Live Shopping USA: shop live from America to anywhere in the world.

What live shopping actually is (vs livestream commerce)

The terms "live shopping" and "livestream commerce" get used interchangeably, but they describe two fundamentally different models. Understanding the difference matters when you're choosing a service.

Livestream commerce (TikTok Shop, Amazon Live, Whatnot, Instagram Live Shopping): one seller broadcasts video to many buyers. The seller decides what items to feature. Buyers watch and click to buy what the seller is showing. This is the "QVC of the internet" model — seller-driven, one-to-many, buyer is the audience.

Live shopping (Selectido): one buyer directs one shopper. You decide what gets bought. The shopper is in a physical store on your behalf. This is the real-time shopping platform model — buyer-driven, one-to-one, you are the director.

Selectido sits in the live shopping category — specifically the cross-border live shopping subcategory, since most of our live shopping sessions connect international buyers to American shoppers. This is the live shopping for international buyers angle that almost no other live commerce platform competes for.

How live shopping with Selectido works

Our livestream shopping service runs in five steps. Most live shopping sessions are 1 hour, but the live retail shopping flow is the same whether you book 1 hour or 4:

1. Book a session. Pick a 1-hour or 2-hour live shopping session at $75/hr (15% off 2+ hours). Choose a city — NYC, LA, Chicago, Miami, Minneapolis, Vegas — and a language if you want bilingual.
2. Pre-load your wallet. Estimate item cost ($200 for a Sephora haul, $1,200 for an iPhone 17, $400 for Costco). Load that amount plus a small buffer.
3. Video call at the scheduled time. Your shopper is inside the US store. You see what they see. This is FaceTime shopping service feel, with payment + shipping built in.
4. Direct in real time. Point to items, ask for close-ups, request size or color comparison. They build the cart as you go.
5. Checkout + ship. Shopper checks out at retail (no markup). Items go to our Minneapolis hub, then ship internationally to your address in 4-12 business days.

Live shopping vs livestream commerce platforms

Live shopping at Target USA, Costco USA, Sephora, Apple, and more

Any US retail store open to the public is fair game. The most-requested live shopping destinations by our customers:

• Live shopping at Target USA — broadest catalog, our shoppers know the store layout in their city. Most popular for clothing, beauty, baby goods, Funko exclusives.
• Live shopping at Costco USA — bulk goods, Kirkland exclusives, electronics. Our shoppers have Costco memberships so you don't need one.
• Live shopping at Sephora USA — beauty exclusives like Drunk Elephant, Tom Ford Beauty, Pat McGrath. Sephora.com doesn't ship internationally, so live shopping is the only way for non-US buyers to access the full catalog.
• Live shopping at Apple Store — iPhones, MacBooks, accessories at US retail (15-30% cheaper than Apple in Mexico, Brazil, India, UAE).
• Live shopping at Walmart, Best Buy, Whole Foods, Macy's, Lululemon, Nike, Adidas, Bath & Body Works.
• Boutique and specialty: jewelry, watch dealers, hobby shops, comic shops, Funko stores, local game stores for collectibles like Pokémon TCG.

Who uses live shopping

Three audience groups make up most of Selectido's live shopping volume:

• International buyers in 60+ countries. Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, UAE, Saudi Arabia, the Philippines, India, Japan, South Korea, UK, EU. Want US-only products at US prices. Cross-border live shopping is exactly what they need.
• Mobility-limited US shoppers. Homebound seniors, post-surgery recovery, mobility issues. Want real human shopping in real stores — not just app-based delivery.
• Luxury, gift, and verification buyers. Want to verify condition of jewelry, watches, designer goods, fine fragrances before purchase. Live shopping with a real human is the only way to bridge that verification step from abroad.

Live shopping pricing

Example math for international buyer (1-hour session, $250 Sephora haul to Mexico):

• Live shopping session: $75 USD
• Items at Sephora US retail: $250 USD
• DHL Express international shipping: ~$35 USD
• Forwarding service fee: $0 (waived)
• Total landed: ~$360 USD to Mexico City

Is live shopping safe?

Yes. Selectido shoppers are background-checked and identity-verified. Each live shopping session is recorded. Payments flow through Stripe — your shopper never sees your credit card details. They only access the wallet amount you pre-loaded for that specific session. Live retail shopping with Selectido is more accountable than typical ecommerce because every action is real-time visible to you on video. Photos of receipts and packaged items are captured at our Minneapolis hub before international forwarding. This is the live shopping concierge experience designed for trust.

Live shopping FAQ

Real-time interactive commerce where a real shopper is in a US store while you watch on live video. Selectido is buyer-directed live shopping (you choose what's bought), distinct from livestream commerce where a seller broadcasts to many buyers.

Book a 1-hour session, pre-load wallet, video-call your American shopper while they're inside Target/Sephora/Apple/Costco, direct purchases live, shipper forwards to your country in 4-12 days. Selectido is a cross-border live shopping platform built specifically for international live shopping.

Those are livestream commerce platforms — one seller broadcasting to many buyers. Selectido is the inverse: one buyer directs one shopper. TikTok style live shopping but flipped — you're the director, not the audience.

Effectively yes. The live shopping for international buyers experience feels like FaceTime shopping service — you and your American shopper see each other and the store live, talk back and forth, point to items, request close-ups. Selectido is a video shopping platform with payment + shipping built in.

Yes. Background-checked shoppers, recorded sessions, Stripe payments, photos of receipts. Live retail shopping is more accountable than typical ecommerce because the action is real-time visible.

Any US retail store open to the public. Most common: Target, Costco, Sephora, Apple, Walmart, Best Buy, Macy's, Nordstrom, Lululemon, Nike. Plus boutiques, jewelry, watches, hobby shops, comic shops.

$75/hr (15% off 2+ hours). Items at US retail with no markup. International shipping at carrier cost with no markup. $14.99 forwarding fee waived with any $75+ session.

60+ countries. Strongest live shopping markets: Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Philippines, India, Japan, South Korea, UK, EU.

For high-AOV, sensory, and verification-required purchases — yes. Pure-text ecommerce works for commodity SKUs; live shopping bridges the in-store verification gap for everything else.

Yes. Live shopping at Target USA is our single most-booked store. Selectido shoppers know Target layouts and walk you through clothing, beauty, baby, electronics, Funko exclusives. Same for Costco USA (with shopper's membership) and Sephora USA.