Throughout the late 80s and into the 90s, television shopping was all the rage. Channels such as QVC allowed you to purchase everything from homeware and hair care to clothes – all from the comfort of your own home.
The channel aired 24/7, making it perfect viewing for those who couldn’t sleep, who liked to wake up early, or anyone coming in late after one too many. At 2am you could easily find yourself suckered in as a charming presenter explained how a new cleaning device worked, or how a dazzling diamond necklace was being flogged for half the price.
You’d merely need to reach for the landline and dial the number on screen. After a chat with a telephone operator, that bad boy would be yours in three to five working days.
Flash forward a few decades and, while QVC is still going strong, broadcasting in five countries to around 141 million consumers, there are more advanced ways to buy and sell products these days.
From Vinted to Depop, and, of course, eBay, you have numerous options available at the tip of your fingers. But there’s also a brand new contender that’s entered the market – and it’s put an exciting spin on television shopping.
Whatnot, a livestream shopping app from the US, launched in the UK 18 months ago and has quickly become a hit with Brits, with 50,000 people signing up to buy collectibles like trading cards and comic books, as well as clothing, footwear, and more.
It’s different from other resale apps, as sellers on the platform host live ‘shows’ where they show off their wares, allowing customers to ask questions in real time and get a closer look at the products. The app prides itself on being not only the ‘future of shopping’, but also a ‘community’ space where people can build relationships around their passions.
A whopping two million hours of live streams are being watched globally each week on the app, and much like QVC, you’ll find someone streaming at all hours of the day and night.
Because of the popularity, a number of sellers have been able to turn their accounts into a thriving, full-time business.
‘Around one in 10 sellers are a full-time business earning a minimum of £5,000 a week,’ says Daniel Fisher, Whatnot UK’s general manager. ‘This would involve streaming for about two and a half hours a day.’
One of the most successful accounts on Whatnot is The Luxury Pickers, which is run by Bethany Slack and Austin Aubrey from Somerset. The pair have a background in luxury fashion and put their knowledge about clothes to good use when thrifting high end items, which they sell for as little as £1 on the app.
The concept of livestream reselling was something they stumbled upon by chance on YouTube, but it soon became the ‘best possible thing’ that could have happened for them and their business.
The duo put on regular shows three to four times a week and have been blown away by the speed and ease at which they can sell clothes, selling between 50 and 100 pieces during each show.
‘I’ve been out thrifting today and I could go live on Whatnot right now from this hotel room and say “Okay guys, a size 14 Saint Laurent, start for £1, let’s go,” and it will be sold within two or three hours of me actually picking it up from the shop,’ Austin, 39, explains to Metro.co.uk.
All of these sales have made for incredible income for the pair, who can’t believe how much they’re making each month, having only created their account on the app in November last year.
‘The most interesting thing is the growth of how much we’re making,’ says 30-year-old Bethany. ‘The first few months we took in around four to five thousand pounds and then last month it was just over £20,000 and this month we hope to do another £10,000 on top of that.
‘Whatnot has 100% changed our lives. What we made last month is more than what we made in an entire year last year. It’s given us financial freedom and also freedom to be able to travel and thrift all around the world and run our business on our own schedule, which is the dream for most self-employed people.’
Between 200 and 400 people watch each of their shows and the pair love that the space feels so ‘supportive’.
‘It’s a real community,’ says Austin. ‘People chat in the comments of the video and talk to you, it’s like when you’re playing football and someone on the sidelines is cheering you on.’
Bethany and Austin are so grateful for all the support they’ve been receiving on the app that they love to do giveaways for their followers to say thank you. They recently gave away an item from Worlds End, London’s original Vivienne Westwood store, that you can’t buy anywhere else.
‘It’s crazy that we could do that, but we’re all about giving, we love doing this and it’s so much fun to be able to give people access to products they might not have the chance to buy otherwise.’
How to be successful on Whatnot:
Daniel Fisher, the general manager of Whatnot UK, claims there are three things a seller needs to do to find success like The Luxury Pickers on the app.
The first is to be knowledgeable about the products and your community.
‘Bethany and Austin are definitely knowledgeable about their items, they have previous experience in fashion and they brought that to the app and they are great at curating products for their audience. They’ve also got a real passion for it which really helps.’
His next top tip is to be fun and entertaining during your live shows.
‘A good way of working out how to do that is to watch other sellers, from either the UK, US, France or Germany to get inspiration and come up with a fun format for your own livestreams.’
And his final tip is consistency.
‘Build that audience and loyalty, interact with your audience,’ he urges. ‘Live shopping is a really unique way to do that because your audience is also speaking to one another, so there’s a real opportunity there to build your own community.
‘There’s a seller on the app called Global Nostalgia, his name is Kevin, and I was with him and one of his viewers said they tune into his shows every week after watching EastEnders with their family, so having that consistency when going live has really helped.’
They also often thrift items with certain followers in mind and are able to help their customers find pieces they are after.
‘We have one customer that’s a big Taylor Swift fan and we’ve been able to find some Chiefs bits that they’ve bought from us.
‘It’s a bit like being a personal shopper, but we’re able to give money to charity along the way as we’re going to 20 or 30 charity shops a day to thrift,’ they share.
While anyone is able to set up an account to buy items on Whatnot, all sellers have to go through a substantial vetting process to ensure they’re trustworthy.
One other positive for the platform is that buyers can get a proper look at what they’re buying before they make an offer in the chat. The sellers can show it on camera from every single angle, meaning there’s less chance of buyer’s remorse when it arrives.
‘We explain everything fully on camera, if there are any faults, if it’s pristine, if it comes with tags or not, what the colour looks like up close, what the measurements are, and then if they like it they can buy it,’ Bethany tells Metro.
‘It’s the closest thing online that you’ll get to actually shopping in a store. You’re able to see all the clothes and talk through them, like being with a sales assistant in a brick and mortar shop.’
And when they’re not selling clothes on the app (or filming content for their YouTube channel), Bethany and Austin can’t stop themselves from watching other people’s livestreams.
‘There’s a whole realm of card collectors, books, comic books and collectibles and there are cards that go for hundreds and thousands of pounds,’ Austin says. ‘This isn’t something I don’t know anything about, but recently I was sat there at 3 o’clock in the morning watching a guy breaking cards, which basically means pulling cards from a pack and then auctioning them online.
‘I’m not a card guy, but Whatnot is just that addictive.
‘There’s always someone online and streaming, so it’s great if you’ve got insomnia.’
So can we expect to be hearing more about livestream shopping for the forseeable? Whatnot co-founder and CEO Grant LeFontaine certainly thinks so.
He added: ‘Livestream shopping has already taken off and become a daily ritual in so many consumers’ lives. In the next few years, we should expect to see these numbers rise significantly as livestream shopping continues to dominate the online shopping space, and platforms like Whatnot grow into new markets and categories.
‘For the new generation, livestream shopping offers a digital hybrid shopping experience, where you get curated in-store customer service with the accessibility of being able to access it on your phone.’
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