What is Social eCommerce?

Social commerce is the use of social media groups to drive sales in e-commerce, and it is a huge market: by 2027, social commerce revenue is expected to reach $604 billion. Apps like Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest have special advertising metrics and special broadcasts that feature influencers, which can help drive regular sales of e-commerce products. Social commerce has become a game-changer for small brands, allowing them to compete more easily in a crowded marketplace. However, now larger brands are actively embracing this trend.

The influence of customer feedback has also emerged as a result of the social media revolution Recent studies show that almost 86% of consumers first consider product reviews and ratings as an important aspect in the choice process, and then decide to make a purchase. Social networks are the largest platform for the exchange of such information, which opens up an arena for marketers to use social proof. At its core, social proof is the perception that people are repeating the actions of others. When purchasing a product or service, it is a very valuable tool that consumers use to search less and get more information. Regardless of whether you are a small startup or a large brand, social networks are still a key part of your sales strategy—both through social media marketing and social commerce itself. Every year, more and more consumers are showing interest in using these platforms not only as a research method, but also as a means of conducting transactions and making purchases, which they are prompted to do by seeing various offers on their phone screen, information shared by friends, or some kind of recognizable recommendation.

What is the difference between social media marketing and social commerce? Social media marketing is used by brands to drive traffic to their website. Brands will place ads that showcase their products and include a CTA (call to action) to get users to click through to the website. Social commerce allows users to purchase products and services directly from a brand, from a social commerce platform. This can be done by clicking on a paid ad or a CTA placed by the brand on the social network (e.g., “Go to store”). Using social commerce, the entire online shopping process can be seamlessly completed with a few clicks and auto-fill payment on the social media platform the brand is on, which in turn helps to complete the order and reduces the number of abandoned carts and abandoned shopping.

Since 2020, due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the digital world has been developing even faster than expected. The sharp change in consumer behavior and expectations has accelerated the online retail sector, and market experts often say that as a result, the e-commerce world has shown a 5-year growth rate in 5 months. In many places, retailers have had to close physical stores and/or reduce sales volumes as the priority has been to preserve cash and save overhead costs, as well as to automate and digitize more to adapt to the rapidly changing environment. At the same time, the same is observed in consumer behavior: people are increasingly choosing to stay at home and make purchases online. More and more consumers are adapting to the methods and channels of online shopping available to them, which they did not pay attention to before. However, it should be noted that relatively stationary stores will always play their role in retail. Their approach to customer service and the role they play in people's daily lives may change. Regardless of whether you have a large brand or a small startup, the fact is that social networks and social commerce are very powerful tools, and the creation of online groups helps businesses to widely reach their audience and spread information about their products around the world, as more and more people are joining the social media space.

What will happen in the future of social commerce?

Given how quickly consumer demands and expectations are changing in e-commerce and social commerce, the fields themselves will also be changing and evolving rapidly, allowing brands to learn even more about their potential audiences. Below are a few issues that businesses interested in online commerce should pay attention to and analyze: Brands will definitely need a pervasive commerce strategy. Developing solutions that provide more support to customers at every stage of the shopping lifecycle and ensure that this support is relevant, from product discovery to post-purchase. By leveraging data across all digital touchpoints, brands can improve their interactions with customers. Personalization will allow brands to deliver products and services that are more relevant to consumers at the right time and place, without annoying them or disrupting their social or local experiences. By providing a more relevant customer experience, brands can better optimize their marketing spend across both paid and organic activity. This, in turn, will be the best way to conserve existing financial resources and reduce overhead costs. A key element of success in online and social commerce is to only stock products that are in stock and available in a specific location. Also, brands must increasingly focus on processing the data they have and creating more relevant content that will help retain existing customers and attract new ones by offering the right product at the right time and place.