Britons embrace AI and splurge on Skims in 2025, bank data shows

Britons leaned into the artificial intelligence (AI) boom in 2025, embraced Kim Kardashian’s shapewear brand Skims, and kept second-hand shopping prospering, new data shows.

Yearly spending data from digital bank Monzo sheds light on the shopping trends of its more than 14 million customers.

It highlights a concerted shift towards AI this year with spending on platforms like OpenAI more than doubling from £8 million in 2024 to £19 million in 2025.

Spending per person surged by 85% compared with the previous year.

OpenAI owns AI chatbot ChatGPT, which offers paid-for plans for people and businesses who want access to more advanced technology.

The service was launched three years ago and helped spark global interest in using generative AI technology for day-to-day tasks.

Elsewhere, Monzo’s data revealed that the second-hand shopping boom showed no signs of slowing down this year.

Its customers spent £210 million on resale platforms like Vinted and Depop over 2025, 13% more than 2024, as shoppers continued to track down deals on items like clothing and homeware.

But that did not stop people from shopping new at fast-growing brands like Skims, where spending reached over £1.8 million during the year.

The bank recorded a spike in May, double that of April, coinciding with the launch of a bra with a built-in nipple piercing design, helping drive sales for the shapewear label.

Kardashian’s kin Kylie Jenner also swept up £55,000 from Monzo customers spending on her beauty brand Kylie Cosmetics during 2025, while fellow US star Hailey Bieber’s beauty brand Rhode raked in £736,000.

When it comes to grocery spending, Tesco claimed the top spot with customers spending around £1.7 billion at the UK’s biggest supermarket.

This was nearly double the £930 million that shoppers spent at the number two supermarket, Sainsbury’s.

The data also revealed travel trends with customers spending £10 million on bike rental firm Lime between June and September.

And Londoners embraced Halloween with the day seeing one of the biggest spikes for Transport for London in 2025.

AJ Coyne, vice president for marketing at Monzo, said: “This was a year of cultural moments defining people’s spending habits.

“Whether they were shopping for viral must-have products, embracing ‘90s Britpop nostalgia or living life on two wheels, we’ve seen every trend unfold in real time in the Monzo app.”

The decade-old bank, which is the seventh largest in the UK by customer numbers, launches its “Year in Monzo” feature for customers on Monday.

Similar to the popular Spotify Wrapped campaign, it gives customers of the bank insights into their personal spending habits.