When Grant LaFontaine and Logan Head, both collectors themselves, founded Whatnot in Los Angeles in December 2019, the idea was modest: give trading card, comic, and sneaker collectors a place to sell to each other via live video — a kind of flea market broadcast as a livestream. Six years later, that same platform has become the engine of a $22 billion market across North America and Europe — and it controls almost all of it.
A $22 billion market, and Whatnot holds nearly 60% of it
According to the State of Live Selling Report 2026, published by the company in January, live shopping across the US, UK, France, and Germany has reached an estimated value of $22 billion, with Whatnot holding nearly 60% market share. In 2025 alone, the platform generated over $8 billion in GMV (Gross Merchandise Value, the total value of goods sold) globally, more than double 2024’s figure, while adding over 20 million new accounts. The number of sellers who have surpassed $1 million in lifetime sales on the platform has more than doubled. — Sources: Whatnot (official blog), Retail Technology Innovation Hub, FashionNetwork
For comparison: according to Forbes, McKinsey had estimated that — using China as a model — live commerce could eventually account for 10% to 20% of all e-commerce by 2026. Whatnot’s numbers suggest the West is moving exactly in that direction.
The money: a valuation that doubled in ten months
The market isn’t the only thing that’s grown fast — so has the company’s own valuation. In late October 2025, Whatnot closed a $225 million Series F round, co-led by DST Global and CapitalG (Alphabet’s growth fund), with Sequoia Capital and Alkeon Capital joining as new investors. The valuation climbed to $11.5 billion — more than double the roughly $5 billion it was valued at in January 2025, when it closed its $265 million Series E. In total, Whatnot has raised nearly $968 million since 2019. — Sources: TechCrunch, Business of Fashion, TechFundingNews, Crunchbase News
One detail that hasn’t gone unnoticed among analysts: among the round’s participants is DST Global, the same fund that invested in Facebook in 2009 and in Airbnb before its IPO — a signal, according to Startup Fortune, that investors may already be picturing a path to public markets for Whatnot, even though the company hasn’t announced any IPO plans.
Europe is growing faster than the US
While the US remains the reference market, it’s Europe that’s showing the most striking growth numbers. According to the 2026 report:
- Whatnot’s European seller base grew 600% year-over-year.
- France is the fastest-growing market for new sellers by far, up 888%.
- In the UK, first-time buyers grew 374% year-over-year (versus +285% globally), and sellers who go live every day earn an average of £30,000 a month.
- Overall, sellers who go live 3-4 times a week average over $13,000 in monthly sales.
— Sources: Whatnot (official blog), FashionNetwork, Retail Times
Daniel Fisher, Whatnot’s UK general manager, put it this way: live shopping “is no longer experimental — it’s become a core part of how people buy, sell and build businesses.” — Source: Retail Times
What’s selling (and how it’s changing)
Whatnot started out on collectibles, but the 2026 report confirms a clear expansion into new categories: beauty sales grew 791% globally in 2025, while women’s fashion rose 223% — to the point that in the UK, women’s fashion livestreams now generate over 500,000 viewing hours a month. — Source: FashionNetwork
An interesting case cited by Forbes involves the fashion brand Weardeadstock, which started using Whatnot livestreams to sell returns and end-of-line stock through low-starting-price auctions — a way of turning reverse logistics (usually hidden away in warehouses) into a show people actually want to watch. A detail that, according to the article’s author, shifts live shopping from being “QVC for Gen Z” to a serious operational tool for inventory management too.
The flip side
Not every signal is positive. An analysis by ValueAddedResource notes that Whatnot’s “fast and loose” growth has also exposed predictable weak points: thin margins for some sellers, uneven buyer protection, and a format — the so-called “repacks” or “box breaks,” surprise packages with randomized contents — that critics say risks blurring the line between shopping and gambling. Not coincidentally, in October 2025 Whatnot announced new rules to regulate the sale of exactly these kinds of surprise products.
It’s also worth noting that competitor eBay Live hasn’t yet published detailed figures: on the Q3 2025 earnings call, CEO Jamie Iannone said the annualized GMV run rate for their live shopping division was up roughly 5x year-over-year — a signal that, even with much smaller absolute numbers than Whatnot, the channel is growing for every player in the space, not just the market leader.
The bottom line
Whatnot shows how a “niche” market — trading card and sneaker collectors — can become the dominant infrastructure of an entire sector within a few years. With an $11.5 billion valuation, close to 60% market share, and a European business growing faster than the US, the question for 2026 is no longer whether live shopping will go mainstream in the West — it’s how quickly competitors (eBay Live, TikTok Shop, Amazon Live) can chip away at the leader’s advantage.
Sources cited in this article
- Whatnot (official blog), State of Live Selling Report 2026 (January 28-29, 2026 / March 2026)
- Retail Times, Live selling goes mainstream in the UK (January 28, 2026)
- Retail Technology Innovation Hub, Live shopping becoming core retail channel for everyday categories (January 29, 2026) and Whatnot bags Series F funding (October 28, 2025)
- FashionNetwork (US/UK), Fast-growing Live Shopping is now mainstream, claims Whatnot (January 29, 2026)
- Forbes, Whatnot And Live Shopping: Fashion’s Product Page Becomes A Person (January 28, 2026)
- ValueAddedResource, Whatnot 2026 Live Selling Report: Growth, Friction, and the Future of Live Commerce (March 7, 2026)
- TechCrunch, Livestream shopping app Whatnot raises $265M (January 8, 2025)
- Business of Fashion, Whatnot Secures $11.5 Billion Valuation (October 29, 2025)
- TechFundingNews, Whatnot lands $225M at $11.5B valuation (October 29, 2025)
- Crunchbase News, Whatnot Lands $225M Series F (October 2025)
- Startup Fortune, Whatnot raises $225 million at an $11.5 billion valuation (June 2026)
- Tubefilter, Whatnot breaks down $22 billion live shopping industry (January 28, 2026)