While live shopping has grown into a huge sector in Asia, the phenomenon has yet to see the same traction in Western markets, but the two tech founders hope the growth hacking skills they learned at Revolt can help power a UK live shopping startup that now has the trust of major investors.
That confidence was evident in the $18 million Series A funding round that UK-based live shopping startup Tilt raised, led by Balderton Capital, and it seems to be backed by significant traction: The company claims to have gained more than 500,000 users since launching early last year.
Tilt was founded by former Revolut employees Neil Shah and Avi Tanendran, and the company says its success comes from its focus on live selling of fashion items.
Live ecommerce selling has become a phenomenon due to the addictive nature of watching someone sell in real time, making it seem (at the very least) a genuine and fun environment, as opposed to a traditional online shopping experience that can, and indeed is, feel static in comparison.
Livestreamed e-commerce shopping in China is expected to grow 25% this year to $703.27 billion. In fact, McKinsey predicts that 10% to 20% of all e-commerce transactions will take the form of livestreamed shopping by 2026. It’s also estimated that half of China’s internet users participated in a live sales event last year.
However, in the US, only around 35% of survey respondents said they purchased something during a livestreamed event, and in the UK the figure was even worse, at just 25%.
This opportunity has led TikTok to devote significant resources and efforts to replicating the success of live shopping in China in the U.S. Amazon, too, is increasing investment in its own Amazon Live platform through its Amazon Live channel on Prime.
Tanendran, CEO and co-founder of Tilt, said in a phone interview with TechCrunch that while there have been attempts to copy and paste Chinese live shopping apps in the West, most have been unsuccessful. “It’s more about finding the right market to create that experience,” he said.
“You need to think about who is the right age group or niche consumer group. Our approach is to target Gen Z. They are very used to unique apps and experiences such as online gaming and watching Twitch streams. We decided to go with fashion and I think we hit the right spot here,” he added.
Tilt’s real-time stream creates an in-store shopping experience, allowing users to make deals and offers while watching the stream. The app also hosts live auctions, boosts and interactive events. The app has ranked in the top 10 in the UK shopping app charts, beating Depop and eBay.
Tanendran previously worked in quantitative analysis at a hedge fund in New York and joined Revolut as its first data scientist. Co-founder Neil Shah previously led international expansion and authorization at Revolut.
Shah added: “Revolut is known for shipping products very quickly, having a huge product suite and testing very quickly, and I think that’s where we excelled in this space. [Tilt].”
Live shopping has proven to be a tough sell in the West: Nearly three in five U.S. adults (57%) are either not interested in live shopping or are unaware of its existence, according to Bizrate Insights.
But Shah stressed that the Tilt app is built to keep users engaged: “It’s all about real-time. For example, sellers can run giveaways live during a stream, which keeps users tuning in because they want to know if they’ll win a prize. We also have auctions. Users get excited about seeing where their items end up.”
He is confident that it will attract users and expand the market. “The reality is, over time, [our competitors] “No one else is executing or growing as quickly as we are,” he said. “If you compare what we’ve delivered in the last year alone to other major players, there’s a huge difference in the number of features, the growth and how we’ve penetrated the UK fashion community.”
Daniel Waterhouse, partner at Balderton Capital, said in a statement: “Tilt entered the live shopping space in the UK and gained over 500,000 users within a year of launch, something many larger players have failed to achieve, despite success in Asia. Neil and Abi have relentlessly focused on innovative features and community engagement to deliver the best experience for both buyers and sellers, and we’re excited to work with the team to take Tilt to the next level.”
