Remember the days when shopping meant long lines and overcrowded stores? Fast forward to 2025, and we’re now living in an era where buying something can be as simple as watching a livestream. Welcome to the world of live shopping platforms.
These platforms blend real-time entertainment with instant shopping. Brands, influencers, or store reps go live, showcase their products, answer questions, and connect with their audience right then and there. It feels personal, spontaneous, and engaging. In fact, the global live commerce market is expected to reach $924 billion by the end of 2025.
In this article, we’ll break down what live shopping platforms are, the benefits they offer, and which ones are making waves in 2025. Let’s get started.
TL;DR
- Live shopping is booming in 2025, with platforms seeing up to 10x higher engagement and McKinsey predicting it could make up 20% of online sales by 2026.
- Top platforms include Facebook Live, Instagram Live, TikTok Live, Shopify Live, Bambuser, and VTEX, each offering unique strengths like reach, control, or enterprise integration.
- Benefits include real-time engagement, higher conversion rates, direct customer feedback, and reusable content.
- Choosing the right platform depends on your goals, budget, audience, and feature needs.
- Future trends: AI-powered hosts, AR try-ons, voice shopping, shoppable replays, and gamified live streams are reshaping the space.
- Brands like Petco, Fenty Beauty, and Gymshark are already crushing it with live shopping, showing what’s possible with the right approach.
Appscrip offers ready-to-launch, fully customizable live shopping app solutions, perfect for brands looking to own their live commerce journey.
What Are Live Shopping Platforms?
Live shopping platforms let people buy products while watching a livestream. It’s like tuning into your favorite influencer or brand, chatting in real time, and clicking to purchase without ever leaving the stream. These platforms bring together the excitement of live video with the ease of online shopping.
Here’s what they usually include:
- Live video streaming with interactive chat or Q&A
- Instant product checkout during the stream
- Highlighted product pins so viewers don’t miss a thing
- Sessions hosted by influencers or brand reps
- Built-in analytics to track viewer engagement and sales
It feels social, spontaneous, and personal, and that’s what keeps people watching (and buying).
History and Evolution of Live Shopping
Live shopping saw a major rise during the pandemic when traditional shopping paused and consumers looked for more engaging online experiences. Brands started experimenting with livestreams to connect with their audience in real time, and the results spoke for themselves.
China led the charge. Platforms like Taobao Live paved the way, showing just how powerful this format could be. Now, retailers worldwide are catching on. From the U.S. to Southeast Asia, live commerce is no longer just an experiment—it’s a new sales channel.
Current Trends and Statistics (2025)
Fast forward to 2025, and live shopping is everywhere. Over 40% of Gen Z shoppers in the U.S. have bought something through a live shopping event. Retailers using live streams are seeing conversion rates up to 10x higher than standard e-commerce.
Some of the coolest trends right now:
- AI recommending products mid-stream based on viewer behavior
- AR try-ons for fashion and makeup right in the video
- Niche platforms emerging for everything from electronics to fitness gear
Benefits of Live Shopping Platforms
Enhanced Customer Engagement
Live shopping brings a much-needed human element to online retail. Instead of static product pages, viewers watch real people demonstrate and talk about products. They can ask questions, leave comments, and get answers instantly. This real-time back-and-forth builds trust and keeps viewers hooked for longer.
Increased Sales Conversion Rates
This is where live shopping really shines. Studies show that live commerce events can drive conversion rates of up to 30%, compared to the average 2-3% on traditional e-commerce platforms. Limited-time offers, exclusive drops, and influencer credibility push viewers to act fast.
Real-Time Feedback and Interaction
Brands can instantly gauge customer reactions during a livestream. From product queries to feedback on pricing or packaging, it’s like getting a focus group at scale. This immediate feedback loop helps brands adapt quickly and improve their offerings without delay.
Stronger Brand Loyalty
When customers feel heard and seen, they’re more likely to come back. Live shopping platforms give brands a direct channel to connect on a human level, turning casual viewers into repeat buyers. The consistent face-to-face interaction helps build community around your brand.
Content That Keeps Working
Live Streams can be repurposed. Many platforms allow brands to save live sessions and use them as on-demand shoppable videos. This gives you evergreen content that keeps generating views, clicks, and conversions long after the live session ends.
Data-Driven Insights
Every live shopping session is a goldmine of data. Brands can track viewer counts, engagement rates, purchase patterns, and even feedback on individual products. This kind of data helps refine marketing strategies, forecast inventory needs, and tailor future streams.
And if you’re looking to build your own live shopping app with custom features and fast deployment, Appscrip offers scalable solutions tailored to retail brands of all sizes.
Top Live Shopping Platforms in 2025
Facebook Live Shopping
Facebook remains one of the most accessible live shopping platforms, especially for businesses targeting a wide and varied audience. With over 2.9 billion monthly active users, it lets brands tag products directly in their livestreams and integrates with Facebook Shops for a seamless checkout experience.
The platform also supports scheduled live events and targeted promotions, helping brands generate buzz ahead of time.
Instagram Live Shopping
Instagram Live Shopping works particularly well for fashion, beauty, and lifestyle brands. Its live video format allows sellers to showcase product use cases in real time. Brands can pin products during live streams, and users can tap and buy without leaving the app.
According to Meta, Instagram Live Shopping drives stronger engagement among users aged 18 to 34, making it perfect for brands looking to connect with millennials and Gen Z.
TikTok Live Shopping
TikTok’s live shopping features are tailor-made for discovery. The platform thrives on short-form, interactive content, and its algorithm makes sure products reach the right audiences. Creators can host live sessions where they demo products, interact with viewers, and drop shoppable links on the spot. As of 2025, over 70% of users on TikTok have discovered a new product or brand through the platform. TikTok Live Shopping is gaining traction fast with beauty, gadgets, and snack brands.
Shopify Live Shopping
Shopify offers retailers the ability to bring live shopping right to their storefront. With integrations like Livescale or Shop Minis, brands can host product launches, Q&As, and influencer streams directly on their site.
What makes Shopify stand out is the full control it gives over branding, customer data, and checkout. For D2C brands, this is a huge win. Shopify-powered live events are known to boost time on site and reduce cart abandonment.
Bambuser
Built specifically for live commerce, Bambuser is a premium platform used by global brands like Samsung, Clarins, and Hugo Boss. It supports high-quality video, multi-host streaming, clickable product overlays, and advanced analytics.
Bambuser also allows embedding on websites, apps, and social channels, giving retailers flexibility in where and how they stream. It’s ideal for businesses that want a polished, TV-like live shopping experience.
VTEX Live Shopping
VTEX is designed for large-scale retailers that need enterprise-level infrastructure. It combines ecommerce and livestream tools in one ecosystem. Retailers can offer personalized live shopping experiences, connect inventory in real time, and scale globally with built-in logistics support. VTEX is often chosen by big brands that want to deeply integrate live commerce into their backend systems.
How to Choose the Right Live Shopping Platform
Key Factors to Consider
Choosing the right live shopping platforms comes down to knowing your brand, your audience, and what you need the tech to do. Start with these questions:
- Where does your audience hang out the most—Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or your own site?
- Do you need tools like CRM integration, inventory syncing, or custom analytics?
- How much flexibility do you need with branding and checkout?
- What’s your live streaming budget, including software and promotion?
- Are you targeting mobile-first users or desktop audiences?
- Do you need international streaming support and multi-language options?
- How important is post-event data analysis and replay content for your sales strategy?
- Do you plan to collaborate with influencers, and if so, does the platform support that easily?
Comparing Features and Pricing
| Platform | Pricing | Strengths | Best For |
| Facebook/Instagram Live | Free | Huge reachEasy to launchGreat for real-time engagement | Small to midsize brands, beginners |
| TikTok Live | Free | Viral potentialGreat for Gen ZStrong influencer discovery | Trend-driven products, influencer collabs |
| Shopify Live | Paid | Deep store integrationBranding control3x higher conversion potential | D2C brands that want full control |
| Bambuser | Subscription | Polished experienceAdvanced analyticsMulti-host & in-video checkout | Premium brands and larger-scale businesses |
| VTEX | Enterprise-tier | Scalable backendReal-time inventory syncGlobal infrastructure | Global retailers with complex infrastructure |
Case Studies and Success Stories
Petco: By hosting regular Facebook Live sessions themed around pet care tips and flash deals, they turned routine product promotions into engaging mini-events.
Their hosts answered real-time questions from viewers about pet grooming, food, and toys, making every session feel like a community hangout. In just one week, Petco saw a 6x return on ad spend. The key was consistency and conversation.
Fenty Beauty: When Fenty Beauty went live on Instagram, it didn’t feel like a sales pitch. It felt like hanging out with your favorite beauty influencers who just happened to be demoing the latest lip glosses and foundations.
They teased the launches with Story snippets, built anticipation with countdowns, and then went live with tutorials that showed the products in action. Over 200,000 people tuned in. The result? Entire shades sold out within hours. That’s what happens when you mix great branding with the right platform and the right hosts.
Gymshark: Gymshark knows their audience: fitness lovers who thrive on energy and authenticity. So when they brought Shopify Live into their product launch playbook, it wasn’t just another sale.
Their ambassadors hosted live workout sessions while wearing new gear, talking about product features in between reps. Viewers didn’t just watch; they bought, engaged, and asked questions. Compared to regular drop campaigns, their conversion rate tripled, and average cart size went up too.
The Future of Live Shopping Platforms
Predictions for 2025 and Beyond
According to McKinsey, live commerce could account for up to 20% of all online sales globally by 2026. That’s no small slice. In 2025 alone, platforms are seeing anywhere from 3x to 10x higher engagement rates compared to traditional product pages.
We’re also seeing live shopping platforms expand beyond fashion and beauty. Electronics, home goods, health supplements, even B2B tools are finding space in this format. As brands get more comfortable with real-time formats, live commerce will become less of a novelty and more of a core sales engine.
Emerging Technologies and Innovations
The technology behind live shopping is moving quickly. Here’s what’s shaping the next phase:
- AI-Powered Hosts: From virtual influencers to AI-driven presenters, we’re entering a phase where not all live streams need a human host. AI tools are being used to generate voiceovers, scripts, and even on-screen avatars that can present products and answer FAQs.
- AR and Virtual Try-Ons: These are especially big in fashion, eyewear, and cosmetics. Shoppers can try on lipsticks or glasses directly through their screen. This feature is now a top differentiator for platforms targeting Gen Z and younger millennials.
- Voice and Gesture Shopping: In markets like South Korea and Japan, shoppers are starting to use voice commands or gestures to make purchases during live streams. This could catch on globally as smart TVs and connected devices become more popular.
- Shoppable Replays: Live Streams don’t disappear after they end. Platforms are turning past broadcasts into evergreen content where all the interactive shopping features like product tagging, live chat, checkout remain usable.
- Integrated Loyalty and Gamification: Expect to see more rewards, badges, points, and spin-the-wheel style promos embedded into live events. It’s not just about selling; it’s about entertaining.
If you’ve made it this far, chances are you’re seriously considering adding live shopping to your game plan. And honestly, you should. But here’s the thing: not all platforms are built the same. That’s where Appscrip comes in.
We don’t just help you launch a live shopping app. We build one that feels like it was made just for your brand. You get:
- Native apps for both Android and iOS
- Built-in influencer collaboration tools
- Real-time chat, video commerce, and instant checkout
- A powerful dashboard to track engagement, sales, and viewer behavior
- Seamless integration with your inventory, CRM, and payment systems
- Custom branding so it looks and feels 100% yours
Whether you want a TikTok Shop-style app or something more tailored, we’ve got you covered with a pre-built, scalable solution that can be deployed fast.
So, are you ready to go live where it actually counts? Because your audience is out there, scrolling, watching, and waiting to buy. Let’s make sure they’re watching you.
Reach out to Appscrip today and let’s bring your live shopping vision to life.
