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The platform has been around since 2018, and says it has doubled in size every year since launch. Ntwrk\u2019s approach to livestream commerce consists of a combination of brand, retailer and celebrity partnerships, along with limited-edition drops.<\/p>\n
As Aaron Levant, Ntwrk\u2019s CEO, described it, the idea at inception was to create a \u201clive, engaging, entertaining platform where some of the biggest brands and celebrities in the world are dropping exclusive products creating that kind of FOMO and tune in moments that you feel like you can\u2019t miss \u2014 and things sell out fast.\u201d Now, he went on, \u201cwe\u2019ve done that at scale \u2014 and now we\u2019ve gone much beyond that we\u2019ve moved into new categories, new verticals, new supply side of the product.\u201d<\/p>\n
Levant joined the Modern Retail Podcast this week and spoke about Ntwrk\u2019s growth and ambitions, along with the overall U.S. livestream shopping market. One of the early inspirations for Ntwrk was the game show app HQ; \u201cOnce or twice a day, you get a push notification. And people would tune in at mass and be highly engaged. And I wanted to take that same ideology, but apply it for a product drop,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Levant has a background in fashion and streetwear, and those past professional connections helped give Ntwrk its initial cultural cachet. Leveraging past celebrity relationships, he said, \u201callowed us to build a pretty big audience base very quickly for very cheap because of these relationships we had.\u201d The platforms has featured drops from brands like Nike as well as celebrities like Billie Eillish and Odell Beckham Jr.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s this direct relationship with the brand or creator that Levant said makes Ntwrk successful \u2014 and different from competitors. \u201cWe\u2019re not a peer-to-peer platform,\u201d he said, \u201cnot just anyone can sign up and start using our tools to sell.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Ntwrk is still seeing growth \u2014 and is expanding to new categories like collectibles and toys \u2014 it still represents a niche market in the U.S. Levant, however, still thinks the U.S. will catch up with other countries like China where livestreaming is more prevalent.<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir use and adoption of intuitive mobile-first technology is still drastically ahead of us,\u201d he said. \u201cI think it\u2019s just a few years before we catch up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Here are a few highlights from the conversation, which have been lightly edited for clarity.<\/p>\n
On the expanding definition of creators<\/strong> How Nwrk differs from other livestreaming platforms<\/strong> The U.S. is still behind China<\/strong>
\u201cA lot of really big brands and celebrities came early, and that allowed us to build a pretty big audience base very quickly for very cheap because of these relationships we had. And we always wanted to continue that. And we\u2019ve still done that, to this day \u2014 working on exclusive products with some of the biggest names in popular culture broadly across gaming, art, music, fashion. But even that has a cap to it. We only have so many relationships. There\u2019s only so many really illustrious people out there who put out products that have that kind of high urgency. So we\u2019ve really continued to expand the supply side of our marketplace. So people like sneaker resellers today represent a much larger portion of the revenue than, let\u2019s say, exclusive celebrity drops. And exclusive celebrity drops are the shiny object that sit at the top of that funnel that draws people in. But they really stay for the thousands of other livestreams that we have on a monthly basis.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think a key point of understanding how Ntwrk varies from other, let\u2019s call it, social commerce or live video platforms that are in the market is we\u2019re not a peer-to-peer platform. Not just anyone can sign up and start using our tools to sell like anyone could sign up for an Instagram or YouTube account or an eBay account, etc. Like I think almost anyone who has a pair of shoes can go sell on StockX, as an example. We are a B-to-C platform. We primarily work with businesses, we call them creators, but that\u2019s any large person, entity or brand who has something to sell that we believe is additive or cool\u2026 And even that definition has expanded over the years. Where first it was just big celebrities and brands, now we\u2019re working with retailers and professional resellers. But even in the resale world, we primarily work with people who have like a storefront or a warehouse with millions of dollars with inventory in it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHere\u2019s what I think: China, broadly, in all mobile-first technology and super apps is five, six years ahead of us. So you could walk into a restaurant in Shanghai pre-pandemic and use WeChat to order off of a QR code at a restaurant. But not just look at the menu \u2014 actually dynamically order the food and pay for it and walk out never [having] dealt with a waiter. And now here we are post-pandemic, and we\u2019ve just introduced a QR code that takes you to a static menu. We\u2019re still behind them. So their use and adoption of intuitive mobile-first technology is just still drastically ahead of us. So I think it\u2019s just a few years before we catch up.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n