TikTok proved live social shopping can bring in billions. QVC just filled for bankruptcy and hopes an online pivot can make it profitable again.
After <a href="https://bitcomme.com/about-90-of-executives-see-no-ai-productivity-growth/” title=”About 90% of executives see no AI productivity growth”>about 40 years of broadcasting into peoples’ homes, QVC announced it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this week. The owner of HSN, formerly the Home Shopping Network, said it will keep operating as usual and hopes to emerge from bankruptcy soon.
Its plan is to go all-in on live social shopping — real-time selling on social media, streaming platforms and e-commerce sites.
QVC is sort of the original player in real-time retail. And it’s still selling. In a segment broadcast on Friday, Crystal poses in a staged living room wearing a bright yellow tracksuit. The content isn’t so different from what you might find on TikTok, the leading social shopping destination by sales. Kim Kardashian used TikTok to sell items from her Skims brand back in December. At its peak, 30,000 people tuned in to the live event she dubbed “Kimsmas.”
Live social shopping is kind of like QVC on steroids. Sky Canaves, a retail and e-commerce analyst at Emarketer, said sales flash on the screen and brands drop limited edition merchandise.
“It tends to be very interactive because the audience can ask questions, make requests. And there tend to be elements of FOMO to it,” she said.
It’s a bit more in the moment, and there’s less friction to buy. Shoppers can click on links in TikTok and checkout directly on the platform.
And people are engaged. Canaves expects TikTok shop sales to hit $23 billion in 2026. “This year, TikTok shop will actually generate more online sales than Target,” she said. A pretty impressive stat, considering the shopping feature was only introduced on TikTok a couple years ago.
Katie Hansen, a retail and e-commerce analyst at Mintel, said the products that sell best on social tend to be more affordable goods.
“What I would call ‘low-risk’ products. So you know, maybe a piece of clothing or maybe even food and drink, something that you’re kinda doing one-off and it doesn’t require as much investment,” she said.
But in general, Hansen doesn’t expect social shopping to dominate retail the way it does in Asia. Social commerce in the U.S. is more about discovering new products or brands.
“It’s part of the overall strategy. So it’s all working together as this seamless, omnichannel way that consumers are shopping,” she said.
