What is Social Commerce?

By 2025, sales made through social media platforms are anticipated to nearly triple globally, with roughly half of brands intending to raise their social commerce spending in 2022. Social commerce differs from conventional social media marketing, where customers view content from a brand and then visit the brand’s website to shop. Instead, potential buyers can explore brands, discover products, and complete purchases without leaving the social media app.

The UK social commerce market is expected to grow by 37.5% annually, reaching £17.4 billion in 2022. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated digital transformation, with 63% of consumers in the UK and Ireland reporting purchases via social media in the past year, driving the boom in social commerce.

Social Commerce Platforms

Four major platforms have introduced social commerce features, offering seamless in-app purchasing:

• Facebook: Create a Facebook Shop on your business page for free. Customize fonts, graphics, and colors to match your brand. Import product catalogs from supported e-commerce platforms or upload via spreadsheet. Customers can purchase directly in the app or on your website, and sellers can engage with buyers via Messenger.
• Instagram: Link your Facebook and Instagram business profiles to set up an Instagram Shop. Users can buy products featured in your images and videos. Use product tags to make posts shoppable and improve visibility in the Instagram Shop tab.
• Pinterest: Over 400 million users monthly search for products and ideas, with 97% of searches unbranded. Product Pins display pricing and availability but redirect users to a product-specific webpage for purchase. Shopify users can sync catalogs via the Pinterest app; others can set up Product Pins manually using Graph, Schema.org, or oEmbed. 89% of Pinterest users actively seek purchasing inspiration.
• TikTok: A rapidly growing platform expected to surpass Instagram’s US user base by 2025. 39% of users discover new brands or products on TikTok. The platform is experimenting with "shop now" buttons and other social commerce tools.

Other platforms like YouTube and Twitter are also testing social commerce features, such as "buy now" buttons and shoppable cards.