The state of live shopping: What drives sales and spontaneous buys

Live shopping adoption and purchase behavior

Live shopping has moved beyond novelty and into regular viewing habits for many consumers in the US. Watching livestreams where products are sold and making purchases has gone mainstream.

More than four in five consumers surveyed in the US (83%) said they have watched a live shopping event or livestream where products were being sold, with 33% watching live shopping streams at least once a month. This steady exposure creates frequent opportunities for discovery and buying.

Nearly two in five consumers surveyed (37%) reported buying a product during or shortly after a live shopping event. One in five of these livestream shoppers said they spent more than $500 on these purchases in the past year.

Among live-shopping buyers, 66% had made an impulsive purchase after randomly clicking on a live shopping stream. This behavior was fairly even across generations as it included 67% of Gen Z, 66% of millennials, and 66% of Gen X and older generations.

The platforms driving the most livestream impulse purchases overall are:

• TikTok (52%)
• Instagram (25%)
• Facebook (20%)
• YouTube (18%)
• Amazon Live (12%)

Product categories purchased during live shopping reflect both entertainment value and everyday needs. Fashion or apparel (42%) led overall, followed by beauty or skincare (28%), electronics or tech accessories (27%), and jewelry or accessories (24%).

Live shopping also became a way to buy for others. More than half of consumers surveyed (57%) said they purchased an item during a live shopping stream as a gift for someone else.

Not every viewer converted into a buyer, however. Among consumers who watched live shopping events but chose not to purchase, the most common reasons included:

• Watching for entertainment only (34%)
• Not seeing anything relevant (29%)
• Preferring to research products independently (29%)
• Prices or deals not feeling compelling (29%)
• Not trusting the product or seller (18%)
• Feeling pressured (9%)
• Not shopping online often (6%)

Among those who made purchases, they most likely either already had plans to buy something similar (44%) or wanted to take advantage of a limited-time deal (43%).

Brand discovery and trust during live shopping

Live shopping is a powerful brand discovery tool, but it also comes with emotional highs and lows for buyers.

Many livestream shoppers (80%) said they discovered a new brand or product through a live shopping event. This trend was strongest among Gen Z, with 85% saying live shopping helped them discover something new. More than three in five consumers in the US (68%) said social proof — when others in the chat are making purchases or recommending the product — during a live shopping event would make them more likely to buy.

Livestream shoppers were most likely to trust these platforms the most for live shopping:

• TikTok (40%)
• Amazon Live (26%)
• YouTube (21%)
• Instagram (18%)
• Facebook (18%)
• Twitch (4%)

Who hosted the event also mattered. Purchasing decisions were most often influenced by:

• A combination of hosts, such as creators, brands, and customers (30%)
• A fellow customer or fan (21%)
• An influencer or content creator (19%)
• A brand representative (18%)
• A celebrity (3%)

The emotions most commonly associated with live shopping included excitement (57%), impulsiveness (47%), entertainment (43%), and fear of missing out (34%). Gen Z was the most likely to be dealing with FOMO (50%) during livestream shopping, compared to millennials (30%) and Gen X and older generations (27%).

Buyer's remorse, however, was not uncommon. Over half of millennials (57%) and 50% of Gen Z shoppers said they experienced buyer's remorse after a live shopping purchase, compared with 37% of Gen X and older generations. The most common reasons included:

• Spending more than intended (53%)
• Not really needing the item (44%)
• Products not matching how they were presented (30%)
• Excitement wearing off after purchase (30%)
• Feeling pressured to buy quickly (28%)

How businesses and creators use live shopping

On the business side, live shopping contributes meaningfully to revenue and engagement, even when it's not the primary sales channel.

Over two in five content creators (41%) and more than a third of business owners (36%) said they have hosted, co-hosted, or participated in a live shopping event to sell products or services. On average, live shopping drove about 10% of total revenue for both groups, and over two in five brands (43%) said live shopping performed stronger than their other sales channels.

Fashion or apparel was the most commonly sold category through live shopping (29%), followed by collectibles (25%) and beauty or skincare products (24%). Brands most often hosted live shopping events a few times per year (55%), though some ran them monthly (28%) or more frequently (17%).

When asked which platforms delivered the highest return on investment for live shopping, brands most often cited:

• TikTok (48%)
• Instagram (34%)
• Facebook (24%)
• YouTube (20%)
• Twitch (4%)
• Amazon Live (4%)

Influencer or creator hosts were seen as the most effective at driving sales (34%), followed by co-hosted events featuring both a creator and a brand (18%).

Sales did not stop when the stream ended. About one in four live shopping purchases (24%) happened after the live event. The most effective post-stream strategies included:

• Promo codes shared after the event (47%)
• Product links pinned or reposted (39%)
• Follow-up emails or texts (39%)

Looking ahead, nearly one in five brands (18%) planned to increase their investment in live shopping over the next year. Among brands that had not yet adopted live shopping, the most common reasons included lack of interest (42%), limited expertise or confidence (40%), and uncertainty about whether it would convert into sales (23%).

Why live shopping matters and what to do next

Live shopping reflects a broader shift toward more social, interactive ways to buy. Consumers are discovering new brands, making faster decisions, and spending more when trust, timing, and real-time feedback come together. For creators and businesses, even a few well-planned live events can drive meaningful sales and engagement.

What to do next depends on where you are today. If you already use live shopping, refine your approach by focusing on the platforms your audience trusts, leaning into social proof, and extending sales beyond the live moment. If you are new to live shopping, start small and use simple, consistent visuals and promotions to test what resonates, with tools from Adobe Express helping you create and share assets quickly.