ShopShops

ShopShops operates an interactive livestream shopping platform and marketplace. Hosts broadcast from retail stores, boutiques, designer shops and sample sales, browsing and trying on merchandise while viewers watch, comment, ask questions about fit, material and colour, and buy in real time. The company handles payment, fulfilment and logistics so international buyers receive the goods purchased on the platform. Its early model connected retail stores around the world with Chinese consumers, positioning the business as a cross-border, three-sided marketplace linking consumers, brands/retailers and livestreaming platforms (sources 4, 5).

The platform's programming has included daily "in-store" events plus recurring formats such as Friday sample sales and Sunday flea-market explorations, drawing on merchants in fashion hubs including New York City, Los Angeles, Milan and Tokyo (source 2). As presented on its current website, ShopShops sells authenticated pre-loved luxury: handbags, jewelry, watches, accessories, shoes and apparel from houses such as Hermès, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Dior, Cartier and Rolex, alongside a live channel featuring independent global sellers such as Japan-based hosts and luxury resellers. The site is built on Shopify and includes editorial content on authentication and shopping guides, a seller/host onboarding path, and an influencer/affiliate program (source 0).

Founding story

ShopShops was founded by Liyia Wu, who according to Union Square Ventures both built the initial product and personally hosted all of the early livestreams, drawing on experience across the consumer, brand and livestreaming-platform sides of the marketplace. Business Insider describes the New York-based app as founded by Wu and launched in 2018, while an aggregator profile lists a 2016 founding year (sources 2, 4, 5).

Business model

Marketplace model: ShopShops onboards "host sellers" — often people with prior sales or merchandising experience, or nano-influencers — who livestream merchandise from partner stores and independent luxury resale businesses. The company intermediates the transaction and manages payment, fulfilment and logistics for cross-border orders. Hosts are compensated through commissions, with the most popular sellers reported to earn up to $20,000 a month (sources 0, 4, 5).

Sources describe commission-based earnings for hosts on goods sold through livestreams and direct e-commerce sales of authenticated pre-owned luxury items priced from roughly $299 to several thousand dollars on the company's own storefront; ShopShops did not disclose financial performance metrics (sources 0, 5).

Traction

By June 2021 ShopShops had hosted livestreams with more than 750 fashion, beauty, lifestyle and food brands, including Jimmy Choo, Zac Posen, Rag & Bone, Everlane, Rebecca Minkoff, Cynthia Rowley and Marni. Its Chinese platform hosted about 900 events per month and streamed roughly 20 hours a day, while English-language sellers hosted 70-80 livestreams a month following the December 2020 beta launch; pre-pandemic, livestreams originated from 30 cities. Shoppers reportedly watched 10-30 minutes of content on average before purchasing. An aggregator profile listed 125 employees in 2026, and the company's site displays a 4.87 average rating across 61 reviews (sources 0, 2, 3, 5).

Latest developments

A March 25, 2026 funding-aggregator entry reports $15.0 million in new funding at the Series B stage, listing total funding of $15.0 million, 125 employees, a 2016 founding year and plans to enhance the technology platform, expand the host and retailer network and broaden market presence; the amount and stage match the June 2021 Series B, so this item may be a restatement rather than a new round (sources 2, 3, 5). The company's website, dated 2026, markets authenticated pre-loved luxury with live shopping channels operated by third-party sellers (source 0).