UK Social Commerce Market Report 2025
93% of UK social media buyers have purchased a product through social platforms, either directly or indirectly.
93% of UK social media buyers have purchased a product through social platforms, either directly or indirectly.
Most of the Buyers from the UK social commerce market have purchased products through platforms like TikTok Shop, Facebook Marketplace, and Instagram. While significant opportunities exist—driven by improved financial wellbeing, high daily platform engagement, and innovations in live stream shopping and image search, challenges remain, more than half of the non-buyers preferring other shopping methods due to concerns about product quality and payment security. Brands can strategise to gain Social Commerce Market Size.
Fashion/accessories and electricals are the top categories purchased via social media, with clothing and footwear specifically accounting for nearly a quarter of purchases.
Social media platforms, particularly TikTok and Instagram, play a central role in product discovery, with most buyers influenced by family and friends recommendations and purchasing from brands they discovered through social media.
Impulse purchasing is prevalent, with 71% of social media buyers making spontaneous purchases.
Consumer priorities include seamless payment experiences, with more than a quarter buyers interested in image search tools and nearly 20% in AI-powered personal shopping assistants to enhance future shopping experiences in the UK social commerce market.
The UK Social Commerce Market Report 2025 provides in-depth insights into the Social Commerce Market in the UK, exploring consumer behaviours, platform usage patterns, and purchasing dynamics. It covers areas such as the most popular social media platforms for shopping, consumer satisfaction, purchasing patterns, and the consumer interest in live stream shopping, impulse buying, and emerging innovations like image search tools and AI-driven shopping assistants. The Social Commerce Market Report analyzes purchasing patterns across key categories including fashion, beauty, electronics, and household products. Retailers, marketers, and brands seeking to enhance their social commerce strategies will benefit from this report, gaining valuable data to optimise their approach and improve customer engagement on social media platforms.The market landscape presents significant opportunities for growth as brands integrate social commerce into omnichannel strategies and address key consumer priorities around payment to stay competitive and gain UK social commerce market share.
| Report Attributes | Details |
|---|---|
| Published Date | August 2025 |
| Data Range | 2016 – 2025 |
| Measurement Metrics | Revenue in £ |
| Country Focus | United Kingdom (UK) |
| Consumer Data | 1,845 internet users aged 16+, May 2025 |
| Number of Pages | 83 |
| Market Segmentation | Clothing, Footwear, Accessories, Beauty and Personal Care Appliances, Toiletries, Fragrances, Cosmetics, Jewellery, Watches, Online and Hard-Copy Media, Consumer Electronics, Household Electrical Appliances, DIY and Garden Products, Furniture, Home Furnishings |
| Leading Companies | TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, Pinterest, Reddit, Threads, Twitch, Bluesky, Lidl, P.Louise, Made by Mitchell, Shein, Sainsbury’s, Sephora, Superdrug, M&S, Temu, Boots, Blakely Clothing Co, Boohoo, Next, Fairfax & Favor, Ikea, Arne Clo, Rapanui Clothing, Cotswold Co, Bee Inspired Clothing, Bloom & Wild, Libertys, Casetify, Thortful, Cernucci |
This report was written by Emily Viberg. Emily is a Retail analyst specialising in writing Mintel’s seasonal shopping and gifting reports.
Social shopping is thriving, with live streaming poised to fuel its future growth. Brands which have fully embraced the format are seeing the most success, especially when it’s integrated into omnichannel strategies for a seamless shopping experience.
Retail analyst