AMZ123 has learned that TikTok Shop is rapidly expanding its influence in the UK beauty market and has now become the second-largest beauty retailer in the country, with sales growing 60% year-on-year, according to research released by Public First.

The report shows that as social commerce matures, TikTok is evolving from a pure content and traffic platform into a commercial ecosystem that integrates product discovery, consumer education, transactions and user operations, reshaping how consumers discover and purchase beauty products.

A growing number of young consumers are turning to TikTok as a key channel for discovering beauty and fashion items. Among them, 30% of young adults say TikTok is their primary source for beauty and fashion recommendations, representing around 1.8 million young consumers in the UK.

At the same time, 21% of TikTok creators produce fashion, beauty and skincare content. For brands, product demonstrations and usage scenario education are becoming increasingly important, as consumers want to see real experiences and how-to content from trusted creators before making a purchase.

TikTok Shop has also had a clear impact on business sales growth. The report shows that among businesses using TikTok Shop, 91% said the platform boosted sales and revenue, 94% said TikTok Shop helped them launch new products, 90% said the platform helped them reach consumers they couldn’t reach through offline retail, and 90% said TikTok Shop provides better insights into consumer trends and behaviour.

In addition, 28% of businesses said they experienced stockouts due to demand driven by TikTok or TikTok Shop, showing that the consumer excitement generated by creator content can quickly translate into actual sales.

As TikTok’s commercial ecosystem expands, creator partnerships are gradually shifting from a traditional marketing method to a vital part of brand operations. Beauty brands are no longer just using creators to increase exposure, but are utilising creators for product education, new product promotion, community building and direct sales.

Data shows that 85% of UK businesses on TikTok have collaborated with creators, 71% have commissioned creators to produce promotional content, 57% have used creator content in paid TikTok ads, 46% have involved creators in content produced by their own marketing teams, and 30% have partnered with creators through the TikTok Shop affiliate programme.

Another characteristic of TikTok is its ability to rapidly generate consumer demand. Unlike large-scale marketing campaigns that rely on long-term planning, a brand may achieve rapid growth from a single piece of creator content that resonates with consumers. The research found that 84% of businesses using TikTok said the platform increased sales and revenue, and 72% said TikTok helped them acquire new customers.

Among businesses that have gone viral on TikTok, 82% believe the impact can be comparable to celebrity endorsements or TV exposure. Furthermore, 28% of businesses have already hired additional staff to support TikTok-related operations or to meet the growth driven by the platform.

However, the rapidly growing demand also places higher requirements on brand supply chains and operational capacity. Beauty brands need to manage inventory, restock products and handle customer service more quickly to respond to the short-term sales spikes that creator content can trigger.

In addition to boosting existing brands, TikTok is becoming an important channel for entrepreneurs to test business ideas and build brands. The report shows that around 8 million regular creators post content on TikTok each week.

These creators are more inclined to start businesses compared to the UK average: 54% expressed a desire to start a business, higher than the national average of 21%; 84% said their business ideas are related to content they watch or post on TikTok; and 70% hope to turn this idea into a full-time career in the future.

Public First estimates that by 2030, regular creators on social media platforms could generate an additional £27 billion (approximately $36 billion) for the UK economy, demonstrating that the creator economy is becoming a significant part of digital commerce.

Overall, TikTok is gradually evolving from a platform that helps brands gain exposure into a retail ecosystem connecting creators, consumers and businesses. For the beauty industry, the consumer purchase journey is changing, with product discovery, content education and transactions increasingly concentrated on the same platform.

As more brands invest in social commerce and creator marketing, TikTok Shop is becoming an important channel for beauty product promotion, sales and brand scaling. It should be noted that this report was commissioned by TikTok, and some data reflects the platform’s own assessment of its economic impact, yet the findings still demonstrate the growing influence of TikTok in the beauty retail sector.