A growing number of retailers are going to start shifting products and services via social media in order to capitalise on current consumer habits, according to the results of a report from PayPal.

Close to a quarter of companies in the UK already have some form of solution for selling to customers through social channels, but analysts anticipate that this will rise further in the coming year as a further 22 per cent of firms look to jump on this burgeoning bandwagon.

Over eight million people in the UK are already happy to take to social media in order to carry out safe shopping online, with popular platforms like Facebook and Instagram leading the way in this area.

On average this equates to £71 of spending each month per shopper, meaning that there is the potential for businesses to secure a serious increase in sales if they manage their social presence correctly.

This rise is only being made possible because the platforms themselves are rushing to offer integrated e-commerce features. In conjunction with built-in advertising, this is the best way for social media companies to monetise their services which are offered to users free of charge.

Interestingly, although Britain has a world-leading e-commerce industry, the uptake of social media for selling online is actually lower than average here, revealing that retailers are a little behind the curve on a global scale.

Part of this may be down to the fact that consumers in the UK are actually more concerned with the levels of protection afforded to them when they shop on social media than those in other nations. Building trust in the social space will help brands to maximise the impact of their efforts while assuring customers that they face no real dangers.