TikTok Live Is Now the Top Live Shopping Platform for Customer Engagement

When it comes to live online shopping, TikTok Live has now taken the top spot when it comes to customer engagement.

TikTok Live has taken the top spot in the U.S., surpassing competitors QVC and HSN. This makes the platform the leader in live social shopping, driving significant consumer engagement and purchases. 

Per Savings.com, “TikTok dominates consumer engagement: 29% of American adults have viewed TikTok Live for shopping, outpacing traditional platforms like QVC and HSN, especially among younger demographics.” The site also noted that 86 million Americans have purchased products through live shopping shows in general, and the U.S. market is projected to reach $68 billion by 2026, accounting for 5% of total e-commerce sales.

Based on the site’s study, the platform’s live shop is the most popular way for Americans to consume live shopping shows. Additionally, Facebook and Instagram Live shows were also popular.

According to the outlet, “Though it’s a new phenomenon, our study revealed that interest in live shopping is fairly consistent across generations. The median age for live shopping purchases is 46. That said, younger generations demonstrate slightly higher interest.  From our representative survey, 67% of live shoppers were Millennials, Gen Z, or Gen X. Baby Boomers, who typically have the greatest buying power, made 31% of purchases.”

Gen Z shows a clear preference for mobile-centric platforms, with 57% tuning into TikTok Live and 26% opting for Instagram Live. Millennials are most engaged with YouTube Live, where 18% of them regularly watch. In contrast, older consumers lean toward more traditional formats — 19% of both Gen X and Baby Boomers use QVC or HSN apps, significantly outpacing younger audiences on those channels.

What Makes Shopping on TikTok Live Different?

A press release from TikTok’s Newsroom reveals that TikTok Shop lets users explore a variety of products through engaging shoppable videos, live interactive streams, and a vast marketplace, all while shopping within the app. A statement explains why this customer engagement works so well.

“Shoppable videos and LIVE shopping reignite personal connections and real-time interactions once core to traditional shopping, making it easy for sellers to engage with thousands or even millions of customers at any one time, giving consumers the opportunity to discover new brands and products for the very first time,” the release states.

“Discovery e-commerce is about finding items you love, in the same way you would in a shop. When you scroll through your For You Page, it’s like your very own personalised shopping aisle — you will find products you’re interested in, with experts giving you a real life view into how the product works, fits, or is styled,” it continues.

James Edmunds, managing director of Trip, explained, “What we’ve always found is, the way that people enter our brand world is through word of mouth recommendation. It’s traditionally happened separately from the point of purchase. People aren’t chatting to each other in supermarkets. TikTok Shop Live allows our customers to interact with each other, get recommendations from each other, talk about our products, all through the platform.”

As of February 2025, AMZScout reported that over 1 billion people worldwide, and 70 million in the U.S., engage in shopping on TikTok.