Whatnot
Whatnot is a livestream shopping app launched in 2019 that combines real-time auctions with influencer-style engagement, featuring sellers offering collectibles, vintage items, and luxury goods. The app has gained significant user engagement, with people spending an average of 95 minutes daily, and raised $225 million at an $11.5 billion valuation in October 2025. Despite competition from TikTok Shop, Amazon Live, and Taobao Live, the company emphasizes its support for small businesses, with one in eight sellers using it as their full-time job.
- ▪Whatnot was founded in 2019 as a livestream shopping platform for collectible, vintage, and luxury items.
- ▪Users spend an average of 95 minutes per day on the app, comparable to TikTok's user engagement.
- ▪The company raised $225 million in October 2025 at an $11.5 billion valuation.
- ▪One in eight sellers on Whatnot has turned the platform into their full-time job.
- ▪CEO Grant LaFontaine highlights the app's focus on helping small businesses grow.
- ▪TikTok Shop, Amazon Live, and Alibaba’s Taobao Live are major competitors in the livestream shopping space.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Those trying to cut down on screen time should resist downloading Whatnot, the livestream shopping app where the thrill of a limited-supply auction meets the parasocial rush of chatting with your favorite influencers. Founded in 2019, the app’s hundreds of thousands of sellers pitch largely collectible, vintage, or luxury products QVC-style, from antique vases to limited-edition Nikes, while buyers bid on them in real time or snag them instantly. Users spend an average of 95 minutes a day on the app, according to the company, a figure nearly equal to TikTok’s daily user average.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at TIME — Top.
