The latest in our series of festive posts related to “where UK consumers are at” in the lead up to Christmas sees Mustard’s Richard Walker interrogating why half of UK adults claim that social media has NO influence on their Christmas catering decisions.
Every year in the lead up to Christmas, our social media feeds fill up with images of roasting turkeys and all the trimmings, mince pies, cheeseboards, beer and wine offers, and lots more festive favourites besides. Well mine do, anyway.
And, lo-and-behold, every year consumers tell us: “that’s not going to influence ME!”
The 2025 Mustard Christmas Survey has just delivered its annual eyebrow-raiser: 50% of people say none of the social media platforms will influence what food and drink they buy this Christmas – OR where they buy it from.
Literally half the country (apparently) rejecting the entire social universe as a source of festive inspiration.
Here’s my take on things…
1. Some people feel Christmas is too precious to outsource to TikTok or Instagram.
Christmas food and drink is a high-trust category. They don’t want to wing it. They’re risk averse. They won’t gamble the roasties on the latest “30-second hack”. Instead, people default to retailers and brands that have earned trust through the year (and through previous Christmases), and the recipes they inherited.
2. No one wants to admit they’re “influenced”. Especially at Christmas.
Christmas is highly emotive. Who knew. Of course, there’s a psychological edge at play. People WILL watch the recipes. People MAY save the reels. They MIGHT screenshot the supermarket dish that suddenly looks appealing. But when you ask them directly? “Influenced? Me? Absolutely not.”. Admitting influence feels like admitting you needed help, and Christmas is the annual performance review of adulthood. People want to feel capable, so when our data says social media influence is low, it’s partly because people refuse the label, even if the behaviour says otherwise.
3. Social media is not just for Christmas
Another consideration at play is what people actually – and actively – use social media for. They’re not there for the ads. They’re looking for videos on fixing things. They’re snooping and judging. They’re just bored, doom scrolling. They’re complaining about immigration – or complaining about people complaining about immigration. This is not the festive vibe. The survey was conducted in late November, and it’s likely that some consumers have a clear mental separation from Christmas (joyful, nostalgic, offline) and their social feeds (occasionally angry, political, exhausting).
4. Facebook still matters – even if nobody wants to say it out loud.
One of the quiet surprises: Facebook shows more growth in (claimed) influence (up 3% YoY to 11%) than Instagram (still at 11%, no change YoY) and TikTok (up 2% to 9% overall). It might not be the shiny new thing, but it works for many due to how it leans into “local” – local groups, local retailers, local events, etc.- as well as the family and friend-group updates. Facebook is where the practical side of Christmas still lives. TikTok may think it is owning culture, but Facebook still wins on the Christmas logistics.
5. Gender patterns still play out. The generational gaps are as expected.
Excuse the “lazy” stereotypes and the “no shit, sherlock” reportage, but the data shows:
- Men most likely to say YouTube is their source of inspiration (tutorials, reviews, etc.) – 14% of men say they’ll be inspired or influenced by YouTube – compared with 6% of women;
- Women are most likely to say Facebook (13%) and Instagram (12%) are sources of inspiration (family groups, recipes, deals, etc.);
- Younger audiences more likely to say they’ll be inspired by TikTok (who saw that coming?) – 28% of 18-24s and 21% 25-34s;
- It’s from ages 55+ that the proportion saying “none” really spikes – 69% for the 55-64s and 85% for the 65+s. Likely they don’t WANT the inspiration because they don’t think they NEED it.
So how do we measure and understand the influence of social media at Christmas?
In the end, the disappearance of “claimed” social influence at Christmas doesn’t mean it isn’t happening. It simply means it’s happening in ways people don’t consciously credit. For brands and insight teams, this is a reminder should you need it: festive decisions are emotional, contradictory and deeply rooted in identity. Measure what people do, not just what they claim.
Perhaps you should consider researching the festive “say-do” gap that opens up when tradition, pride and behaviour collide.
Here’s your demographic breakdown if you want the details:
Which social media platform (if any) is MOST likely to influence which foods and drinks you buy this Christmas and / or where you buy them?
Females: Facebook (13%), Instagram (12%), TikTok (10%)
Males: YouTube (13%)
18-24s: TikTok (28%), Instagram (18%), YouTube (14%)
25-34s: TikTok (21%), Instagram (20%), YouTube (17%), Facebook (10%)
35-44s: Instagram (18%), Facebook (17%), YouTube (14%), TikTok (11%)
45-54s: Facebook (14%), Instagram (10%)