Huddled Group plc, the company behind Peeko, the UK’s online surplus superstore, today announced a major strategic move into live commerce, marking what Founder and Executive Chairman Martin Higginson describes as “one of the most exciting developments in Huddled’s evolution.”
The shift positions Huddled as the first UK retailer to combine live, presenter-led shopping entertainment with automated fulfilment and next-day delivery, creating a new model for value-driven ecommerce.
Since founding the business, Higginson’s mission has been simple: acquire surplus stock and deliver exceptional value to customers. But with price-led messaging saturating the market – from supermarkets to global marketplaces – Huddled recognised the need for a more distinctive proposition.
“Every retailer claims to be cheapest,” Higginson said. “When everyone is shouting about price, it becomes incredibly difficult to stand out. We needed to give customers a fundamentally different reason to shop with us.”
That search for differentiation led Huddled to live commerce; a fastgrowing retail format already reshaping markets in Asia and the United States. Platforms such as Whatnot, TikTok and eBay Live have demonstrated the power of combining live entertainment, social interaction and realtime auctions.
From entertainment to ecommerce: a proven formula
Higginson’s belief in live formats is rooted in experience. In the mid 2000s he founded NetPlayTV, one of the UK’s first live, interactive gaming businesses, partnering with ITV and Channel 5 to bring realtime entertainment to mainstream audiences.
“The lesson was clear,” he said. “Customers don’t just want a transaction; they want an experience. Live formats create anticipation, community and repeat engagement.”
Huddled’s live commerce model: auctions + entertainment + next-day delivery
Over recent months, Huddled has developed proprietary technology that connects live commerce platforms directly to its automated fulfilment operation. This solves a major constraint facing marketplace sellers, who often struggle with picking, packing and dispatch as their audiences grow.
Huddled’s solution enables:
- Realtime auctions across Whatnot, TikTok and (soon) eBay Live
- Presenterled entertainment with growing broadcast hours and new categories
- Automated fulfilment integrated directly with live orders
- Next-day delivery on qualifying orders placed by 10pm
“We’re combining the excitement of live auctions with the speed and dependability customers expect from modern ecommerce,” Higginson said. “Amazon created the expectation of next-day delivery. Bringing that into a live commerce environment gives us a distinctive edge.”
Early results: rapid sales growth and strong repeat engagement
Despite launching only weeks ago, Huddled has already established live channels across Whatnot and TikTok, softlaunching categories including Gadgets, Beauty and Treats.
Early performance includes:
- Weekly sales reaching approximately £100,000
- Strong repeat visits and purchasing patterns
- High viewer dwell time and active chat participation
- Growing communities around presenters and product drops
“Customers don’t just browse, they stay, chat, bid and return,” Higginson said. “We’re seeing the early signs of a genuine community forming.”
Building the infrastructure for live commerce at scale
Huddled plans to expand its live commerce footprint significantly over the coming weeks, including:
- Additional categories and extended broadcast hours
- A broader roster of presenters and partners
- Launching on eBay Live
- Major upgrades to its own websites
- Beta testing of Huddled’s proprietary liveauction platform
“Our ambition is not simply to participate in live commerce,” Higginson said. “It is to build the infrastructure, inventory and entertainment platform capable of powering it at scale.”
A strategic evolution, not a departure
Huddled will continue to use surplus inventory to deliver exceptional value, but now pairs that value with entertainment, community and technology.
“We are transforming clearance shopping from a functional transaction into an engaging experience,” Higginson added. “Online shopping has been functional for too long. We want to make it exciting, social, and above all, fun.”
Huddled Group plc will provide further updates on its live commerce strategy and platform development in its interim results later this month.
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Notes to editors:
Watch the ~20-minute video announcement in full.
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