New research from Public First shows how TikTok is turning online discovery into real-world growth and jobs and is unlocking entrepreneurialism in Britain.
The report estimates that TikTok contributed at least £10 billion to the UK economy in 2025 and supported 153,000 jobs. Led by Public First, the analysis examines how users, creators and businesses use the platform, and incorporates additional research from EY on TikTok’s direct spending in the UK.
TikTok's effect is particularly pronounced for small businesses. TikTok helped UK SMEs boost revenues by £3.4bn in 2025. 84% of UK businesses using TikTok say it has helped them increase their sales and revenue, while almost one third (28%) say they have hired additional staff as a direct result of being on the platform.
High street boost
The research shows that TikTok is helping drive people back to local high streets.
- 6.1 million people visited a café or restaurant in their local area, while 4.3 million visited a local independent shop, after discovering them on TikTok.
- This trend spans generations, with as many as one in five people aged 45-64 saying they visited a local café or restaurant after seeing it featured on TikTok.
- The platform also drove 2.3 million additional visits to towns, cities, and attractions across the UK in 2025, fueling domestic tourism.
- Digital platforms like TikTok are increasingly a discovery gateway to real world experiences, supporting local economies and helping revive local businesses and attractions. The data also shows the binary digital vs bricks-and-mortar distinction no longer reflects reality.
How a viral TikTok moment saved a 100-year-old Glasgow institution
Henry Healy's cafe has been running in one form or another for over 100 years in Glasgow. A small traditional cafe, it was recently struggling. But when a TikTok creator visited and featured it in a “day in the life” video with owner Adam, the video quickly gained hundreds of thousands of views.
The café saw a surge in customers. Adam had to purchase two additional fryers to keep up, with customers travelling from across the UK to visit, and even from Australia.
Driving Culture, Sport and Learning
- TikTok is having a major impact on UK culture and learning, and helping people find real world connections and hobbies: 12 million people say they have learned something on the platform, collectively watching over 18 million hours of educational content each week. This has also created a pathway for further real-world learning, with 1.5 million people having enrolled in an in-person learning course after engaging with TikTok content on a relevant subject.
- TikTok is also helping people build practical skills they can use at work. More than four in ten users (41%) say they have applied skills in their current job that they first developed by posting videos on TikTok, rising to 67% among casual creators who post more than once a week.
- Meanwhile, 1.2 million people have taken up a hobby or class having found a passion on the platform, helping to get people into offline activities in their local communities.
- In arts and culture, TikTok generated £175 million in additional consumer spending on books. Nearly one in four 18–24-year-olds on TikTok (23%) bought a book after seeing it featured on #BookTok. More than half of readers in this age group (55%) use TikTok to discover information about books, more than any other social platform.
- In music, TikTok helped generate £430 million through increased royalties, concert tickets and memorabilia.
TikTok Shop
- Over 300,000 small businesses are also now selling on TikTok Shop. TikTok’s LIVE shopping format has grown 55% year-on-year with over 6,000 live shopping sessions taking place every day in the UK, enabling businesses to reach new audiences and drive sales.
Entrepreneurialism on TikTok
- Around 8 million people post regularly on TikTok without being full-time creators or businesses. These 'casual creators' are more than twice as likely as the UK average to say they want to start a business in the next five years (54% vs 21%).
Ali Law, a Director of TikTok UK, said: "With a £10bn boost to the British economy, TikTok is turning online discovery into real-world growth and connection, with millions discovering local businesses, visiting high streets and joining local clubs and sports groups."
Craig Beaumont, Executive Director at the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), said: “TikTok shows that anyone can be an entrepreneur - all you need is an idea, a product, and a smartphone, and you can potentially reach audiences around the world, no matter if you’re in a big city or a tiny village. It’s great news that video views can translate to real-world sales, in person or via TikTok Shop, and at Federation of Small Businesses we are really excited about the opportunity to support newly-fledged businesses and entrepreneurs as they start small and reach for the stars.”
Luke Arnel-Cameron, Founder of Gloucester-based cleaning brand Yass Clean (@yassclean) and one of the first creators to start tapping into the potential of TikTok Shop in the UK said: “When I launched Yass Clean, I invested everything I had into a brand that nobody could even smell before buying. Building an audience of over one million followers on TikTok gave me the confidence to take that leap and has helped turn Yass Clean into a fast-growing global business."
“TikTok Shop has absolutely changed our lives. We have taken Yass Clean from an unknown brand to selling 1m products in just 20 months on the platform. TikTok has also been instrumental in helping us launch in 15 other counties around the world, including EU, USA and Brazil."
Manny and Adnaan Malik, Founders of family-run Wolverhampton-based Malik Butchers (@malikbutchers) said: “We owe a great deal of our growth to TikTok and TikTok Shop. What began as a local butcher's shop in Wolverhampton has grown into a nationally recognised brand, and that simply wouldn't have been possible without the exposure we've gained through the platform.
"TikTok Shop has transformed our business. It's enabled us to consistently achieve weekly sales of more than £10,000 while introducing halal meat to a completely new audience. Being one of the first halal butchers on the platform has been incredibly exciting, and we're proud to be part of a movement that's changing the way people discover and shop for food.
"Our journey shows what's possible for small businesses across the UK. If you have a great product and you're willing to embrace innovation, there are huge opportunities to grow."
Lidia Perrella, Fashion Design Graduate and Founder of Manchester-based footwear brand DIA Studios (@dia.studios) said: "We're on a mission to make boots that genuinely fit everyone, to our customers' exact measurements, from fun, colourful statement styles to everyday classics. TikTok LIVE has been such a big part of our growth journey. Being able to chat with customers live, explain our fit options, show how to measure correctly and answer sizing questions has made buying footwear so much easier.
"It has also created an amazing community where people can see the boots on a real person, get styling advice and ask questions in real time. It's made a VIP shopping experience accessible to everyone, which has become one of the most special parts of our business."
Explore the report:
TikTok's UK Economic Impact Report 2026
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