Interview with eBay: How to accelerate your sales with eBay Live

Live commerce is establishing itself as the future of ecommerce. Projected to reach $3.7 trillion globally by 2030, it’s redefining how brands interact with customers. By merging real-time interaction, community engagement, and instant checkout, it combines a fast online shopping experience with the human touch of physical stores. 

We spoke with Shahriyar Hassan, eBay Live UK Business Development, to answer some common questions sellers have during their live selling journey and how you can succeed with live selling on a trusted marketplace like eBay.

Watch the interview below

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Prefer to read? Here’s an edited version of the conversation, condensed for clarity.

Linnworks: Please start by telling us a bit about yourself.

Shah (eBay Live): I’m Shahriyar, but call me Shah. I’ve worked in social commerce for about four years, helping thousands of brands that were new to live selling learn how to adopt it. At eBay, I look after business development for eBay Live.

eBay is a home of trusted commerce. Buyers find the products they want from sellers they trust, with more than 135 million active customers worldwide and 25 million in the UK across fashion, collectibles, parts and accessories, and many other categories.

eBay Live is our new interactive live shopping experience, and it’s an extension of the core platform. Sellers showcase products live while buyers chat and buy instantly. Global live commerce is expected to reach about $3.7 trillion within the next four years, and live selling can drive up to 10 times more engagement than standard social video. So it’s as much about building awareness of your brand and products as it is about incremental sales.

What makes eBay Live different from other channels?

Shah: Live shopping works a lot like a physical store, only bigger and easier to grow. Your footfall is the traffic entering and leaving your stream, and the job is converting those viewers into buyers. Your shelving is your core eBay account, an always-on storefront where products capture demand. Pre-live products are your gondola ends: during a show, you can give extra visibility to the items you want to bring to life, which helps create urgency. Where a shop floor might need three or four sales assistants, one or two live hosts can manage a whole room of viewers from one screen.

Opening hours matter too. A physical store might open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. With live selling, you decide when and how often to go live based on your audience and strategy. Some sellers go live at midnight, some at 2 a.m., and some around the clock.

What eBay Live does really well is bring the whole operation onto one platform: discovery, engagement, transactions, payment, shipping, order management, and post-sale. Because live sits on top of the core eBay platform, buyers check out and pay in the same app, and sellers manage everything in one place. That connected operation is what sets eBay apart.

Linnworks: The opening hours point resonates. Shoppers aren’t always free during the working day, so being able to sell after hours matters. And selling live only pays off if the back end can keep up. However many products you sell, you need the infrastructure to get those orders out of your warehouse or 3PL quickly.

How does live selling contribute to seller revenue beyond direct sales?

Shah: This is where live really comes into its own. We consistently see live drive deeper engagement across the board: follower growth, repeat purchases, and more visibility for the seller’s brand on eBay. You’re talking with buyers as it happens, which builds trust and connection that a standard listing can’t replicate.

Shoppers used to dig through FAQs and reviews to find answers about a product. On eBay Live, they ask the brand directly and get an instant answer. That transparency builds longer-term value and loyalty.

Pre-loved Tech, a refurbished tech seller, is a great example. Since adopting eBay Live, they’ve built around 5,000 followers organically through live alone, and roughly 70% of their GMV now comes through live. Engagement drives followers, followers drive repeat buying, and that strengthens the brand over time.

Linnworks: People increasingly want to know who’s behind a shop or brand, and live selling gives them that behind-the-scenes view.

How much time do sellers need to prepare for a show?

Shah: We get asked this a lot, because it’s a big misconception about live. A show can be as lightweight or as structured as you want. Some sellers go live with a phone, a desk, a tripod, lighting, and their products, and need only 15 to 30 minutes of prep. That simplicity makes live more authentic and relatable, and it opens live selling up to everyone from small businesses to established brands.

Sellers who get consistent results tend to treat it as a repeatable format. With more planning, you can open a show with quick, must-have purchases, then introduce hero products as viewership and retention build. You can also think about pricing strategy, show flow, giveaways, and how best to engage your audience. After five to seven shows, you’ll develop a structure, learn what works for you, and be ready to grow.

Pre-loved Tech runs multiple shows a week with a consistent format, which builds a loyal audience. Success comes from consistency and clarity. You don’t need expensive or technical equipment.

What happens if nobody shows up?

Shah: Another common question. The quality of your footfall matters most. Picture a loud, busy store with 500 shoppers, then a quieter one with 20 highly engaged people who match your brand and are ready to buy. That second group is what eBay Live traffic looks like. With 25 million active buyers in the UK who know and trust the platform and are actively searching for products, you’re tapping into high-intent demand.

There are two ways to drive traffic. First, preheat. Build awareness before you go live with social posts and a countdown: five days to go, two days to go, now live. Remind your audience across socials, email, and previous buyers. Consistency builds habit, so viewers learn that you go live every Thursday at 7 p.m. After each show, review what worked, clip highlights, and feed them back into your preheating.

Second, eBay is actively investing in marketing and category programming to bring audiences into live. In fashion, for example, category moments such as Watch Wednesday bring multiple sellers together and drive viewers into those shows. Now is a good time to plug into that momentum.

Linnworks: And even if nobody turns up, the show isn’t wasted. It stays on your eBay store for people to watch afterward.

Shah: Exactly. Viewers can revisit lives after the broadcast, and that content sits within your core account. We do see viewership come through after the live.

How does eBay Live increase visibility across a seller’s store?

Shah: eBay Live connects into your wider store. When a show ends, viewers don’t just drop off. There’s a strong halo effect: they move into your store, browse your wider inventory, and look at other listings. We see uplifts in search, click-through rates, and post-show conversions because you’ve brought buyers into your world and built trust through conversation. A live show generates demand that fuels your store performance long after the broadcast ends.

Linnworks: Once viewers buy into you and your brand, they want to see what else you offer and learn more about your story.

What advice would you give sellers who are unsure about live selling?

Shah: I’ll narrow it down to three things, plus a bonus.

First, just start. It sounds simple, but many sellers hesitate because they want everything perfect, especially in the UK market. Live rewards authenticity. If you position a product badly, the chat will tell you they can’t see it, and those moments are part of what makes live feel genuine. After your first five shows, you’ll have structure and confidence.

Second, you don’t need a full studio or a huge audience on day one. Many of the most successful sellers started simply, learned what worked, and improved over time. Stay agile and review each session. How many followers did you gain? How long did viewers stay? Could an exclusive product launch, a new demonstration, or a different angle on a product improve retention?

Third, treat live selling as a journey. Early shows are about learning, building confidence, and understanding your audience, and maximizing sales can come later. Connect with people as a community. Ask what’s happening in their day and what makes them think about buying. eBay has always been strong on community, and that’s where live builds momentum and long-term follower growth.

And finally, you’re not alone. eBay offers a growing set of tools and guidance, from articles on adding a scrolling banner about your shipping policies to taking part in category moments. We’re building this together with sellers.

Linnworks: As a seller, you’re also a buyer, so think about what you enjoy when you shop. For me, it’s unpolished, genuine content. Be open to learning and changing as you go. If you adopt eBay Live, you’ll have the full support of the live team, who want you to win. What’s the worst that could happen?

Shah: One thing that’s stuck with me is the three Cs. Content is what you show: raw footage and demonstrations. Community is what you build around it. And that leads to commerce.

If you’re keen to expand your reach and accelerate sales through live selling on eBay, submit an onboarding request to receive dedicated support from eBay to get started.