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Twitch鈥檚 share of the livestreaming market is steadily declining鈥攇oing from 71% in 2023 to 61% in 2024, per Digiday鈥攖hough it is still by and far the leader in this market. Our take: Despite Twitch having a lack of legitimate livestreaming competitors, not every brand sees this market as warranting investment.

For awards shows and sports, real-time engagement is everything鈥攙iewers expect flawless live streaming, not just a replay. The Oscars meltdown is part of a broader trend of technical failures in live streaming. As platforms continue to replace traditional TV, ensuring reliability will be essential to retaining subscribers and securing exclusive event partnerships in the future.

Senior luxury buyers are a key audience for livestreaming. More than 31% of respondents ages 65 and older had either used or were interested in livestreaming to make a luxury purchase, higher than any other group and well above the average of 23.4%.

YouTube trails Twitch for livestreaming content. In Q4 2024, Twitch saw 3.81 billion hours of livestreamed viewing versus 2.27 billion hours for YouTube Gaming, per Streamcharts. Viewership of 鈥渙ther鈥� gaming content is YouTube鈥檚 strength. In June 2024, gameplay content on YouTube reached 6 billion views.

However, this year鈥檚 technical difficulties, including Hulu cutting off the live stream before announcing the final two awards, could hurt viewership in the future鈥攁nd with only a 1% increase, Sunday鈥檚 ceremony proved that live streaming big events isn鈥檛 always enough to drive significantly higher viewership.

Men have a greater interest in livestream shopping than women do, according to ESW. Almost 25% of men made a purchase from a livestream on a social media platform in 2024 compared with 14.3% of women. Men are also more likely than women to have watched a livestream (27.4% versus 21.9%), and men are more interested in viewing livestream shopping/videos from brands (20.5% versus 15.1%).

Livestreaming will see only incremental gains. As more established players such as Zara and Puma dip their toes in the format, livestream sales could pick up. But most spending growth will come from shoppable videos, affiliate marketing, and social storefronts. TikTok Shop will challenge Facebook for the social commerce crown.

Standing out in a sea of platforms: Neptune aims to reward creativity with diverse monetization streams, including tips, subscriptions, and livestreams. The app is shifting focus away from algorithms and metrics to reduce performative stress on creators.

Disney is encouraging its viewers to play. Instacart is balancing food content and advertising. YouTube is experimenting with less-intrusive picture-in-picture placements for livestreams. Here is how advertisers can capitalize.

Xiaohongshu is also expanding its livestreaming business, which features content that鈥檚 often related to community-building rather than the sales-focused livestreams seen on other platforms. The number of official livestreaming accounts increased fivefold YoY in April 2024, per company data. Ad revenue and sales growth has been robust, helping Xiaohongshu reach profitability.

Senior luxury buyers are a key audience for livestreaming. More than 31% of respondents ages 65 and older had either used or were interested in livestreaming to make a luxury purchase, higher than any other group and well above the average of 23.4%.

Beauty is bypassing traditional ads, opting for a Super Bowl livestream across TikTok, Twitch, Instagram, and YouTube, offering giveaways and interactive elements to keep fans engaged throughout the game. Retailers are integrating shopping features. E.l.f. is sponsoring Tubi鈥檚 new Red Carpet Shop, enabling viewers to shop directly on the platform while watching the Super Bowl for free.

Twitch, a platform dedicated primarily to gaming livestreams, is also popular in gaming spaces. However, it lacks the interactive component that has made Discord a leader in collaborative play. Read the full report, US Gamers by Generation 2025.

TikTok Shop's sales nearly quadrupled in 2023, driven by short-video and livestream shopping trends that resonate with the region's consumers. Its omnichannel strategy, which leverages its massive user base, has made it a key competitor to established players like Lazada and Shopee. Shein and Temu are rapidly rising in Australia.

A good chunk of this share is going to livestreaming. The larger marketing potential that TikTok offers is significant. While other platforms have been dialing back their livestream commerce efforts, TikTok appears to be making positive strides in this direction. And the branding opportunities within this environment are turning marketers鈥� heads.

Brands must stay abreast of trending and viral content, manage relationships with creators, tackle logistical hurdles and discount pressures, and be willing to experiment with livestreaming, which TikTok is pushing heavily for brands. Gen Alpha is rising to meet Gen Z as influential beauty consumers. Connecting with rising consumers requires ever-evolving approaches.

It鈥檚 interactive and includes things like Shorts (yes, people watch them on TVs), podcasts, and 濒颈惫别蝉迟谤别补尘蝉,鈥� YouTube CEO Neal Mohan said in a blog post. Last year, YouTube changed its TV app layout to display comments and descriptions alongside video content. It also added episodic format options for creators and a Watch With feature for commentary over live events.

This is followed by in-person events, interactive content, video, livestreams, and podcasts鈥攁ll ways in which buyers can directly engage with the expert voices they trust. B2C alternatives are growing in popularity. Differentiation is the key driver. In many B2B industries, intense competition makes it hard for companies to stand out.

Twitch, a platform dedicated primarily to gaming livestreams, is also popular in gaming spaces. However, it lacks the interactive component that has made Discord a leader in collaborative play. Millennials are enthusiastic gamers into adulthood. Millennials are the most likely to play on the latest consoles, according to a July 2024 survey by Collage Group.

While TikTok Shop has been the primary driver of live shopping adoption in the US, some of that spending could shift to livestreaming companies like Whatnot, which sold more than $3 billion worth of goods last year.

Its 2023 Members Week event featured a cardholder-only livestream of Olivia Rodrigo. The issuer has supplemented its generous travel and entertainment rewards with perks that make its cards more like lifestyle cards than just travel cards, per Morningstar鈥檚 research. Younger generations are also less interested in brand-specific loyalty programs, which could also push them away from co-brand cards.

The popularity of livestreaming ecommerce is spreading to other parts of the world besides China. But not every market has embraced this new retail format to the same degree.

TikTok Shop is far from DOA, but early reports suggest its rollout hasn鈥檛 been easy. As TikTok works to build its livestreaming and in-app commerce business in the US, including by restructuring its commerce division, US merchants must decide whether the investment is worth it.