Social Rocket
On TikTok Shop, luxury resale in the US now runs almost entirely through live video: according to the platform, this year 94 percent of revenue from pre-owned luxury items comes from livestreams. At the same time, the category's gross merchandise value is said to have risen by 400 percent year on year. TikTok Shop published the figures at the first Luxury Resale Summit in New York; Digiday reported on it on the 17 September 2026.
The context matters: the 94 percent refers not to the entire TikTok Shop, but to luxury resale in the US. That is precisely why the category is interesting. With high-priced pre-owned bags, watches or jewellery, sellers have to explain much more than with an ordinary impulse purchase.
Why live works for pre-owned luxury items
In secondhand luxury, condition, dimensions, colour and signs of wear are part of the purchase decision. A static product listing can only answer these questions to a limited extent. In a livestream, viewers can ask directly and have details shown to them.
TikTok Shop manager Rainee Walker therefore describes live as a conversation between seller and buyer. According to Digiday, retailers use the format, among other things, to demonstrate scratches, discolouration, proportions and how items are worn in real time. The stream thus takes over part of what advice would deliver in a brick-and-mortar store.
This is also relevant for other social commerce categories: the higher the need for explanation or the perceived purchase risk, the more valuable a format can become that combines product demo, community and checkout in the same interface.
TikTok combines livestreams with access controls
Trust in luxury resale does not arise from video alone. According to the rules TikTok outlined at the summit, the category in the US is only open to invited sellers. Retailers must also work with one of five authentication partners: Entrupy, Legitmark, CheckCheck, Legit App or Real Authentication.
This does not automatically eliminate the risk of counterfeits, but it shows that TikTok Shop treats the category differently from ordinary mass-market goods. The platform is trying to combine technical and organisational controls with the visible trust signal of a host.
The scale reached by individual retailers shows that this is already becoming a distinct sales channel. Digiday names Fashionphile, Rebag and MyGemma, among others, as active livestream sellers. TikTok Shop is reportedly already responsible for a little more than a quarter of Fashionphile's UK business. MyGemma states that TikTok and other livestream channels together deliver around 15 to 20 percent of revenue.
What brands can learn from the niche
The figures cannot simply be transferred to every product category or to Germany. Luxury resale is a special niche that depends heavily on authenticity, condition and personal advice. Nevertheless, it demonstrates three mechanisms that are also relevant outside the luxury segment: live can reduce purchase uncertainty, make expert knowledge visible and create recurring community routines.
The community component in particular distinguishes live shopping from a classic product page. TikTok reports viewers who repeatedly show up with the same hosts and get to know each other in the comments. For retailers, this creates not only an additional conversion channel but, in the best case, a recurring format.
Similar mechanics can already be seen in campaigns that combine creators, commerce and platform features. Dr. Squatch, for example, linked TikTok Shop with IShowSpeed and a social challenge. For brands that want to systematise shopping more, it is also worth looking at Pinterest Shopping Ads and their automation logic. And as soon as users or creators present products, UGC rights and advertising disclosure become part of the workflow.
For social commerce teams, the most important lesson is therefore not to launch a permanent stream as quickly as possible. What matters is which purchase barrier live can resolve better than feed content or a product page. In TikTok's luxury resale, that barrier is above all trust – and that is exactly where the format currently appears to be especially strong.