Social commerce is a form of trading or business that is mediated through social media by creating an online profile, connecting with friends into the traditional digital environments. According to research published in science direct, social commerce connects people through the traditional digital space that are used by consumers to learn, choose, and discuss about products.
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Social media has evolved from a place of social interactions with friends to a space of where brands can further engage their customers in shopping experiences. Recently, individual or customers can immediately purchase what they see on these platform without having to leave the platform. This is easier for individuals to turn to a want into a purchase.
According to a global report by Statista, global sales through social media platforms were estimated at $992 billion in 2022 and will become more popular and estimated to be around $2.9 trillion by 2026. With the growing demand for easy shopping and instant online shopping, so many companies and brands like the Direct to consumer (DTC) brands, Glossier and snug sell their products through Instagram shops.
Investing on social commerce involves a thoughtful and agile strategy with several components like creative assets or contents, media strategy, audience amplification conversion. Research by Telus International states 62% of millennials would likely recommend a brand that has an exceptional social media presence in it. The same study has a record of 38% of millennials say they provided feedback to companies they purchased from using company’s social media channels.
Statistics published by Statista shows that Facebook ranks higher with 34% globally, followed by Instagram 24%, then TikTok, Pinterest and others. The majority specifically 97% of Gen-Z consumers say they engage in social commerce as their top shopping inspiration and prefer Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest. The hashtag #tiktokmademebuyit# has over 8.1 billion views and this has continued to grow.
With smart phones that is glued to us, and the advancement of social media, online shopping, social commerce continues to be part of our daily lives. There are necessary tactics or skills that individuals or companies need to acquire if they are to engage in social commerce which include skills like optimising contents, like building quality images, videos. The other is engaging through messenger applications, building a tailored social shopping experience.
