TikTok live shopping is driving remarkable revenue for small UK businesses, with one seller generating over £100,000 in a single 12-hour live stream. Daisy Kelly, founder of beauty brand Glow For It, told the BBC that TikTok Shop UK has 'categorically changed the trajectory of my business.' The platform's live shopping format, which hosts more than 6,000 livestreams daily according to TikTok, is becoming a mainstream retail channel. However, the fees attached to these transactions are a significant factor for sellers evaluating their channel mix.
Platform Fees and Seller Economics
TikTok Shop UK's standard commission is up to 9p for every £1 sold, equivalent to 9%. For comparison, eBay's marketplace business sellers typically pay between 6.9p and 14.9p per £1 depending on category, while eBay Live sellers face a combined fee of up to 8.42p including payment processing. This puts TikTok's take rate in the mid-range among live shopping-enabled platforms.
| Platform | Fee Structure | Typical Fee per £1 |
|---|---|---|
| TikTok Shop UK | Standard commission | Up to 9p (9%) |
| eBay Live | Combined fee including payment processing | Up to 8.42p (8.42%) |
| eBay Marketplace | Category-dependent | 6.9p to 14.9p (6.9%–14.9%) |
Manny Malik, owner of Malik Butchers in Wolverhampton, described the fee as 'a lot.' He explained that for the meat sector, margins are tight, but added, 'However, it's opened up a new platform. We didn't have these sales prior to TikTok. We're not losing money, we've got enough profitability in there.'
Seller Success Stories and Business Impact
The revenue potential is substantial. Daisy Kelly's Glow For It generates £6 million in annual sales, with more than 40% coming from TikTok Shop UK, predominantly through live streams. She recalled: 'We actually generated over £100,000 revenue in one 12 hour TikTok live.' Her business operates live streams from a studio for a minimum of six hours daily, with presenters interacting with shoppers.
For Malik, a three-hour TikTok live session sold £8,000 worth of meat—an amount that would normally take three to four days in his family shop. The exposure is driving expansion: 'They're now opening a second store in Stoke,' the BBC reported. 'TikTok, he says, is helping to drive his expansion.'
Industry Trends and Research
According to new research from retail agency Savvy Marketing, 30% of shoppers surveyed said they had bought something from a live shopping event. Catherine Shuttleworth, CEO of Savvy, commented: 'The big retailers have got to grab hold of this. It's grown from nothing to a huge thing really quickly. If you haven't got a strategy for live selling, you're going to miss out.'
TikTok Shop UK reported that its UK sales grew by more than 30% year-on-year in June, with live shopping as the fastest-growing format. The platform now hosts over 6,000 livestreams every day.
What Sellers Need to Consider
For B2B sellers and marketplace operators evaluating live shopping channels, the key takeaways are clear. TikTok offers high-volume sales potential but at a 9% commission, which may be sustainable for brands with healthy margins. Sellers in low-margin categories like fresh meat must carefully assess profitability. eBay Live, with a combined fee of up to 8.42p, presents a slightly lower-cost alternative. As live shopping adoption grows—with 30% of shoppers already participating—both platforms are aggressive in attracting sellers. The decision hinges on margin tolerance, audience fit, and operational capability to run frequent, engaging livestreams.
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