TikTok Shop Doubles H1 2026 Live Sales as U.S. Livestream Shopping Nears $20 Billion
Updated
Updated · CNBC · Sep 1
TikTok Shop Doubles H1 2026 Live Sales as U.S. Livestream Shopping Nears $20 Billion
3 articles · Updated · CNBC · Sep 1
Summary
TikTok Shop said U.S. live-shopping sales more than doubled in the first half of 2026 from a year earlier, with live sessions up over 60% and total live hours rising more than 80%.
Nearly $20 billion in U.S. livestream-shopping sales is forecast for 2026, up about 35% year over year, as TikTok and Whatnot push the format beyond collectibles into beauty, fashion and other categories.
Whatnot, founded in 2019, recently reached a $20 billion valuation and said most of its $8 billion in 2025 global sales came from the U.S., underscoring how quickly newer video-first platforms are gaining share.
Beachwaver illustrates the model's pull: the brand logged about $8,000 in the first four hours of a late-July TikTok live, and roughly a quarter of its $1 million TikTok Shop sales this year came from livestreams.
The growth still trails China, where livestream shopping is projected to top $1.1 trillion in 2026, while U.S. platforms and sellers continue to face counterfeit risks, platform fees and tougher competition for viewer attention.