You can imagine a situation where you are scrolling through the TikTok feed and see your favorite pair of shoes. You check the details on the image and love it. Then, you buy the sneaker directly on TikTok and add your shipping address to deliver it home. That means you have completed the entire buying process on the social app.

This isn't the future, but it is happening right now, and it is powered by integrating shops into social media. It is now the latest social media trend, with one report indicating that 67% of consumers have already purchased through social media platforms.

Key Social Commerce Statistics Brands Should Know

Before jumping into social commerce, there are several statistics that brands should know. These are:

1. The most popular social commerce platform is Facebook, which has over 64 million buyers.
2. Instagram is the second most popular social commerce platform, with 46.8 million buyers in 2023.
3. TikTok is the third most popular social commerce platform, with 35.3 million buyers. It's also the fastest growing, with more shoppers joining the platform than the combined Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest numbers.
4. Social commerce has a penetration of 23.6% in 2023 and is expected to grow by 5% further by 2028.
5. Half of marketers suggest that they increase their social selling.
6. Influencer marketing is one of the drivers of social commerce, with 32% of Gen Z  and 21% of millennials suggesting they make purchases based on influencer recommendations.
7. A 2024 Statista study showed that 26% of brands were ready to increase their social selling budgets. Another 22.4% said they had plans to increase this form of marketing by 10 to 20%.
8. In 2023, the global influencer marketing market was estimated to be worth $21 billion, and by the end of 2025, it is suggested that it could exceed $22 billion.

Why Social Commerce is Becoming Popular

In the past, when you came across a product on social media, you needed to switch to another platform to buy it. The downside was that it had limited conversion, as social media users found it complicated. However, the integration of social commerce has helped to eliminate these bottlenecks. 

Consumers find it easier to purchase products on the platform, while brands enjoy better conversion and more trust from consumers as they can respond directly to the app. Statistics indicate that the social commerce market will reach $80 billion before the end of 2025, and brands have no option but to join the bandwagon. Instead of just using social media to drive awareness, brands need to use these platforms as a key part of the customer’s journey. Here are ways in which they can achieve that:

• Adapt their social content. To drive sales in social commerce, brands need to create high-quality visuals, social proof, and a strong call to action. By using these features, they can create high-quality content that resonates with their target audience.
• Optimize their e-commerce stores. Social media sites like Facebook integrate their shops with partner platforms such as Shopify. If you have a shop on such a platform, you need to ensure that your shop is well-optimized with high-quality images, good product descriptions, and relevant keywords.
• Create personalized content. To ensure a consistent brand voice, you need to create personalized content.

Examples of Brands Experiencing Success With Social Commerce

If you are looking for brands to help inspire your social selling strategy, consider learning from the following:

Target

Partnering with Facebook makes it easier to set up your catalog. A good example of a brand that does this well is Target. The brand ensures that its product listing aligns with its Instagram content marketing strategy, which ensures a better browsing experience for its Instagram customers.

Patagonia

One of the benefits of Pinterest shops is that they allow you to add Pinterest boards that help your target audience with product-cut navigation. Patagonia is a brand that does this well, as its Pinterest structure consists of product pinboards that work like website navigation buttons. This ensures that returning audiences are familiar with the store, while new customers will love the consistent experience after clicking on the brand's main page.

The Tiny Tassel

If you want to get ideas for your Facebook shop, the Tiny Tassel can offer important lessons. As a handmade jewelry retailer, the brand leverages the Facebook Shop Feature to add informative Facebook native listings. All their listings contain the necessary details, such as product descriptions, shipping information, and customization options.

The brand's post and lead listing show values. This can help build trust with potential audience members when they see your brand for the first time, which can increase conversion. Therefore, brands can learn from their Facebook marketing strategy.

Made By Mitchell

You can learn more from Made by Mitchell if you are searching for a TikTok shop marketing strategy. The makeup brand created a buzz during its launch by leveraging TikTok’s live shopping feature, which was done in collaboration with Melissa Jade. Through their duet livestream, they garnered 50,000 live views, which resulted in over 2.4 million product reviews. The brand enjoyed a 100% sell-out rate on the livestream. Therefore, the TikTok live shopping feature can be an excellent option for engaging shoppers. By collaborating with influencers, they can even maximize their reach.

Another strategy the brand uses to build sales is the mystery beauty bundles they offer in their TikTok shop. People who buy the bundles can then create unboxing videos, a UGC content strategy that helps create a buzz around the collection and encourages others to buy the mystery boxes.

Final Thoughts

Social commerce is here and creating a buzz among shoppers and brands. Therefore, you should incorporate it into your e-commerce strategy. If you are wondering how to do that, our detailed guide will help you get started. It also provides important examples of brands making the most of this strategy. Therefore, you can learn from them to create your social commerce strategy.