QVC Group has entered an agreement to host 24/7 live shopping streams featuring its brands, products, and talent on TikTok. The partnership combines QVC’s live video retail expertise with TikTok’s platform of approximately 170 million U.S. users to create a continuous shopping experience.

“We are uniquely suited to bring our large-scale, high-volume, live social shopping experience to TikTok,” David Rawlinson II, President and CEO of QVC Group, Inc., said in a press release. “Our agreement will be a catalyst to transform shopping and discovery, not only for QVC Group and TikTok Shop, but also for social shopping at large.”

The new iteration features original QVC and HSN content created specifically for TikTok, expanding beyond QVC’s initial TikTok Shop launch in August 2024.

Creator Economy Integration

Since QVC entered TikTok Shop last year, over 74,000 TikTok creators have featured QVC items through shoppable videos and livestreams. The expanded agreement introduces thousands more brands and products to the social media e-commerce platform, creating additional opportunities for creator collaborations.

“Live shopping on TikTok Shop, which blends entertainment, education, and commerce, is redefining how people discover and purchase products,” stated Nico Le Bourgeois, Head of U.S. Operations for TikTok Shop.

The partnership leverages QVC’s production capabilities, including 40,000+ hours of live shoppable content annually, featuring 100+ celebrity partnerships and the company’s host-creators.

Part of Broader Transformation Strategy

In a March letter to shareholders, the company outlined its focus on going beyond traditional television: “As traditional TV declines and a mix of video platforms takes a greater share of customer attention, we must hurry our expansion beyond TV to find growth. Our strategy is to transform QVC Group into a live social shopping company.”

QVC Group aims to generate $1.5 billion in run-rate revenue from social media and streaming platforms over the next three years. The company recently appointed Alex Wellen as President and Chief Growth Officer to manage growth strategies across U.S. social selling, streaming, and digital initiatives.

Financial Context

The strategic pivot comes amid financial challenges for QVC Group. In Q4, the company reports revenue fell 6% year-over-year to $2.9 billion, with operating losses expanding to $1.3 billion compared to $103 million in the same quarter last year.

As part of its restructuring efforts, QVC Group recently eliminated approximately 900 positions, about 5% of its workforce. The company is consolidating operations at its Pennsylvania headquarters and building a “next-generation content engine” at its Studio Park facility.

The QVC-TikTok partnership announcement coincides with reports that competitor Amazon has made a bid to acquire TikTok’s U.S. operations. This comes just days before a nationwide ban of the platform is set to take effect on April 5 unless TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, sells the platform’s U.S. business to a non-Chinese buyer.