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5 UK Sales Trends We Can Expect To See In 2025

Man surrounded by icons (globe, phone, etc.) symbolising key sales/customer behaviour trends.
2025 will be a transformative year for sales leaders who are quick to adopt these new consumer trends as keeping customers will be tough but more valuable than ever. [Adobe Stock | Sarah Grogan, Salesforce]

Writer Alyssa Jaffer reveals the top 5 UK sales trends to watch in 2025, plus data-backed insights from NIQ thought leadership expert Lauren Fernandes and investor Giles Brook.

Despite an ongoing cost of living crisis, growing consumer segments are poised to spend even more in 2025. Research by NielsenIQ (NIQ) predicts that global consumer spending will increase by nearly 6% next year — the equivalent of £2.5 trillion in new spending. 

And that means there’s an opportunity to win the attention, custom, and loyalty of a discerning and intentional customer base — if you know how. 2025 will be a transformative year for sales leaders who are quick to adopt these new consumer trends as keeping customers will be tough but more valuable than ever.

That’s why with the help of multi-exit entrepreneur and investor Giles Brook and Lauren Fernandes, Vice President at NIQ, we’re breaking down the top five sales trends to watch in 2025. 

Giles Brook has invested in multiple FMCG start-ups
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Lauren_headshot-e1736939504916.png
Lauren Fernandes is Vice President of Global Thought Leadership at NIQ

1. Partner sales will pack a punch

Partner sales, sometimes known as channel sales, uses external company representatives, resellers, distributors and brokers to indirectly create new sales for your business through revenue sharing agreements – no extra headcount necessary. 

89% of sales teams use partner sales now and amongst those who don’t, nearly 60% expect to in the next year, according to Salesforce’s new State of Sales report. And an impressive 84% of sales professionals say that partner sales have a bigger impact on the bottom line now than a year ago. For growth portfolio company ICONIQ, partner sales became their largest source of net new ARR, even more than marketing and direct sales.

Partner relationship management (PRM) can really help equip partners with better tools to sell your product or service by utilising the platform to provide data optimised, automated solutions tailored for your partner to best represent your needs,” said Giles Brook, who played a leading role in growing brands like Vita Coco, Innocent Drinks, Pip & Nut and others. 

Indirect partner sales can enable your in-house teams to focus on wider goals like expanding into new markets, exploring new territories and scaling sales more efficiently. Partner sales will be a sure-fire sales channel for growth in 2025.

2. The line between physical retail and digital identities will continue to blur

From the high street to high tech, 2025 will see retailers bringing the in-person shopping experience of brick-and-mortar stores directly to the customer’s screen, through emerging technologies like augmented and virtual reality, shopping in the metaverse and more. To build trust with your customers, it’ll be important to guide them through these quickly changing ways of buying and interacting with your brand.

“The key to success here is twofold: Act on unmet needs before consumers ask for them — but not before consumers are ready to embrace real change,” said Lauren Fernandes, who runs the thought leadership division at NIQ.

That’s why early adopters will win in this space, especially brands that seamlessly extend the ecommerce shopping experience in real life. Luxury fashion house Burberry launched an augmented reality shopping tool through Google Search, enabling customers to virtually experience their products at scale against real life objects. 

Customers will increasingly expect retailers to bridge the gap between online and physical shopping with integrated in-store tech, digital signage, kiosks and QR codes, plus enhanced loyalty schemes and returns to create a truly omnichannel experience that’s both accessible and affordable.

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3. Enter the era of the circular economy

In a market where customers are more intelligent than ever, greenwashing is out and real sustainability is in. Companies participating in the circular economy – business models based on reusing materials and recycling resources in a closed loop – will be more cost efficient and more attractive to customers, given the growing consumer demand for green credentials which can’t be faked.

“The circular economy is all about innovation in extending the lifecycle and potential use cases of products – and it’s driving a ton of sales growth along the way,” said Fernandes. Fully circular businesses like ADJOAA, an online marketplace of sustainable fashion brands by African designers and Black-owned businesses, are leading the way to environmental consciousness.

“Products with the stated product claim of being ‘zero waste’ saw over $1.4B in annual sales, up 4.2% compared to 2023. Other areas seeing strong growth this year include products that are ‘Upcycled’ and ‘Compostable,’” she said, citing NIQ findings.

“This will become mandatory as part of meeting consumer expectations – customers require a product or service they’re buying to have minimal impact on the planet,” Brook added.

At a time when 54% of consumers say they actively avoid waste, the circular economy will be a key growth area in 2025.

4. Content is still king – even when it comes to sales

Considering today’s competitive marketplace, if a brand is not meeting its customers where they are – namely on digital and social channels – it’s invisible. And even on low purchasing intent channels, compelling content and social selling will be even more important in 2025 to keep your brand top of mind when your prospect is ready to buy.

“One in three global consumers are willing to purchase via social commerce and this highlights how social media is fundamentally shifting how people discover, shop and interact with brands on their path to purchase,” Fernandes said. “But barriers to trust also exist here, where over half (53%) of surveyed consumers don’t trust the security of paying via social media.”

To stand out when social selling, creative and useful content is key. Cosmetics retailer The Body Shop uses creative content effectively across their website and social media channels to engage, inform and delight their target customer.

“Having significant cash to attract customers isn’t enough anymore,” said Brook. “Quality content is everything if you want brand longevity. Social media selling has to be authentic, consistent and fresh if you want to both attract and retain your customers.”  

From discovery to product learning, to user generated content and even purchasing gamification, selling through social media whilst building trust is crucial to influencing commerce growth in 2025.

5. New customers will enter the market – but keeping them will be the challenge

2025 will welcome 131 million new consumers to the consumer class, World Data Lab predicts. But by 2040, growth in new consumers will slow down. So to keep your customers spending with you, personalisation, retention and loyalty will be essential. 

“This necessitates using quality data to understand and anticipate where new consumer growth will be concentrated and doubling down on assessing spending attitudes, intentions and category- or item-level preferences,” Fernandes said. “Anticipating consumer spending by category and geography alongside patterns of wealth vs insecurity is vital to planning for growth in 2025 and beyond.”

“Consumers will want more products and services tailored to their personal needs, so brands that more directly meet individual customer needs will win,” said Brook.

And remember your customer’s lifetime value – then reward them for it.  

“For FMCG businesses, it’s not uncommon that the top 25% of your consumer base can represent 50-75% of your sales value. So always obsess about how you thank existing customers and give them every reason to stay loyal, like early access to new products or the same discounts as new customers. Never be complacent,” Brook advised.

Looking for even more sales insights to prepare for 2025? Learn more from Salesforce’s new State of Sales report.

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