It may have built its reputation on viral dances and resurrecting forgotten pop hits, but TikTok is rapidly establishing itself as a serious force in UK retail.
More than 200,000 small and medium-sized businesses across the UK are now selling through TikTok Shop, the platform’s in-app ecommerce service, alongside major household names including Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s, Samsung, QVC and Clarks.
Since launching in the UK in 2021, TikTok Shop has grown at pace. This year it recorded its biggest-ever UK sales day on Black Friday, when 27 items were sold every second. Across the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend, sales rose by 50% compared with last year, underlining how quickly social commerce is gaining traction.
The model allows brands to sell directly within the TikTok app via shoppable videos, livestreams and embedded product links, as well as through a dedicated shop tab on their profile. Purchases are completed without users leaving the app, with revenues split between TikTok, the seller and, where relevant, creators using affiliate links.
For established retailers, the platform is proving an effective way to reach younger audiences. Sainsbury’s, one of the first supermarkets to embrace TikTok Shop, saw its Tu Christmas pyjamas sell out in under a week following a sponsored collaboration with influencer Rachel Spicer that generated 6.6 million views.
M&S has also reported strong results from livestream shopping. One recent session attracted around 260,000 viewers and generated sales at a rate of roughly one item every 30 seconds, highlighting the power of live commerce to convert attention into transactions.
Smaller businesses, meanwhile, are using TikTok Shop to cut through increasingly crowded online marketplaces, particularly as AI-driven search makes it harder to gain visibility elsewhere. Newcastle-based online meat retailer The Fat Butcher is selling fresh turkeys on the platform for the first time this year, while beauty, fashion and jewellery brands are among the fastest adopters.
Danielle Dullaghan, social strategy director at global marketing agency Iris, said beauty brands in particular were seeing strong commercial returns. “TikTok Shop plays directly into impulse buying behaviour,” she said, adding that the blend of entertainment and commerce was proving highly effective.
London jewellery brand L’ERA, run by Lara Mar alongside her daughters Talia Mar and Angele Sofia, expects to generate around £145,000 in revenue via TikTok this year. “It has almost doubled year on year, and many of our online customers originally discovered us via TikTok,” Mar said.
The business relies heavily on live shopping, typically hosting three three-hour livestreams a week, rising to six during peak periods such as Black Friday and Christmas. TikTok shoppers have also shown a willingness to spend, with L’ERA’s largest single order exceeding £1,400.
However, some caution that the model is not without risks. Business and social media consultant Jules Brim described TikTok Shop as “a gamechanger” for reach and sales but warned of mounting pressures on small brands.
“It can create a race to the bottom on pricing, put pressure on businesses to produce constant content, and shift the focus from long-term brand building to chasing trends,” she said.
Even so, with hundreds of thousands of UK businesses now signed up and major retailers investing heavily in in-app selling, TikTok Shop is fast becoming a central pillar of the modern retail landscape, blurring the line between entertainment, influence and ecommerce.
