Global livestream sales are projected to exceed $1 trillion by 2026. And it's a huge rise from its $682.5 billion benchmark from 2023.
Today's retailers are building live video into everyday sales operations, so that buyers can use these sessions to see how products actually work, ask questions on the spot, and get quick answers before making a purchase.
Platforms like TikTok Shop and YouTube Shopping now run full retail campaigns, often with better engagement than traditional eCommerce.
This post lays out the latest numbers on adoption, conversion rates, and platform growth driving the live-commerce boom. Use these metrics to set realistic targets, pick what to build next, and defend your roadmap with data.
What Is Livestream Shopping?
Livestream shopping is an eCommerce method where a brand, seller, or creator shows products, and viewers can ask questions, react, and buy without leaving the stream. The format first took off in China after Taobao Live launched in 2016, then spread to social and marketplace apps.
It blends the visual-based promotional style of televised shopping channels with the parasocial dynamics of social media. The format works so well because of a few reasons, including:
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Key opinion leaders (KOLs) and influencers attract an audience based on industry expertise, credibility, personality, and reach.
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The real-time chat keeps viewers engaged and surfaces objections the host can answer on the spot.
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Live demos and Q&As reduce doubt, so fewer users leave to research outside sources.
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In-stream checkout removes steps and increases completion rates.
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Platform analytics show drop-offs, click paths, and add-to-cart triggers, so you can adjust discovery, product surfacing, and pacing in future updates.
Global Market Growth of Live Commerce
Live commerce is no longer growing at the edges of eCommerce.
In 2024, the global live-commerce market was valued at about $128 billion, and long-range forecasts put it on track to reach $2.47 trillion by 2033. At a nearly 40% annual growth rate, interactive video is becoming a normal part of how people discover and buy products. (Grand View Research, 2025)
Another forecast that uses a wider view of livestream eCommerce values the market at about $940 billion in 2024 and projects more than $6 trillion by 2035. (Transparency Market Research, 2025)
Even with different baselines, both studies point to steady, long-term growth rather than a short-term trend. On the business side, companies that lean into live streaming early report top-line revenue growth of up to 25%. (CNBC, 2025)
Regional Trends Driving Live Commerce Growth
Some regions have already proven that live commerce can operate at a massive scale, while others are still early in adoption. Let's look at regional data next to see where momentum is strongest and why outcomes differ so sharply across markets.
China
China is the clearest proof of how large live commerce can get when the features line up.
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Livestream shopping there expanded from about $57 billion in 2019 to roughly $682 billion in 2023. Current projections put it on track to cross $1.1 trillion by 2026. (Statista, 2025)
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By 2025 alone, live streaming sales are expected to reach $843.9 billion, making up 19.2% of all retail eCommerce sales in the country. (Emarketer, 2023)
That growth is spread across multiple platforms:
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Douyin (China's version of TikTok) recorded around $375 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV) in 2023, supported by 750 million monthly users and about 400 million daily users. Surveyed users spend close to two hours a day in the app, which gives brands repeated chances to convert attention into purchases. (DrPress, 2024).
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Taobao Live operates at a similar scale and generated $550 billion in GMV, reaching about 900 million monthly users. The average user spends around an hour on the platform. (DrPress, 2024)
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Kuaishou handled about $161 billion in GMV, with more than 600 million monthly users who spend over 100 minutes a day in the app on average. (DrPress, 2024)
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Pinduoduo reported roughly $590 billion in GMV. It pulls large audiences into live sessions through social shopping and group-buying mechanics. (DrPress, 2024)
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Douyin streams average over 2.09 million viewers per day. Individual viewer sessions are short, but even with an average conversion rate of around 1.3%, the volume drives more sales at scale. (EWA, 2024)
North America
Live commerce in North America is growing, but it is still early compared to Asia.
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Livestream shopping sales in the United States reached about $50 billion. By 2026, this figure will rise by roughly 36% and account for more than 5% of total digital commerce sales across the region. (Statista, 2025)
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Consumer adoption explains both the upside and the limits. Only 12% of US shoppers have bought through a livestream so far. Another 12% say they plan to try it, which points to a scope for further expansion. (Emarketer, 2024)
Europe
Europe shows broader participation but a more defined user profile.
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Around 35% of European consumers have made a purchase in this format. This suggests a higher awareness than in North America. (Statista, 2025)
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Frequent users tend to be younger, with most falling between 18 and 34 years old. Men make up the slight majority of this group at 53%. (McKinsey, 2023)
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Seller activity is rising quickly, as well. On Whatnot in Europe, the number of active sellers grew by 600% year over year, streaming more than 20,000 hours each week. This points to a rapid growth in supply as platforms invest more in live commerce. (Whatnot, 2025)
Asia-Pacific and Emerging Markets
Outside China, adoption is the fastest across Asia and parts of the Middle East.
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In India, 75% of shoppers have already used livestream shopping. Thailand follows closely at 73%, and the UAE at 72%. These figures place Asia and MENA well ahead of Western markets in day-to-day usage. (Wunderman Thompson Report, 2023)
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Japan has the lowest utilization at 15%. The gap shows differences in mobile habits, payment methods, and shoppers' comfort with buying within social apps. Other slow countries globally include the UK (35%), Australia (31%), and Germany (26%). (Wunderman Thompson Report, 2023)
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Southeast Asia is becoming a competitive hotspot. Shopee, Lazada, and TikTok are all pushing live commerce as a core experience. By 2027, 48% of consumers in this region will watch livestreams once a week at a minimum. (KrAsia, 2023)
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India is projected to be the fastest-growing live commerce market in the region, with revenue expected to reach about $140 billion by 2033. (Grand View Horizon, 2025)
Latin America
Latin America's market is still developing, but it already shows strong interest among users.
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64% of frequent live-commerce users in the region already attend shopping streams regularly, and 63% say they want to buy more in this way. (McKinsey, 2023)
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Most users are between 25 and 44 years old, men make up 58% of shoppers, and 86% live in urban areas. (McKinsey, 2023)
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Social platforms play a major role here. 71% of regular users shop through Instagram, while 51% use Facebook. (McKinsey, 2023)
Platform Momentum and the Creator Economy
Live commerce growth is closely linked to how platforms support content creators and brands as they scale.
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TikTok Shop shows how quickly this model can scale in Western markets. After its wider rollout in the US, the platform drove $100 million in Black Friday sales in 2024, triple the volume from the year before. On that day alone, American users watched more than 30,000 shopping-focused livestreams. (Business Insider, 2024)
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In China, 70% of eCommerce livestreams on Douyin are now led by merchants rather than independent influencers. In terms of sales volume, merchant-led streams account for 40% of GMV, while influencer and mixed formats split the rest. (Dao Insights, 2025)
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Top influencers take commissions as high as 40% to 50% of live sales revenue. That level of payout raises expectations on performance, but can also limit how often brands work with big names. (Science Direct, 2025)
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Across markets, live video now dominates influencer marketing. In 2025, it accounted for 52.4% of all mentions. (Influencer Marketing Report, 2025)
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There was a 55% increase in branded search rates for users in a group shown both Amazon Live ads and other formats vs those who were only shown the other formats. (Amazon Live, 2025)
Consumer Behavior and Demographics
Who shows up on live streaming apps (and how often) may explain why adoption feels uneven across markets.
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Younger users lead the way in the US in one survey. Gen Z is the largest group engaging with shopping videos on social platforms, with 83% watching them. Millennials make up the biggest share of people who actually buy during live shopping sessions at 58%. (VTEX Research, 2024)
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But frequency is still uneven. Only 12% of consumers shop through live formats monthly, and 11% do so more than once a week. At the same time, 55% say they would shop through video and live commerce more often if they were more regularly available. (VTEX Research, 2024)
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Coming to awareness, 38% of consumers are not even sure whether the brands they buy from offer this type of shopping, indicating more of a discovery gap than a demand gap. (VTEX Research, 2024)
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Looking at frequent users globally, the average age falls between 33 and 36, with people aged 25 to 34 forming the largest group. (McKinsey, 2023)
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Among frequent live-commerce users, income levels vary by region. In both the United States and Europe, the majority of users have annual incomes between $25,000 and $50,000. But in the United States, 32% of frequent users earn more than $100,000 a year, while only 5% of their European counterparts do. (McKinsey, 2023)
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Gender patterns slightly favored men in most markets, although China was the exception, with 58% of frequent shoppers being women. (McKinsey, 2023)
What Motivates Viewers to Buy
People choose to buy from livestreams mainly because it shortens the time between product introduction and purchase. Here are a few other factors that push consumers to opt for live commerce:
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40% of surveyed viewers say convenience is the main draw. They can watch, ask questions, and purchase in one place without switching tabs. Demos matter almost as much: 36% say seeing items used live helps them decide. (Agora, 2024)
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24% say engagement influences their decision, whether that comes from chatting with the host (15%) or reacting alongside other shoppers (9%). (Agora, 2024)
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Giveaways and challenges matter even more for some audiences. 36% rank participation rewards as their top reason for tuning in. (HubSpot Bambuser, 2023)
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Social features, such as chat and polls, were shown to strengthen confidence in both the host and the product in a statistically significant way. (MDPI, 2025)
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One study showed that comment and reaction activity was the strongest signal for determining live commerce marketing performance. (Nature.com, 2025)
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Another study found that trust in the streamer, shaped by factors like expertise and warmth, was the strongest predictor for customer engagement behaviors. (ResearchGate, 2025)
Industries Seeing the Highest Returns from Livestream Shopping
As one would expect, live commerce pays off most in verticals that benefit from its interaction-heavy, visual-based format. Here are some categories that see better returns than most:
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Fashion and apparel sit at the top. In 2024, this category accounted for more than 28% of the global livestream eCommerce market. Fit checks, try-ons, and styling demos help viewers make quicker yet informed decisions. (Market.us, 2025)
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Beauty and personal care, automotive, and electronics were the three other categories that topped market share in the same year. (Market.us, 2025)
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Another study showed that the global health and wellness market is both the most profitable and the fastest-growing segment. Real-time product demos and credibility from professional hosts make it more appealing to the respective audience. (Grand View Horizon, 2025)
Final Thoughts
As seen by the data, live commerce is gaining popularity globally and will only continue to grow in adoption and revenue for the foreseeable future.
If your team is considering implementing it, consider these stats and build accordingly:
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You'll likely see higher utilization from younger audiences, men, and users in Asia (except Japan).
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Revenue models will need to consider the split between your platform and its sellers, while still being attractive enough to creators that pull in viewers.
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On top of the core streaming and payment functionalities, you'll need to support the social features that can lead to greater sales figures.
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Consider factoring in product categories when designing your ranking algorithms to surface those that are more likely to be lucrative.
Use these insights to prioritize what you build, how you monetize, and where live commerce fits into your long-term product strategy.