What characteristics of the traditional marketplace is also a characteristic of social media?

In the US, social commerce retail earnings are predicted to reach nearly $80 billion by 2025. When you consider that 4.59 billion people, or 57% of the global population, currently use social media, social commerce is a no-brainer when it comes to getting your brand in front of more people. 

But how do you make sure your brand stands out from the increasing competition? How do you boost your ecommerce sales via social media apps? Brands need a solid understanding of their target audience’s shopping preferences and how they can use social commerce tools to provide a top-quality customer experience. 

Here, we take a closer look at the social commerce trends, statistics, and predictions shaping the final months of 2022 and the beginning of 2023. 

Table of contents

1. What is social commerce?
2. What’s the difference between social commerce and ecommerce?
3. What are the top social commerce platforms? 
4. Benefits of social commerce 
5. Social commerce trends and statistics 
6. Social commerce trends for 2022 and 2023
7. People engage with more AR experiences
8. More video content to showcase products in action
9. NFTs become a community-building tool rather than an investment
10. Micro-influencers to help brands build authentic reach
11. User-generated content to build trust among shoppers
12. Use of AI-trained chatbots
13. Frictionless shopping experiences to boost customer loyalty 
14. Livestreaming to increase in popularity 
15. Digital avatars will become a staple in the fashion industry
16. Stronger integrations between ecommerce and social commerce platforms 

What is social commerce?

Social commerce is the use of social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram to market and sell products and services. This type of selling model lets customers complete purchases without leaving social media apps.

Shoppers can use social commerce to: 

• Discover brands
• Research products
• Interact with customer support 
• Purchase items

Social commerce is a more convenient and interactive shopping experience which may explain why it’s becoming increasingly popular. Estimates show that the global value of social commerce will reach about $2.9 trillion by 2026: 

4. Pinterest

Pinterest is a combined search engine and social-media platform for images. Users create mood boards, pin places to travel, and, more importantly, discover new products.

More than 400 million people use the platform every month to find ideas and research products. The best part? The vast majority (97%) of Pinterest searches are unbranded. When merchants upload product listings from their online store to Pinterest, they have the ability to reach potential customers who aren’t aware of its products just yet. 

Allbirds, for example, uses shoppable pins to reach customers through Pinterest. These listings are optimized both for the brand name and the product type, giving Allbirds the best shot at reaching people using Pinterest’s Shop tab to discover new products.

A YouTube partnership lets merchants pin products next to videos so followers can like, subscribe, and buy. There’s also a live-shopping feature designed to help retailers livestream. 

Rob Bridgman, founder and CEO of furniture brand Snug, explains how Shopify helped the brand get ahead of the competition.

“Shopify Plus enabled us to migrate to a more sophisticated and stable tech stack with apps that enable our virtual showrooms,” he says. 

Migrating has freed up time to focus on new channels like social commerce and live selling so that we can pioneer in the furniture space as well as in the emerging marketing and technology space for retailers.”

Stay ahead of the competition and tap into social commerce trends in 2023 

These social commerce trends show that the social commerce market is only set to grow in 2023. As the number of active social media users rises, platforms will continue to release new features in an attempt to capture consumer spending. 

To stand out in an increasingly crowded social commerce setting, brands need to tap into these trends. Find the social media channels your target audience uses then build a strategy to interact with them there. 

Social Commerce FAQs

1. What is social commerce? 

Social commerce is the use of social media platforms to market and sell products and services. It lets users buy products within social platforms without exiting to another ecommerce website. 

2. How does social commerce work? 

Social commerce takes online shopping and fully integrates it into social media. Consumers can use their favorite social media platforms to find, browse, and purchase products, all without leaving the platform. 

Social commerce relies on social media platforms’ native shopping tools like Facebook Shops. They can also use ecommerce integrations with platforms like Shopify.

3. Why is social commerce important? 

Social commerce lets brands sell their products directly on social media platforms and offers a more seamless shopping experience. When customers find products they like on social media, all they need to do is click through to checkout without leaving the app. This quicker and more convenient experience lowers the risk of abandoned shopping carts.

4. What are examples of social commerce? 

Any brand that promotes and sells its products through social media platforms is an example of social commerce. For example, DTC brands Glossier and Snug sell their products through Instagram Shops. Customers can view product images, read details, and make purchases without exiting the app.

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