Nearly all luxury resale transactions on TikTok Shop US now come from livestreams

Ivy Liu Livestreaming is proving to be big business for TikTok Shop’s burgeoning resale economy. Year-to-date, 94% of revenue on TikTok Shop from luxury resale in the U.S. is coming from lives, the platform revealed last week at its inaugural Luxury Resale Summit in New York City. More broadly, luxury resale on TikTok Shop has enjoyed a 400% year-over-year spike in gross merchandise value, largely from products like handbags and watches . Luxury resale is a high-consideration category — and one that falls victim to counterfeits — so TikTok Shop is working to position itself as a place buyers can trust. For one, the category is exclusive. Sellers must be invited to sell luxury resale on the platform, and they need to work with one of TikTok Shop’s five authentication partners (Entrupy, Legitmark, CheckCheck, Legit App and Real Authentication). But lives can inspire even more confidence, because they show a product’s wear-and-tear, dimensions and other details in real time, said Rainee Walker, head of category for luxury resale in the U.S. for TikTok Shop. “To convey trust, there needs to be a conversation,” Walker said during a presentation to members of the media during New York Fashion Week. “But where is that conversation happening? It’s happening on live. As the seller gets to engage with their audience, they’re able to bring what once was a static product description page to life. You now have an individual, a subject matter expert, describing the condition and showing you the condition and how you can wear these items.” As an example, Walker mentioned that she is five-foot-ten, so a crossbody bag is going to look differently on her, versus someone who’s five-foot-three. If Walker tunes into a livestream, she can type out a question about strap length to the host. “I can say, ‘Hey, can you put on this bag? Where does it land on you?’ ‘I see a red color. Is this more brick red? Is a little bit more orange?'” Walker said. “Through live, this conversation [and] this education is happening.” In this way, lives are helping to introduce more people to luxury resale, Walker told Modern Retail in a separate interview. “[The sellers] are providing storytelling to explain why this item is valued at what it is, so it’s an educational opportunity,” she explained. And, while sellers must list descriptions of their items within TikTok Shop, lives help bring certain terms — like “scratched hardware” or “stained lining” — to life, Walker said. Condition can be subjective, she explained, so going “live helps remove some of that friction or that doubt.” TikTok Shop U.S. hosts hundreds of thousands of registered sellers but does not publicly break out sellers by category. Still, it has become home to a growing number of secondhand dealers and platforms selling high-end brands like Hermès and Chanel. For instance, Fashionphile (around 204,000 TikTok followers) hosts multiple daily lives on TikTok through “Fashionphile TV .” TikTok Shop is responsible for a little over 25% of Fashionphile’s U.K. business. Rebag (around 265,000 TikTok followers) hosts livestreams on TikTok to show off its merchandise, too. On the afternoon of Sept. 15, Rebag held a live in which it displayed dozens of bags, including a heart-shaped patent-leather Chanel bag going for $2,210. MyGemma (31,000 TikTok followers) sells jewelry and bags via TikTok livestreams and also invites creators to use its New York City showroom. TikTok and other livestream channels account for about 15-20% of the company’s revenue, CEO and founder Andrew Brown told Modern Retail. TikTok Shop came to the U.S. in 2023, hoping to build on the success of social commerce in markets such as China. While the field is still emerging, three years later, all types of retail players — not just those in resale — are hosting lives on the platform. Crocs’ U.S. business (337,000 TikTok followers) went live on TikTok 24/7 for the entire month of October last year. Meanwhile, Stila Cosmetics (119,000 TikTok followers) recently built a livestream studio in its office to help with TikTok Shop sales. In fact, TikTok Shop is becoming so crucial to brands’ businesses that many are creating dedicated positions for heads of TikTok Shop. The rise of TikTok’s resale business corresponds with a larger interest in buying items secondhand, especially among young people. ThredUp predicts that the global secondhand apparel market will reach $393 billion by 2030, growing 2X faster than the overall apparel market. While traditional fashion resale platforms like The RealReal and Nuuly are seeing strong sales, livestream platforms are also seeing an increased appetite for gently-used clothing. On Whatnot, for instance, fashion has become one of the fastest-growing categories on the platform. Importantly, for resellers and resale platforms, lives are spurring loyal audiences. On TikTok, the same people tend to tune in and write to one another. The company has noticed this camaraderie and calls this its “secret sauce,” Walker told Modern Retail. “If you look at the comments, everyone knows each other,” she explained. “Like, ‘Hey, Sarah, did you like that pink wallet you bought last week? I’m here to buy the matching bag today.’ They really rally around each other.” Ultimately, resale sellers are using TikTok Shop as “a great equalizer,” Walker told Modern Retail. “We have a lot of big sellers, big flashy names … [that are] joining our platform to meet their audience where they’re already at. But then, through the discovery that is TikTok Shop, they’re able to meet a new audience and build a lasting community.” Copy link