Does TikTok Shop Represent a ‘Modern Gold Rush’ Into Shoppertainment?

Platforms such as Whatnot and TikTok Shop represent something of a “modern gold rush” into shopping as entertainment — or “shoppertainment” — as Forbes contributor Catherine Erdly pointed out. Out of a total $87 billion social commerce business in the U.S. for 2025 (a segment which grow YoY by 21.5% in that year), TikTok Shop claimed a whopping $15.8 billion of the total sum, with Whatnot positioned somewhat lower, at $8 billion in sales across its operations in North America and Europe last year.

“TikTok Shop is increasingly acting like a modern gold rush, creating breakout businesses from kitchens and living rooms, at a speed traditional e-commerce rarely delivers,” Erdly wrote.

“The growth in live streaming is another facet of the broader phenomenon of ‘shoppertainment’ or shopping as entertainment, which is set to be a major retail trend this year,” she added.

From creator to commercial mindsets, instead of the traditional model — perhaps best exhibited by QVC and more curated live sales platforms — which do things the other way around, TikTok Shop and Whatnot see upstart brands commanding immense audiences, driving impressive sales. Two specific examples are outlined by Erdly:

• P. Louise looks at their TikTok Live selling as a full production, with the U.K.-based makeup brand’s “Get Unteddy With Me” event (a play on the popular “get unready with me” de-glam routines on social media more broadly) seeing 250,000 viewers and 31 products sold each minute. “[This] wasn’t just a launch; it was a show,” said founder Paige Williams.
• Luke Arnel Cameron’s Yass Clean brand moved 650,000 unique orders in its first year of operation via TikTok Shop, selling more than $95,000 worth of product during its first livestream event. “I left my job, [and] I did it full time. I was making ten times more than I was in my regular job,” Cameron said of the brand’s fast-moving success.

TikTok Shop, Whatnot, and Live Selling a Bit of a ‘Wild West’

The nature of live sales and the participation of so many would-be brand founders and up-and-coming entrepreneurs also adds a bit of “wild west” to the aforementioned gold rush sentiment. In other words, this explosive new retail format is as fraught with danger as any new and developing market.

“But the same mechanics that make TikTok Shop explosive can also make it challenging because virality forces big-company moves at small-company speeds. And Cameron can testify to this as he’s about to sign a contract for a massive warehouse and retail space,” Erdly underscored.

“It’s the part of the story that’s easy to miss: the living-room setup can unlock demand fast, but sustaining it requires infrastructure–stock, shipping, support, returns, and cash flow discipline,” she added.

Live Selling Involves Shopper Psychology and May Create New Shopper Expectations

There may also be a great deal of shopper psychology at play: Today’s cash-strapped (yet pining for personalization and retail therapy) consumer can develop kinship with other users in a live selling chat, or even with the host themselves, a strong loyalty indicator. This sort of compelling entertainment value also means that users are enticed to spend more time within the platform ecosystem, with frictionless payment options and instant buying with a single swipe defining a new era of in-your-face — or, perhaps more accurately, up-close-and-personal — e-commerce selling.

That new era could see TikTok Shop reach even greater heights: eMarketer projects that the platform will experience $23.41 billion in U.S. e-comm sales in 2026 alone.

“For founders building from kitchens and living rooms, TikTok Shop can create demand at a rare speed. The advantage goes to sellers who can operationalize that demand before the next viral wave moves in,” Erdly concluded.