“Spontaneous shopping” is on the rise. Here’s why that’s good news for streaming platforms.

Want to know why venture capitalists and startup founders are so eager to get into the world of social shopping? Tubi‘s new report provides some figures that explain why that space is so hot.

As part of its 2025 Retail and Holiday Study, Tubi teamed up with The Harris Poll to survey 1,531 consumers about the role streaming plays in their purchasing habits. The ubiquity of second screens and the rise of so-called “spontaneous shopping” were two of the study’s key themes. About 70% of respondents agreed with the statement “I’m often shopping online while streaming TV and movies,” and 47% of them said they tend to shop spontaneously during their watch time.

So what does spontaneous shopping entail? The term describes a media landscape in which 60% of survey respondents agree with the statement “if I see an ad for a product I want, I buy it right away.” The actual content airing on the “first screen” can also impact purchase decisions. 41% of respondents said that the genre of the TV show or movie they’re actively watching influences their simultaneous shopping. For 73% of the people in Tubi’s sample, watching nostalgic content — which is very much in vogue these days — prompts “purchases from brands I associate with my own past experiences.”

It’ not hard to see why these broad trends excite marketers. Spontaneous shopping doesn’t just drive purchase intent — it generates that intent, and the media playing on the first screen shapes commercial choices. Tubi’s findings suggest that streaming media can offer more direct links to the points of sale compared to traditional ad formats. 87% of respondents claimed to take action (such as research, a purchase, or a visit to a brand’s social channels) in response to an attention-grabbing streaming ad.

At this point, most brands understand the power of social shopping (and if they don’t, they should get with the times). The trickier part of the ecommerce game is figuring out how to best leverage the second screens that are required for spontaneous shopping to take place.

Second screens have been common elements of streaming culture for more than a decade, but it wasn’t until recently that platforms devised clever solutions capable of harnessing that traffic. In 2024, Disney experimented with ads that are native to second screens and capable of reaching active consumers via texts and emails. The same year, Amazon’s Shop the Show initiative draw connections between popular programs and retail items inspired by those franchises.

The NFL arguably has the most sophisticated approach to second screens. After researchers found that 63% of NFL viewers engage with related social media content while watching, the league rolled out numerous experiences catered to fans of specific teams and players.

The 2025 holiday season will be filled with collabs between creators and brands, some of which have already popped up. Those digital storefronts have a lot of potential, but brands can’t lose sight of the spontaneous shopping effect. Consumers who want to buy aren’t wasting time on their decisions, so if you want to reach them, better act fast.