In recent years, social media users have used their favorite platforms not only for connections but also for shopping. This has resulted in social media networks adding social commerce features to their platforms. These features enable consumers to research, shop, and discover products directly on social media, enabling customers to complete the product buying journey strictly on social media.

In this article, we will examine the impact of integrating social commerce into digital marketing, commonly known as social commerce.

The Rise of Social Commerce Platforms

According to Statista, sales from social commerce in the United States will increase to $150 billion by 2028, more than double the 2023 figures. This indicates the change in consumer behavior and a reason for brands to adapt their digital marketing strategies accordingly.

Social commerce refers to directly buying goods and services on social media. This is a departure from when social media users used the platform to discover products before going to the e-commerce site to buy. Instead, they complete the customer buying journey on the platform without leaving the social media app.

Many of the leading social commerce platforms now provide dedicated social commerce tools for retailers. Platforms such as Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and TikTok allow users to create digital stores to explore and discover products without visiting other sites.

Difference Between Social Commerce and E-commerce

E-commerce is a broad term for buying products or services on different online platforms, such as retail sites, online channels, and marketplaces. On the other hand, social commerce involves selling directly on social media platforms.

When scrolling your social media feed, you can find products, click on them to see more details, and even complete the buying process. Since social networks are online channels,  social commerce is a subset of e-commerce. For instance, when browsing on Instagram, you can find a good dress, click on it to see its price and size, choose your desired color and size, and complete payment on the platform.

Social commerce aims to make shopping for products and services easier. Brands can also easily reach their customers on the platforms where they are, resulting in higher sales and better interactions between brands and customers.

Why Social Commerce is Important

One of the benefits of social commerce is that it reaches social media users, making it easier for them to discover and share products. Making shopping to be part of the whole social media experience provides an easier and more efficient way of marketing products. On top of that, social commerce offers a fast and straightforward buying process that helps to nurture impulse buying. With such an accessibility level, it becomes easier for businesses to build a larger audience, increase sales, and create a fast and hassle-free customer experience.

How Social Commerce Works

According to a Statista study, many shoppers will buy a product on impulse when they see its price on social media. The study further states that the value of online orders through social media in the United States was an average of $81. That means if you are selling physical products, you can improve your sales using social commerce. You will eliminate sales barriers like a complicated website or a long buying journey.

In social commerce, users only need to click “Shop Now” and complete the purchase when they find an item they love, such as a microwave. They will be shown the description of the product, its price, and how it will be delivered. That means the buyer doesn't need to visit the seller’s website.

Top Social Commerce Platforms for Brands in 2025

Brands aiming to leverage social commerce in 2025 must focus more on the most popular social media platforms. These include:

TikTok

There is no doubt that TikTok is one of the social media platforms that has recently gained a lot of prominence, and this is for good reasons. With the TikTok social capabilities features, it has never been easier for users to purchase on the platform. On the other hand, through the TikTok Shop, brands can showcase their products and encourage users to buy directly on the platform. The TikTok shop feature lets businesses add shoppable videos and viewers shop directly on the platform.

Setting Up TikTok Social Commerce

To use the TikTok shopping feature, you need to have a business account, even though users in the U.S. and UK had early access to the shop. Once you can access the feature, a Shop Tab will be added to your profile. The tab will get products from the Shopify Catalog, enabling TikTok users to check the in-app products and check out from the creator's online store. To learn how to promote your TikTok shop, read our detailed guide on marketing on TikTok.

Facebook Shop

As the leading social media platform, Facebook has also taken a leading role in enabling brands to sell on the platform through its Facebook shop feature. The feature is easy to use and has no special requirements for setting up the shop. Users on the partner platform, such as Shopify, can easily sync their product inventory on the platform. This enables them to automatically sync and upload their world inventory in a few seconds from a spreadsheet.

One advantage of Facebook Shop is that it maintains buyers' data on the platform, ensuring that your products are shown to users likely to buy. As noted earlier, users can complete the whole buying process directly on the platform after discovering products on the platform. Additionally, buyers can make inquiries through Messenger if they need more information. Sellers, too, can use Messenger to provide after-sales support. You can read our detailed guide on starting a Facebook shop.

Instagram Shopping

This is directly linked to the Facebook shop. Users must link their Facebook business profile to Instagram Business to set up Instagram shopping. Doing so enables them to upload their product catalog or create new ones. You can add Instagram product tags to make your products easier to discover. This will also make it easier for you to highlight your product catalog in posts and videos. You can tap on a tag to learn more about the product.

Users can browse listings through the View Shop button, improving their shopping experience. They can complete their purchases on the app, like on Facebook, or visit the business website.

Setting Up a Facebook and Instagram Shop

Since these two platforms are owned by Meta, the social commerce setup is almost the same. Both use the same catalog, which makes inventory management easier. Go to the Meta Business Suite and tap on Catalog. After that, all you need to do is upload the product name, descriptions, and image manually.

If you already have your product catalog on a platform such as Shopify, BigCommerce, or WooCommerce that integrates with Facebook, all you need to do is import it to the Facebook catalog. If you update the products on the partner platforms, the information will be automatically updated on Facebook.

Pinterest

If you are a product seller, another social media platform that makes it easy to sell products directly on the app is Pinterest. Brands can upload their product catalog to their business page through its Sell on Pinterest feature. They can also add product pins to enable users to click on the products directly.

When a buyer clicks on the Product Pins, they are taken to the product landing page where they can purchase the product. This makes it easier for them to complete their purchase on the platform.

Setting Up a Pinterest Shop

Pinterest is also an excellent platform for unique commerce, as studies indicate that 93% of the platform’s users suggest they plan to buy a product on it. One of the features of Pinterest social commerce is rich pins, which allow you to use the relevant data from your website and pages in your pins. 

However, you must apply for the Rich Pins before you can use them. You can do that through the Pinterest help pages. After saving it, you can add the required metadata, and your site content will show as Rich Pins.

How Social Commerce Can Help Your Business

Businesses taking advantage of social commerce can reap many benefits, such as:

Reaching New Customers

Statistics indicate that there are over 5 billion social media users. That means over ¾ of the world's population is on social media. Instead of trying to advertise on other traditional platforms like radio stations, brands can reach their target audience where they are, which is on social media. With social networks adding the necessary features to enable consumers to complete their purchases on social networks, it gives brands an advantage over other platforms.

In fact, statistics indicate that in-app purchases are becoming more common on social media, with over 110 million purchases happening on social media in the U.S. in 2024. Brands that leverage social media put their products before a massive audience.

Higher Conversion Rate

When brands sell through social media, they remove the bureaucracy often associated with the sales journey. Users don't need to switch from one app to another to complete the purchase or search for their desired products. This eliminates all the barriers and friction often associated with the sales journey, resulting in a higher conversion rate.

Higher Social Proof

Social proof can help increase sales and grow your brand. For eCommerce businesses, there is no better place to get social proof than social media. Since e-commerce sites don't have a chance to test the product or service, reviews can help prospective buyers determine whether to buy.

When you properly manage the customer’s journey on social media, you improve the customer’s experience, leading to positive feedback. This will enable you to get positive reviews that can help drive your sales, especially since customers can buy and leave reviews on the same platform.

Get Customer Feedback and Data

You can see the customer's profile when a customer buys a product from your social media shop. This provides important customer data that you can use to create a social media marketing strategy. When you combine this data with what you get from your social listening tools, you can better understand the customer's interests and habits.

Improve Your Sales and Revenues

If you are already making sales on other platforms, such as Shopify, adding social commerce means you will diversify your sources of revenues and, therefore, drive sales. Instead of relying on one platform to grow your sales, you can combine Shopify, TikTok Shop, and Facebook Shop. An eMarketer study indicates that e-commerce sales in the United States will hit 1.5 billion by 2025. This means brands need to join the bandwagon to increase their sales.

What Businesses Can Sell On Ecommerce

One of the requirements for selling on social commerce is that you must be selling physical products; therefore, digital products aren't accepted. The exact rules for each platform depend on their specific guidelines. However, some items aren't allowed to be sold on social media shops, such as:

• Guns
• Alcohol
• Drugs and other healthcare items
• Subscriptions
• Event tickets

Some of the most popular items on social media shops include apparel or accessories, cosmetics, consumer electronics, consumer goods, and home decor products. It's important to note that the words you use in your product description can cause the item to be rejected. However, you will be notified if an item is rejected and why it gets rejected.

Step-By-Step Guide on Implementing a Social Commerce Strategy

If you are wondering where to start with your social commerce strategy or how to add these strategies as part of your marketing strategies, here are the steps you need to follow:

Choose the Right Platform

We have already mentioned that the top social commerce platforms are Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. Therefore, you should start by deciding which of these you will use. You should realize that each platform has its features and user base. You may consider Pinterest and Instagram if you have visually appealing products like home decor and fashion items. 

If you are trying to reach a younger audience using engaging videos, you can consider TikTok. However, no matter the platform you choose, analyze where your target audience hangs out and focus on the platform to maximize your engagement.

Social Media Optimization

To make your brand more accessible and easy to recognize, you need a well-optimized profile. You can optimize it using the right profile picture and log across all platforms. Add a clear bio with relevant keywords and a link to your store. Ensure that you use high-quality videos and images and have up-to-date contact information. You can also list the top products and add them to your stories to improve their discoverability.

Add Interesting Shoppable Content

To drive sales with social commerce, you must create captivating and shoppable content. Showcase your products using high-quality videos and images. Include product tags to enable customers to buy directly from the platform. You can then start marketing your products using reels and stories. This is on top of interactive content such as quizzes, polls, and Live Q&A sessions, which can help boost your engagement. Ensure that your audience keeps returning and that your content is regularly updated.

Leverage Influencer Marketing and UGC Content

One way to provide exposure for your social commerce efforts is to leverage influencer marketing and user-generated content. Start by finding influencers whose values align with your brand and have a considerable following. You can then ask them to create valuable content for your brand.

When choosing influencers, go for those with high engagement rates. If you pay the influencers to market your products and services, ensure they correctly label the content as an advert. This will ensure that you are adhering to the promotional guidelines. To measure the effectiveness of their campaigns, provide them with some tracked links for sharing. You can use the Pinterest collaborative boards for influencer partnerships if you have a Pinterest shop.

You can ask your customers to share their experiences using your products regarding UGC content. They can use particular branded hashtags, and you can share their videos on your social media profile. By doing that, you can increase engagement and trust from your audience. The UGC content can also act as social proof for potential customers.

Integrate E-commerce Platforms with Your Social Commerce

The fact that you are engaging in social commerce doesn't mean you should ignore your e-commerce efforts. After all, the two aren't mutually exclusive. Therefore, use the right plugins and tools to sync the social media profile to the product catalog. 

Doing that will make it easier for your customers to buy your products, and the catalog will always be up to date. To improve order processing, you should allow customers to log in to your eCommerce store directly from their social media profiles.

Monitoring and Analyzing Social Commerce Performance

You must monitor and analyze results to understand if your social commerce efforts are working. You can do that using different analytics tools. Fortunately, most social networks will provide the tools required to show you data such as click-through rate, engagement, and conversion. Check for any trends and patterns that will help you identify successful strategies.

Keep reviewing the performance of the social commerce strategy and pivot where necessary. By monitoring continuously and optimizing accordingly, you can easily optimize your social commerce efforts and stay ahead of your competition.

Best Social Commerce Strategies for Maximum Sales

After setting up social commerce, your next step is to consider optimizing the shop to ensure you receive more visitors and convert them. Here are some top tips on how to do that:

Create a Great and Keyword-rich Description

When prospective customers visit your social shop, you want to ensure that you leave a good first impression and build your credibility. Therefore, add a snappy and keyword-rich description to all your products. Above the description for each product, add at least four high-resolution images. Lifestyle images work well, too.

According to Facebook, your images should explain at least three attributes: size, color, and material. Ensure you add all the necessary product details, such as pricing, descriptions, shipping information, and website links. Your shop should also have the most recent product information and inventory counts.

Create Collections or Group Items

You should ensure that your shop is easy to explore and navigate. This can be particularly important during important seasons such as Christmas, Mother's Day, and Black Friday. For instance, the Nike store easily groups items in collections such as Gifts for Her or Gifts for Him. This makes it a popular option for the gifting seasons, as people can easily find what they are searching for.

Use Shoppable Tags in Your Organic Content

Don't just wait for potential customers to discover the store and shop. Like any other platform, you will need to market your products actively. If you are using UGC content, as we recommended earlier, add shoppable tags to show social proof and authenticity. When customers ask questions, be sure to answer fast. Create interesting and valuable content that will attract users to your shop.

If you promote your social commerce on Facebook or Instagram, you can run a promotional post as an ad, complete with the product tags.

Final Thoughts

With social media becoming a central point in our lives, we now spend a lot of time on it. Social media networks are looking for ways to enhance user experience to ensure we spend even more time on it. They do that by connecting with friends and completing our shopping experience. 

With the convenience of social commerce, it is understandable why this has become a popular concept for brands and users. Therefore, brands looking to tap into social media users must add social commerce to their social media marketing strategy. Following our guide above makes it easier for them to leverage social commerce to increase sales and grow their audience.