Justin Pearse, Editor-in-Chief, New Digital Age, sat down with Martin Kelly, Founder, Onyx Commerce and digital industry veteran to discuss the booming social commerce market.
What led you to launch your new business and why focus on social commerce?
I’ve always been fascinated by ecosystems. At Kepler, as I was wrapping up my last year, I started thinking about what was next. We’ve seen huge ecosystems built around Google and Amazon, but TikTok felt like the new frontier. The user growth was extraordinary, but the revenue side was lagging.
When I began speaking to TikTok, it became clear that commerce was going to be a critical play for them. That pushed me into thinking about social commerce more broadly. Right now it’s very TikTok-focused, but I think we’ll see YouTube and others move in as creators demand more ways to monetise.
When did you launch and who is involved?
We officially launched in February this year and it’s grown fast. The leadership team includes Steph Carr, who I worked with at Infectious Media, and two senior hires from TikTok. Luke Townsin came from their creator product leadership team, and Katy Hallam, who ran TikTok Shop operations in the UK, joined as a very early hire.
Having that insider knowledge has been invaluable.
TikTok Shop is evolving at lightning speed, and having people who understand both the product and the shifting landscape gives us a real edge. My background is in building and scaling agencies, and I’m applying that experience to this new field.
Can you explain how TikTok Shop operates?
It’s quite different to Amazon or traditional ecommerce. TikTok Shop has built its own ecosystem, even down to fulfillment warehouses in the UK, similar to Amazon.
Traffic is driven in four ways. First, through ads. Second, through affiliates, essentially creators who act like an army of sales reps, promoting products on commission. Third, through a brand’s own organic content.
And finally, through live shopping, which TikTok is pushing hard.
Live commerce is already massive in Asia and is starting to take off here, particularly in categories like beauty. One recent live by makeup brand P Louise generated £2.7 million in sales.
That shows the scale of opportunity.
How is social commerce different from traditional e-commerce?
Amazon is deliberate commerce. You go there with a purpose – to buy a blender or headphones.
TikTok is discovery commerce. People aren’t searching for products, they’re stumbling across them through creators or live streams.
That means brands focus on a handful of key SKUs rather than their entire catalogue. Success depends on having the right product and the right creator strategy. Beauty and fashion dominate, while categories like consumer electronics barely feature compared to their strength on Amazon.
How is the wider ecosystem around TikTok Shop developing?
It’s still very immature. There’s a shortage of expertise, and most traditional agencies don’t have the knowledge to operate here yet. Many of the new agencies are native to TikTok, often started by people who scaled their own brands and then applied that expertise to others.
It reminds me of where the Amazon ecosystem was around 2015. It’s separate from the mainstream digital ad market, and the skills needed are completely different. TikTok Shop often ends up sitting with a brand’s Amazon or ecommerce team, but the strategies required are unique.
What’s driving consumer behaviour in this space?
There’s a generational shift underway.
Channel 4 research showed that for under 30s, influencers and social connections matter far more than ads. For over 30s, traditional ads and media are still dominant, but younger audiences are making purchasing decisions based on creators and friends.
As this generation ages, earns more money, and becomes more transactional, this behaviour will scale. Some brands are already built entirely around TikTok, like P Louise, who grew up on the platform and are now moving into retail with Boots.
How should brands think about creativity on TikTok?
The golden rule is “don’t make ads, make TikToks”. Content needs to feel authentic and raw, not over-produced.
Commerce is often driven by volume, with armies of creators making content rather than a single high-profile influencer.
For example, Crocs is one of our clients. We’ve helped them translate success from the US to the UK and Europe by working with creators at scale. It’s about building a model that is simple and scalable across multiple markets, similar to how brands operate on Amazon.
Where do you see the future of social commerce going?
I think it’s going to become a core part of how brands operate.
Creator agencies are starting to look at commerce, performance media agencies are recognising the opportunity, and eventually the big holding companies will follow because clients are already asking questions.
For me, it’s been a breath of fresh air.
The digital media industry has matured and slowed in its rate of change. Social commerce feels like the early days of paid search or programmatic, ffast, exciting, and full of possibilities.
