£7.3 Billion in Sales in Social Commerce for 2024 Claims Report
The social commerce market is booming in the UK. Last year (2024), an estimated 16.2 million social commerce users generated £7.3 billion in sales.
Offering great potential to SMEs, this trajectory is expected to continue – to reach an estimated 21.7% of the total global commerce share and £15.7 billion in sales in the UK alone by 2028.
The business finance experts at money.co.uk business credit cards have analysed user, industry, platform, engagement insights, and more to assess the current state of the UK’s social commerce market.
Beauty And Wellness Is The Top Social Commerce Sector
| Rank | Commerce category | Annual percentage of users who have made a purchase in the last 12 months* |
| 1 | Beauty & Wellness | 46% |
| 2 | Clothing & Footwear | 40% |
| 3 | Home & DIY | 24% |
| 4 | Food & Drink | 21% |
| 5 | Electronics & Technology | 18% |
| 6 | Toys, Books & Games | 17% |
| 7 | Sports & Leisure | 16% |
| 7 | Jewellery, Watches & Accessories | 16% |
*Based on customer surveys undertaken in April 2024.
Beauty and wellness is the top social commerce sector in the UK, with almost half (46%) of social commerce users in the UK making a purchase in this category over a 12-month period. This popularity goes hand-in-hand with the rise of beauty influencers on social media, with 84% and 68% of Gen Z and Millennials following influencers, according to a recent survey. This type of marketing has become a staple in the industry, driving public awareness, opinion, and engagement for brands in the sector.
Clothing and footwear is the second most popular category. This could be due to social media posts about fashion allowing users to engage with brands as part of their usual social media use. This increases brand interactions and means users can see products as part of a full look, offering style inspiration. Putting products in context in this way can help nudge consumers towards a sale. Over a 12-month period, two in five users (40%) purchased in the clothing and footwear sector.
In 2024, just under a quarter (24%) of social commerce users in the UK bought products from home and DIY retailers, making this category the third most popular. The sector benefits from social media as brands can post how-to videos and home-style inspiration showcasing their products. This can help build the brand’s reputation and trust among customers, ultimately boosting sales.
Instagram Is The Most Popular Social Commerce Platform For 18-34 Year Olds
| Rank | Platform | % of respondents who have made a social commerce purchase |
| 1 | 37.3% | |
| 2 | TikTok | 36.1% |
| 3 | 34.3% | |
| 4 | YouTube | 32.8% |
| 5 | Snapchat | 24.9% |
| 6 | X | 15.7% |
| 7 | 11.0% | |
| 8 | 9.2% | |
| 9 | 8.9% |
*Based on customer surveys undertaken in October 2023.
Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook are the UK’s most popular social commerce platforms, with around a third (34.3-37.3%) of 18-34 year olds making a social commerce purchase on each app in the space of a month. This is likely, in part, due to the broad user base that populates these platforms, increasing reach and lead generation for social commerce businesses.
However, when looking at different generations more granularly, Facebook comes out top for Millennials (53%) and TikTok Shop for Gen Z (34%).4 Businesses can leverage these platforms to engage in social commerce in several ways. Running targeted ad campaigns can help them reach their target demographics directly, and partnering with influencers can increase organic reach.
Reddit and Pinterest are at the bottom of the list. These platforms cater to more niche audiences and interests, which may impact purchase rates and make investment in marketing efforts on these sites less fruitful.
TikTok is Gen Z’s Favourite Social Commerce Platform
| Favourite social commerce platform by generation* | ||||
| Generation | YouTube | TikTok | ||
| Generation Z | 28% | 37% | 43% | 37% |
| Millennials | 29% | 28% | 26% | 28% |
| Generation X | 22% | 15% | 12% | 12% |
| Baby boomers | 17% | 6% | 3% | 4% |
*Based on customer surveys undertaken July-August 2023.
Split by generation, Gen Z is the most likely group to engage in social commerce on most platforms. The most popular platform for this generation is TikTok, with just over two-fifths (43%) preferring the app. But this age group is also the most likely to use Instagram (37%) and Youtube (37%) as well.
The first generation of digital natives, millennials, are more likely to use Facebook for social commerce than any other group. One-third (29%) of this generation make purchases on Facebook, very closely followed by YouTube and Instagram (28%).
Like millennials, Gen X also favours Facebook and YouTube as their top social commerce platforms, though at lower rates – 22% and 15%, respectively. Recognising these generational differences is crucial for brands, as tailoring social commerce strategies to specific demographics ensures the best results.
Generational Trends In Social Commerce Discovery
| Generation* | Accidental discovery by scrolling | Friends’ posts and recommen-
dations |
Active search | Brand posts and content | Influencer endorse-
ments |
Targeted or paid ads | Live demos or shopping events |
| Generation Z | 55% | 56% | 51% | 52% | 54% | 49% | 41% |
| Millennials | 59% | 55% | 52% | 52% | 46% | 44% | 35% |
| Generation X | 67% | 57% | 50% | 44% | 31% | 35% | 27% |
| Baby boomers | 68% | 55% | 49% | 37% | 20% | 30% | 20% |
*Based on customer surveys undertaken in April 2024.
Top trends across all age brackets:
The top discovery method driving social commerce sales in the UK across most generations is accidental discovery by scrolling. However, this way of engaging in is more common among older generations. Younger generations — Gen Z in particular — are increasingly likely to engage in social commerce as a result of seeing friend’s posts and recommendations (56%).
How Gen Z differs:
Influencer endorsements also play a prominent role in Gen Z’s discovery of social commerce retailers. While millennials, Gen X, and baby boomers all share the same top three most common discovery methods (accidental discovery by scrolling, friends’ posts and recommendations, and active search), 54% of Gen Z customers discover a new brand or product thanks to influencers – more than any other age bracket. This shows the rising importance of this type of social marketing among the next biggest generation of consumers.
The Most Popular Forms Of Social Commerce Engagement
| Engagement action | Digital natives (under 45) | Digital adopters (over 45) |
| Watch product demonstrations or reviews | 27% | 23% |
| Follow the brand on social media | 23% | 13% |
| Engage with product content (like, comment, share) | 25% | 10% |
| Make an immediate purchase via platform (if option exists) | 19% | 10% |
| Message the seller or brand immediately with queries | 16% | 9% |
*Based on customer surveys undertaken in April 2024.
Monitoring how customers engage with social commerce is crucial for businesses to drive sales. These insights allow you to shape your marketing strategy, tailoring your content to increase engagement with your target audience. These are the most common forms of engagement:
- Watching product demonstrations or reviews is the most popular way consumers engage with social commerce businesses for both digital natives (under age 45) and adopters (age 45+). Around a quarter (27%) of digital natives engage in this behaviour, which is slightly higher than that of digital adopters (23%).
- Following a brand on social media is the second most popular form of customer engagement. Again, digital natives are more prone to this behaviour than adopters, at almost one in four (23%) compared to one in eight (13%), respectively. This form of engagement allows businesses to build trust with consumers through brand storytelling.
- Next is engaging with product content through likes, comments and shares. This benefits social commerce businesses by allowing them to understand customer sentiment, which can help improve a brand’s content strategy. A quarter of digital natives (25%) engage in this behaviour, compared to 10% of digital adopters.
Joe Phelan, money.co.uk business credit cards expert, comments on how SMEs can capitalise on the demand for social commerce:
“Social commerce has experienced rapid growth in recent years, and projections suggest this trend will continue. Much of this growth is driven by younger consumers, particularly in the beauty and wellness sectors, who engage with influencers on platforms like Instagram and TikTok.
“Given the fast-paced nature of social commerce, businesses need to be agile to succeed. The ability to quickly respond to trends and engage with both existing and potential customers is crucial, but this often requires quick investments, which can complicate budget planning for marketing and order fulfillment.
“Business credit cards can help SMEs and entrepreneurs navigate these challenges. With flexible payment options, they can take advantage of emerging trends and influencer partnerships without being hindered by budget constraints, ensuring they stay ahead of the competition.”
