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In the chaotic week of the TikTok ban, from the app’s fate becoming clear to its shutdown and immediate revival, a number of other social apps saw a flurry of new activity. From new apps like Rednote and Lemon8 to old stalwarts like Instagram and YouTube, these platforms saw an influx of new users.
Whatnot, a social marketplace for livestream-based selling, was one such platform, having its three biggest days for new users successively between January 18 and 20, the three days immediately following the ban. Whatnot now has several million users and over $3 billion worth of merchandise on the marketplace. About $2 billion worth of goods sold on the platform last year. Whatnot has rapidly ascended to be one of the most popular live shopping apps in the U.S., dethroning QVC and jumping from 1% market share in 2020 to 35% by 2022. On average, its monthly active users increased 180% year-over-year in 2024.
“It has been a crazy few weeks,” said Armand Wilson, Whatnot’s vp of categories and expansion. “There’s been a huge influx of new folks. Our team didn’t do anything in particular to take advantage of the moment. It was very organic. We’re just focused on helping the new sellers integrate smoothly into the platform.”
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English (US) ·