time buyers over the past year.
The app's live streaming model offers advantages over traditional peer-to-peer marketplaces. Sellers can interact with buyers in real-time, creating a sense of community and fostering deeper engagement. When a buyer wins a bid, their username pops up with bursts of confetti, adding an element of excitement to the shopping experience.
Maryam Ghahremani, CEO of Bambuser, predicts that by 2026, 20% of online sales will flow through live shopping platforms. Bambuser, a social commerce platform that works with brands like Audi, Sonos, and Zara to produce livestream and shoppable content, is another player in this rapidly growing market.
Whatnot's growth in Europe is marked by rapid expansion into multiple countries. By early 2025, Whatnot expanded beyond the U.S. to the U.K., Canada, and multiple European countries such as France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium. Plans to enter additional European markets continued through 2025.
Globally, Whatnot achieved over $3 billion in gross merchandise volume (GMV) for 2024 with a projected GMV exceeding $6 billion in 2025, reflecting rapid doubling. Revenue in 2024 reached $359 million. While exact European revenue figures are not detailed, these global growth figures underscore growing demand including from European sellers and buyers.
Whatnot has diversified product categories beyond collectibles to appeal to wider consumer interests. For example, marketplaces for niche items like Disney pins (a $100 million global market) have flourished on Whatnot’s platform, supporting specialized communities and driving sales.
Major players like TikTok Shop, Instagram Live, Whatnot, and Amazon Live are working to create and develop full-stack ecosystems that transition from video to checkout seamlessly. Europeans are choosing live selling over traditional jobs due to dissatisfaction with conventional career paths and rising costs of living.
Whatnot was founded in 2019 to address pain points in selling Funko Pop figurines, including counterfeit sellers and scams. Today, it stands as a testament to the power of live commerce and social selling, leading the way in the new era of online shopping.
Char Williams and Jon-Luc Greenwood, initially earning 90% of their income from Whatnot by Q4 of 2024, demonstrate the potential for business growth in the finance sector through the platform's live shopping model. The popularity of Whatnot in technology-driven lifestyle choices is further highlighted by Maryam Ghahremani's prediction that live shopping platforms will account for 20% of online sales by 2026.
Whatnot's expansion into multiple European countries such as France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium, along with plans to enter additional markets, indicate the platform's commitment to embracing diverse business opportunities across technology and shopping industries.
