18 UK customer stats you need to know about your audience
UK shoppers are facing uncertain times. The cost of living has changed what they consider worth spending their money on. Consumer confidence is at a four-year low. But when a brand earns their attention, they respond, they come back, and they spend more.
We surveyed 1,000 UK consumers as part of our Customer trend index to find out how they discover new brands, which channels they actually want to use, what tips them into buying, and what keeps them loyal. The data doesn’t paint a picture of an audience that’s checked out, but rather of one that’s more selective and more loyal to the brands that get everything right.
Here’s what the findings show across four areas:
- How they find you
- How they want to hear from you
- What gets them to buy
- What keeps them coming back
How they find you
1. New brand discovery is a three-way tie
UK brand discovery doesn’t have a dominant channel. In-store browsing, recommendations from friends and family, and search engines all tied for first place at exactly 37% as shoppers’ preferred channels. Discovery relies almost entirely on shoppers in the moment, making it much harder for UK businesses.
A single-channel acquisition strategy will leave a significant portion of your potential audience untouched. Brands need to show up consistently across touchpoints so shoppers recognize them wherever discovery happens.
2. Gen Z is more likely to discover brands in-store than online (42%)
This is probably the finding that will surprise people most. Gen Z leads in-store discovery (42%), beating both Millennials (39%) and Baby Boomers (34%). The assumption that younger consumers live entirely online isn’t holding up, at least when it comes to finding new brands.
Physical experiences are still where a lot of first impressions happen across all generations. The in-store or in-person experience needs to reflect the same brand identity, messaging, and value proposition that customers encounter online.
3. For Baby Boomers, search is the top discovery channel (41%)
Baby Boomers are the generation most likely to find new brands through search engines. For Gen Z, search sits at 33%.
This flips the usual narrative about Gen Z being more engaged online than Baby Boomers. In the UK, Baby Boomers are more digitally active in their discovery behavior than they’re given credit for, and if you’re not showing up for their queries, you’re invisible to a segment with real spending power before the conversation even starts.
4. Influencers have a genuine impact on nearly one-third of Gen Z shoppers
29% of Gen Z consumers have discovered a new brand through an influencer or creator. That figure drops to 24% for Millennials, 9% for Gen X, and just 3% for Baby Boomers.
If Gen Z is your primary audience, or the market you’re struggling to break into, influencer partnerships belong in your core strategy. And even where shoppers aren’t actively seeking recommendations, exposure alone is compounding, and accidental discovery is still discovery.
5. 32% of UK consumers have discovered a brand through AI in the last six months
Nearly a third of UK shoppers found a new brand or product using AI search in the last six months. For Gen Z, that figure is 53%, and for Millennials it’s 51%.
The overall picture is still split on AI usage. 51% of UK shoppers say they “rarely” or “never” use AI for shopping recommendations, but the generational story is different entirely. Among Gen Z and Millennials, AI-assisted discovery is becoming a mainstream behavior, and both groups are heading into their peak spending years.
The shift means brands need to start thinking beyond traditional search visibility. In AI-led discovery, the goal isn’t just about ranking for keywords, but ensuring your brand is consistently represented in the sources, reviews, and content that AI tools draw from when making recommendations.
How they want to hear from you
6. Email is the clear preference (47%) for brand interaction
47% of UK shoppers prefer email when engaging with brands they follow. Brand website comes second at 35%, in-store at 33%. Every other channel is well behind.
That’s a different picture from other markets. In Australia, in-store is the preferred channel for 54% of shoppers. In Singapore, mobile apps top the list at 45%. The UK is the only market where email clearly leads — and it holds across every generation, with even Gen Z putting it first at 44%.
As the most preferred channel, email should be treated as more than just a distribution channel. It’s where you shape the customer experience itself. When emails are relevant, timely, and genuinely useful, they move customers forward in their relationship with your brand and shape what they do next.
7. Most UK shoppers actually want monthly comms
37% of UK consumers prefer monthly contact from brands. Weekly contact is preferred by 23%. Daily sits at 4%. Younger shoppers have a greater appetite for weekly contact: 26% of Gen Z and 33% of Millennials prefer it, but monthly remains the preference for both groups. For Gen X and Baby Boomers, a lower frequency of contact is favorable.
This is most useful for shaping the cadence of your broadcast communications, such as newsletters, roundups, and new launches. Between these, audience engagement should be sustained through timely, behavior-led automations triggered by customer actions. This creates a predictable rhythm of regular updates, alongside relevant interventions that appear exactly when they’re needed.
8. 59% say personalized communications feel “just right”, but Gen Z disagrees
Just under two-thirds (59%) of UK shoppers are satisfied with how brands personalize their marketing message. That sounds fine until you look at Gen Z: 36% say brand communications are “not personalized enough”, and only 39% of Gen Z feel communications are right.
This is the generation that skipped over the era of irrelevant batch-and-blast marketing. They understand what good marketing looks like, they’ve been exposed to it online all their lives. Basic personalization (like first names in subject lines) doesn’t cut it anymore. They expect more. They want brands to really know them, and to be predictive and proactive in their outreach.
9. Only 16% of shoppers find marketing “very relevant” to them
58% of UK shoppers find brand marketing relevant in some sense, but only 16% find it “very relevant”. The gap between those two things is the difference between a message someone reads and one that actually changes their behavior.
Closing that gap means acting on the signals already available to you, like browsing history, purchase data, and real-time behavioral triggers. Automations built on actions and data don’t just improve relevance; they make sure messages land at the moment a customer is most likely to act on them.
10. Younger shoppers are the most engaged with marketing messages
74% of Millennials and 71% of Gen Z find marketing messages relevant to them, compared to 49% of Gen X and 41% of Baby Boomers. Younger consumers are more receptive to brand communications, but they also hold them to a higher standard. 28% of Gen Z say marketing still doesn’t feel relevant to them.
Getting personalization right for Gen Z and Millennials now, using segmentation, behavioral triggers, and content that meets them where they are, builds relationships that increase lifetime value, as their spending potential continues to grow.
What gets them to buy
11. 41% of UK shoppers mostly make considered purchases
When asked whether they lean toward considered or impulse buying, 41% of UK consumers said they mostly make considered purchases. A further 40% reported an even mix, and only 19% said they mostly buy on impulse.
Most of your audience is taking the time to think things through, weighing options, looking for reassurance, and waiting until they’re certain they want to buy. Product reviews, clear shipping and return policies, and honest FAQs are the kind of content that should be visible across the customer journey to tip undecided shoppers over the line.
12. 34% of considered purchase decisions are taking longer than they used to
Among those already making considered purchases, more than a third (34%) say the time it takes them to reach a decision has grown.
The window between intent and checkout is stretching, which means more chances to lose someone, but also more chances to win them. Automation can do some serious heavy lifting here. Abandoned browse and cart recovery flows aren’t just reminders; they’re a chance to answer any questions they might have before they’re confident enough to make a decision.
13. 44% of Gen Z are taking longer to decide what to buy
44% of Gen Z report that their considered purchases are taking longer to decide on. 53% of students say the same. These aren’t the groups typically associated with slow, deliberate shopping. They’re the generation that grew up on one-click buying and next-day delivery, but now they’re taking more time to think about how they’re spending their money.
Every scroll on social, review read, and website visit is shaping their decision long before they’re ready to buy. Automation flows triggered by actions, like repeat product visits or cart abandonment, are where you build the familiarity that makes a Gen Z shopper choose you when it counts.
14. Word of mouth is what tips the impulse buyer (48%)
Nearly half of impulse buyers in the UK (48%) say a recommendation from a friend or family member is what makes them act. Timely emails (like wishlist-pricedrops or browse abandonment) come second at 34%, followed by social ads at 28%.
Even spontaneous purchases need a sprinkle of social proof to get them over the line. The nudge that converts an impulse buyer often isn’t a discount but someone they trust saying, “You’d love this.” Referral programs, user-generated content in retargeting ads, and reviews or star ratings pulled into automated emails all give shoppers the social reinforcement they need to convert.
15. Free and easy returns are the most effective conversion tool for undecided shoppers
34% of UK consumers say knowing returns are free and easy would tip them into an uncertain purchase, narrowly ahead of discounts and free delivery (32%) and customer reviews (28%).
Reducing perceived risk is a reliable conversion driver. For Baby Boomers, free returns are the top conversion driver at 44%. For Gen Z, it’s more evenly spread, and 25% are also persuaded by personalized website experiences, more than any other generation. But across every age group, answering “what if I don’t like it?” before the shopper even asks is one of the most effective ways to convert someone who’s on the fence.
What keeps them coming back
16. Product quality is still the top loyalty driver(66%)
66% of UK consumers rate having the best products as the most important loyalty factor. Customer service comes second at 52%, tied with friends and family recommendations, followed by loyalty programs at 48%.
Product quality sets the ceiling for everything else, but the other three drivers are where brands have room to actively build. Friends and family recommendations and loyalty programs sit just four points apart, and are more connected than they might appear. A loyalty program built around referrals and social sharing doesn’t just retain existing customers, it activates them. This turns your most loyal customers into a word-of-mouth engine that brings in the next ones.
17. Free shipping and returns lead the loyalty rewards wishlist(43%)
When asked what they want more of from loyalty programs, UK shoppers said: free shipping or returns (43%), freebie products and samples (42%), birthday or anniversary rewards (37%), cashback (33%), and personalized discounts (33%).
The same thing that closes a sale is what keeps customers coming back. Loyalty programs built around complex point tiers that don’t offer rewards people actually want are missing out on experiences that deliver repeat purchases. Birthday and anniversary rewards scored strongly across all generations, and are one of the easiest ways to create a moment that feels personal without complicated reward structures.
18. 37% of UK shoppers have spent more with a brand because of its loyalty program
More than a third of UK consumers have actively increased their spending to reach a loyalty reward. For Gen Z, that’s 57%, and for Millennials it’s 47%.
Loyalty programs are genuine revenue generators. When the reward is compelling enough, customers don’t just come back; they spend more deliberately to reach the next tier or unlock the next discount. Whether it’s a birthday reward, a personalized discount, or a referral perk, the programs that drive spending are the ones where customers can actually see what they’re working towards.
What this means for your marketing strategy
A few things run through the UK data consistently:
- Discovery is genuinely cross-channel, but preferred channels vary by generation
- Email remains a core engagement channel, but most communications are only “somewhat relevant” to customers
- Considered buying is taking, and that shift is most pronounced in younger shoppers
- Free and easy returns convert undecided shoppers more reliably than discounts alone
- Loyalty programs are driving conversions, especially among Gen Z and Millennials
UK shoppers need to feel confident and trust a brand before they’re ready to convert. Automation, segmentation, and personalization are how you earn the trust that turns a first purchase into a second, and a customer into someone who recommends you to a friend.
For a deeper dive into global customer trends, check out our full report, the Customer trend index 2026/27.
