Discover.
Create.
Grow.
How TikTok turns online opportunity into real world growth for business, creators and communities.
Foreword.
Cynthia Sanfilippo
President – Europe
30 million people across the UK come to TikTok every month, to create, discover and enjoy content on every topic imaginable.
But TikTok is not just about what people see on their screen. As President of Europe, what has struck me most is what then happens away from it too. A video about a neighbourhood café is tomorrow's lunch plan. A #BookTok recommendation becomes next week's bedtime read. A clip from a coastal town or music festival can turn into a weekend away. A running route, a craft tutorial or a guitar demonstration can help someone find a new hobby, learn new skills and connect them with a community around it.
That is what makes TikTok different. It is not just a place where people watch content. It is a window into the real world: a place where culture moves, businesses grow, people connect and ideas become reality.
This report puts a number on that. Activity supported by TikTok now adds over £10 billion to the UK economy and supports more than 150 thousand jobs. Behind each of those jobs is a story: a creator who has turned a hobby into a business, a small business hiring to keep up with a surge in TikTok-driven sales, an advertising brand taking on new creatives, or a local restaurant that has never posted a video but whose bookings surged because their customers did.
For small businesses in particular, the ease of engaging on TikTok is helping break down traditional barriers and allowing them to compete with established brands. On TikTok a good idea can turn into a viable business proposition without necessarily needing a big advertising budget or a prime high street location.
That effect is being felt across the economy. In music, TikTok helps artists find audiences and fans find new songs. In fashion and beauty, it helps trends travel and brands break through. In tourism and hospitality, it helps people discover places they might never otherwise have visited.
I am proud of the partnerships we have built across these sectors and proud of the creators who bring British culture to life every day. And we are proud of the businesses that use TikTok not just to market themselves, but to grow, hire and invest.
All of this can only happen by keeping our platform a safe and enjoyable space for our entire community, and we continuously invest in measures to ensure this, including our £10 billion investment in Project Clover, one of the most advanced data protection systems to be found anywhere in the world.
We are proud of our contribution to the British economy and culture, and are committed to growing that contribution even further, supporting British creators and helping businesses of every size reach the people who matter most.
TikTok
in the UK.
TikTok launched in the UK in 2018 as a platform for discovery. In less than a decade, it has become a significant part of British life, reaching more than 30 million monthly active users.
TikTok is shaped by the everyday lives of these users. Through content shared by people like them, users discover local businesses, new hobbies, communities and cultural moments. This makes recommendations feel more authentic, personal and trustworthy — and more likely to inspire action. Whether visiting a local business, booking an experience or making a purchase, TikTok turns discovery into demand across the British economy.
Alongside its growing role in everyday life, TikTok has become an important contributor to the UK economy. Since establishing operations in the UK, the company has invested in jobs, infrastructure and talent, while helping British creators, businesses and culture reach audiences at home and around the world. Its contribution comes both through its direct investments into the UK and the role that the TikTok platform plays in the wider economy.
Investing in Britain: for every £1 of GVA from TikTok's own UK operations, around £16 of additional GVA is supported through UK creators and businesses using the platform. Based on EY estimates.
Public First estimates that the use of the TikTok platform by users, creators and businesses added over £9 billion to the economy in 2025. However, this estimate does not include TikTok's direct investments such as offices and headcount. Additional research by EY, based on TikTok's direct investments in 2024 suggests that, when all activity is taken together, TikTok added at least £10 billion in GVA to the UK economy in 2025, supporting 153,000 jobs.
A £10 Billion Boost to Britain's Economy: Economic activity underpinned by the TikTok platform and TikTok's direct investments added at least £10 billion to the UK economy in 2025, equivalent to 0.3% of GDP.
TikTok's economic contribution in 2025 supported 153,000 British jobs. In addition, polling from Public First finds that businesses using TikTok hired 31,000 people as a result of being on the platform.
From
Discovery to
Enterprise.
People come to TikTok to explore everything from food, music and travel to fashion, beauty and gaming. Discovery on TikTok is active, not passive: people do not just watch content about their interests, they act on it.
have joined a club, hobby group, or a class after discovering it on TikTok.
have signed up for an online course after discovering it on TikTok.
have enrolled in in-person learning after discovering it on TikTok.
TikTok also helps turn interests into livelihoods. Over 1 in 4 (27%) of British TikTok users post content more than once a week, approximately 8 million people. This is a group we call Casual Creators. Casual Creators generate a constant flow of organic content that helps products, brands and ideas gain visibility and momentum. These users also show an entrepreneurial spirit. They are more than twice as likely as the UK average to want to start a business in the next five years, and they are using TikTok to develop, test and plan their business ideas.
casual creators active across the UK.
casual creators are twice as likely than the UK average to want to start a business.
Casual creators have undertaken concrete planning to start a new business. Almost three times more than the wider population.
This makes TikTok part of the UK's start-up pipeline, a place where people discover new opportunities, test ideas, build audiences and turn side hustles into careers.
Why
Businesses
Thrive on
TikTok.
Both new and established businesses benefit from people using TikTok to discover what to buy, where to go and what experiences they want. Over 1 in 3 (39%) of all UK businesses use TikTok as part of their marketing strategy, and they see clear commercial returns.
While 28% say they have hired additional staff whose role includes working with the platform. Across the UK, this could amount to as many as
The Rise of
TikTok Shop.
Since 2021, TikTok Shop has helped turn discovery directly into commerce. For businesses, it has opened up new ways to launch products, reach customers and generate sales.
91% of businesses using TikTok Shop say that it has allowed them to grow their sales and revenue.
say TikTok Shop has enabled them to launch new products.
This is increasingly happening in real time, as products are showcased through TikTok LIVE shopping sessions, creator videos and demonstrations that allow users to engage and purchase seamlessly.
This shows how demand generated on TikTok can turn into real sales, fuller order books, and stronger business growth for UK companies.
Creator-led
Growth.
On TikTok, creators range from everyday users and casual creators sharing what they love, to full-time creators building careers. The authenticity of creator content creates a powerful growth opportunity for businesses.
of UK businesses using TikTok say they have worked with creators.
Organic content as well as professional creator marketing can trigger viral moments, where demand accelerates rapidly. Businesses who have experienced these moments overwhelmingly say it had a positive effect.
of businesses who experienced a viral moment on TikTok said it had the same positive effect on their businesses as they would expect from a celebrity endorsement or being featured on TV.
Growth can be driven both by deliberate marketing strategies, including partnerships with full-time creators, and organically, when a business idea captures the attention of local TikTok users and gains momentum on the platform.
Learning New
Skills & Rediscovering
Reading.
TikTok is a major source of learning and self-development. British TikTok users watch over 18 million hours of learning and educational content a week on the platform, and for many, that learning has practical value too.
British TikTok users spend over 18 million hours a week watching educational or learning content.
0.0mn
users say TikTok has helped them learn a skill that saved them money.
#BookTok and the community of readers on TikTok is turning a new generation back onto reading. This is a global phenomenon, but in the UK specifically this has seen TikTok drive an additional £175 million in spending on books.
additional spending on books driven by TikTok in the UKthrough #BookTok and book discovery
A New Kind
of Growth
Platform.
Eight years after launch, TikTok has become part of the UK's economic infrastructure — shaping how people discover products and services, how businesses reach customers, and how creators turn attention into income.
For businesses, the growth TikTok provides becomes real in stronger customer demand, higher sales and new opportunities to grow.
For TikTok users and creators, it can mean new business ideas, new income streams and new career paths.
Looking ahead, the opportunity could grow further.
Public First estimates that casual creators on platforms like TikTok could help drive an additional £27 billion in UK e-commerce growth by 2030.
This puts TikTok at the heart of the UK's drive for growth.
TikTok's Impact in the UK.
Investing in Britain
For every £1 of GVA generated by TikTok's operations in the UK, around £16 of additional GVA is supported through UK creators and businesses using the platform. Based on EY estimates.
A £10 Billion Boost to Britain's Economy
Economic activity underpinned by the TikTok platform and TikTok's direct investments added at least £10 billion to the UK economy in 2025, equivalent to 0.3% of GDP.
Addition to Britain’s creative industries
TikTok supports UK sectors from creativity to tourism, in 2025 adding £910mn to Britain's creative industries, boosting UK music revenues by £430mn and driving 2.3 million tourists to the UK.
jobs supported
TikTok's economic contribution in 2025 supported 153,000 British jobs. In addition, polling from Public First finds that businesses using TikTok hired 31,000 people as a result of being on the platform.
Driving New Economic Growth
Casual creators on platforms like TikTok (a group we define as posting more than once a week) are already helping businesses turn everyday recommendations into sales. Public First estimates that these users could drive an additional £27bn in e-commerce growth by 2030.
Businesses have sold out on TikTok
More than 1 in 4 businesses on TikTok say they have sold out of a product because of the platform. 84% of businesses using TikTok say it has boosted their sales and revenue.
A Vital Tool for Small Businesses
TikTok helped UK SMEs generate £3.4bn in additional output in 2025 — worth £598 per business if divided across all of the UK's SMEs.
More likely to want to start a business
Casual creators are more than twice as likely as the UK average to want to start a business, and 74% say their idea is linked to what they watch or post on TikTok.
visits to local cafés or restaurants influenced by TikTok
6 million people have visited a café or restaurant after seeing it on TikTok while 1 in 6 have taken up a sport, hobby, club or class as a result of being on the platform.
hours of learning content watched each week
UK users watched over 18 million hours a week learning on TikTok, 4 in 10 TikTok users have used skills they have gained from the platform at work, while 3.9 million people have learnt a skill that has saved them money.