Is live shopping the future for fashion and culture obsessives?
WhatNot is a Twitch-meets-QVC platform that helps you meet people who are just as passionate about handbags, rare sneakers or books
WhatNot is a Twitch-meets-QVC platform that helps you meet people who are just as passionate about handbags, rare sneakers or books
Bethany Slack, cofounder of vintage fashion storefront The Luxury Pickers, is convinced that she discovered quiet luxury. “No one believes me but I saw stealth wealth coming from a mile away. It very much came off of Sofia Richie’s wedding but there was a lag in reporting it,” she says. “I was shouting about the return of Loro Piana and expensive neutrals much before; my audience is always relieved that I spend so much time scouting trends.”
The seller prides herself for her deep knowledge of fashion – both past and present. She isn’t just a connoisseur but rather a culture collector, filling equal servings of passion and curiosity. The word ‘culture collector’ has the same mood as dream catcher or stargazer, it feels surreal and special. You’re not just someone who consumes culture but who is expert enough to collect it.
Whatnot, a live shopping marketplace, conducted a study on the future of shopping that revealed we’re in the era of culture collectors. 60 per cent of Gen Zers in the UK, they found, would rather invest in collectibles than traditional stocks. What kind of collectibles are we talking about? Turns out, the sky's the limit: rare books, vinyl records, one-off coins and, of course, lots of vintage fashion.
Think seasons’ past Chanel and Vivienne Westwood, or sold-out Ganni. At a time when the dream of owning a house feels inaccessible, people are choosing to spend their money on niche passions. For context, as per Whatnot’s research, one in four Gen Zers say they collect because it’s cool, and 25 per cent of Brits claim to invest in unique items such as trading cards as collectibles gain fame in pop culture.
Founded in the US in 2019 and onto its (very successful) second year in the UK, Whatnot is a bit like Twitch-meets-QVC: a highly personal, real-time shopping experience. As the largest livestream shopping platform in Europe and North America, it helps buyers and sellers connect in real time and build relationships through live auctions. Intrigued, I joined a livestream hosted by @AmirCollector who specialises in rare Pokémon cards and was instantly taken in by the community.
Over 100 people watched Amir unpack decks of cards and talk through their features. They could bid in real time or engage in the sudden death format where a creator sets a timer (could be 3s or 30s) for a product and the last bid in when the buzzer goes off, wins the auction. It not only gamifies the shopping experience but brings fun conversation to the chat as people cheer each other on and compete.
It wasn’t all shop talk either: as loyal buyers jumped in, Amir discussed his day, wished a viewer luck on their first date and hyped up a creator who just bagged some unique cards on another stream. “At the very heart of live shopping, is the blending of community and commerce. The connection buyers and sellers feel when they find a community of people who share their same love of comic books or memorabilia is the very reason we started Whatnot,” says CEO and cofounder Grant LaFontaine.
Inspired by LaFontaine’s love for FunkoPops, the platform started as a marketplace for pop culture bobbleheads and has grown to include fashion, beauty, electronics and even plants. Whatnot also allows sellers to extend their passion into a viable business. One in 10 UK sellers on the app make a minimum of £5,000 a week. Slack, who runs her vintage label on Whatnot, tells woo that she made £20,000 from the platform in February alone. “The key differentiator of Whatnot from popular apps like Depop and Vinted is that you can see me. You’re not just buying a product from a faceless seller but it’s almost like having a personal stylist. People ask me for tips on how to pair the clothing too,” Slack says.
“[Viewers] also come in for our personality, they enjoy the humour and the knowledge we have. Typically, luxury fashion goes up to a size 14 and isn’t very inclusive of bigger bodies. But I know that in 2016, Balenciaga did a collection of oversized styles that would fit a size 30. So when I brought that to the shop, people felt included and seen,” the seller explains. Slack also makes an effort to remember details about her audience’s preferences – like Laura who is looking for a yellow dress or Francis who doesn’t wear brown. It’s hard to imagine where else you’d find such a personalised shopping community online.
This social aspect of live shopping allows people to meet others who are just as passionate about discontinued Disney toys or Nike Air Max, creating a bond that goes beyond the exchange of goods. Often you’re not shopping mindlessly from a big, bad brand but from a friend who knows what you like and keeps your size handy, who cares that you have a big job interview or understands why you’d want a logo tee amid the graphics trend boom. On these live shopping experiences, you’re a culture collector but you’re also a community member and in the midst of a long down loneliness epidemic, that’s really just what we all want.
want more?
