The pandemic has changed the future of social commerce forever. Read on to see an in-depth discussion on how social commerce has affected businesses.
Social commerce has grown dramatically since the start of COVID-19. The growth was so massive that research company eMarketer revised its social commerce projection from 19.8% to 37.9%. Moreover, the company now forecasts that U.S. retail social commerce sales will grow to $36.1 billion in 2021.
Of course, companies have long been using social media to generate sales. However, the past year is different. Since the start of the pandemic, social media networks experienced a 5% growth in users. That is equivalent to 3.78 billion users worldwide, with most of them as mobile users.
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Instagram in particular has emerged as a social commerce giant because of how it blends information and selling. While social commerce is still relatively new, researchers project that the future of social commerce is bright. It will likely impact the industry greatly in the upcoming years.
Social media usage is up
COVID-19 didn’t invent social commerce. However, it played a part in making social commerce take the market by storm and reshaping the future of social commerce. Most people worldwide started spending more time at home due to the pandemic. As result, they also started using social media more. Thus, this has provided an unexpected boost to engagement on these platforms.
Hootsuite’s Social Trends 2021 report reveals that Instagram experienced the most growth between July and September 2020. Instagram outperformed its parent company Facebook. According to the report, Instagram’s advertising reach grew by 7.1% in the most recent quarter, compared to Facebook’s 2.2%.
Meanwhile, Instagram itself reports that 87% of consumers follow at least one business. On the other hand, 70% turn to Instagram for product discovery. This just shows that there is a great reason for brands to sell on visual social platforms.
In-app checkouts streamline the buying process
If you run an online business, you should consider incorporating in-app checkout and shoppable ads on your social channels. This contributes to streamlining the customer experience further.
In 2020, Instagram launched Checkout. This feature enables users to buy products (shoppable post) without leaving the platform(in-app checkout). Meanwhile, Snapchat offers a similar feature called “Shop Now”. It also has shoppable formats that brands can use to showcase and sell offerings in-app.
Furthermore, Facebook has enabled brands to explore “chat commerce”. It blends the concept of chatbot-based customer care with online shopping. It enables customers to find and buy products or services on the sport.
Twitter had a “Buy” button in 2014. However, the company removed it three years later. However, brands can still use the platform to drive traffic to their product pages.
Yet, the real leader in social commerce is Asian social channels. For instance, companies in China sold a whopping $250 billion worth of products and services through chat and social tool WeChat in 2020. Western brands take note and look for ways to leverage the app for their own customer base.
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