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 U.S. e-commerce giant eBay is ramping up its investments in the online livestream shopping space. This strategic push comes after its eBay Live service achieved remarkable growth during the second quarter, emerging as one of the company's most promising avenues to boost sales and enhance user engagement on its platform.

Explosive Q2 Growth

The Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) traded via eBay Live skyrocketed by approximately 8 times year-on-year during Q2 across seven markets. This substantial surge coincided with a rise in viewership, longer watch times, and a higher volume of products sold through real-time broadcasts.

While eBay did not disclose the exact monetary value of the sales generated by the service in Q2—making it difficult to precisely measure its financial contribution to the company's overall business—the underlying growth indicators are highly robust:

MetriceBay Live Performance Highlights

GMV Growth~8x YoY surge across 7 global markets in Q2.

Seller SuccessOver 90% of regular live sellers reported an increase in their overall GMV.

Sales MultiplierSellers utilizing eBay Live generate ~3x the sales of those who do not use the service.

Buyer SpendingFirst-time live buyers in the collectibles category spent ~70% more compared to traditional non-live shoppers.

Global Rollout and Tech Upgrades

eBay is now gearing up to expand the service to more international markets in the coming weeks and months. The platform initially introduced live shopping in the U.S. in 2022 via an invite-only model, before expanding internationally with a UK beta launch in 2024, followed by rollouts in Germany, Australia, France, Italy, and Canada.

Recently, the company scrapped the limited invite system, allowing eligible sellers to self-register. The live broadcast feature is now available across more than 300 product categories, including electronics, fashion, and collectibles.

Simultaneously, eBay is heavily investing in upgrading the user experience. This includes improving the visibility of live events on its homepage and mobile app, enhancing seller tools for inventory and event management, and optimizing the speed of bidding responses to ensure a seamless real-time transaction experience.

A Fiercely Competitive Landscape

This aggressive expansion arrives as livestream shopping in the U.S. rapidly transitions from a niche activity into a critical sales channel. eBay is betting heavily on eBay Live to transform traditional product searching into a highly interactive experience that merges content viewing, real-time interaction with sellers, live bidding, and instant purchasing.

However, the e-commerce pioneer faces mounting competition in this arena. It is up against dedicated live-shopping platforms like Whatnot, which boasts a valuation exceeding $11 billion, as well as TikTok Shop, which is rapidly scaling its content-driven commerce model. Furthermore, resale platforms such as StockX have also introduced their own livestream shopping capabilities.

As eBay Live continues its global expansion and attracts a growing roster of sellers, the company is betting that livestream shopping will evolve into a primary growth engine, provided it can successfully convert the massive spike in viewership and engagement into sustainable long-term revenue.