What is Social Commerce – A Complete 101 Guide

What is Social Commerce? – A shopping revolution? Or maybe an enhanced social media marketing strategy? Or maybe the bridge between consumers & eCommerce brands. 

Every brand, every social media, and every ecommerce expert has their unique take on “What is Social Commerce?”

Social ecommerce is quite a diverse solution that integrates characteristics of social media and ecommerce solutions. 

Brands and businesses are still exploring what social commerce is and how they can leverage it in their marketing campaigns. 

So, this quick yet detailed guide outlines the real essence of what is social commerce? Its history and key market statistics. 

What Is Social Commerce?

In layman’s language, social commerce means buying and selling products or services through social media platforms and social media content. 

Social Commerce Definitions

A few of the popular Social commerce definitions from different perspectives.

Investopedia defines it as the use of social media networking sites like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc., to sell products and services. 

Definition by G2 outlines it as the act of selling products or services through social media channels, whether it can be done through posts, comments, chatbots, forums, or any other means. 

SmartInsights mentions it as giving brands the opportunities to create a seamless ecommerce experience directly within popular social channels. 

These definitions collectively showcase that Social commerce is the combination of social media platforms and ecommerce features to sell products and services that lead to more sales and a better shopping experience. 

History of Social Commerce 

Although there is no exact evidence of when the first social media commerce campaign was implemented, different instances brought this concept into existence. 

Like in the early 2000s, Yahoo! launched a “Shoposphere Pick List” to highlight the audience’s most popular products. Then, the most renowned instance is when Facebook launched sponsored ads for brand promotions. 

Later Facebook introduced shoppable posts where users can directly buy the products. Further, it extended into the Facebook Marketplace, competing with the likes of Amazon and eBay. 

Then comes the most popular example in the history of social commerce – It is Shoppable Instagram. 

Shoppable Instagram has been the most trending and successful social media ecommerce solution to date. Leading brands like H&M, Nike, etc., are prime examples of social commerce that are actively part of social media selling. 

Following these social platforms’ footsteps, Pinterest and Snapchat also introduced shoppable features allowing users to buy the products directly from the social platforms. 

Social Commerce Statistics

Here are a few of the important social commerce statistics that will help you understand commerce’s influence and footprint through social platforms.

• There are 4.2 billion active social media users; that’s more than half of the world.
• 60% of the people say they discover products on Instagram
• 30% of the online shoppers are favorable to making purchases on social media
• 81% of the shoppers research products on Instagram & Facebook; 48% of Pinterest users prioritize shopping on it. 
• Almost 90% of the Pinterest users are there for shopping inspiration, i.e., around 225 million people.
• Over 90% of the users read reviews before purchasing; Social media is filled with visual reviews & visual UGC.
• The market is expected to reach $600+billion in the next 5 years.

Expansion To Marketing Channels

These days, a rising trend is the expansion of social ecommerce on the website and other marketing channels like emails, social ads, In-store signages, etc. 

Social commerce tools like Tagbox are helping brands bring social media ecommerce to their website. 

With a social ecommerce platform, brands can collect content from social media (including UGC), tag products to make this content shoppable, and then publish these shoppable social media galleries on the website to drive traffic, inspiration, social proof, and most importantly, improve the ecommerce conversions. 

Brands are integrating shoppable social posts into their email campaigns for retargeting and using product page galleries for reducing the cart abandonment rate. 

It is time for you to explore how social commerce can benefit your business/brand and capture a piece of the massive and ever-growing market share. 

How Has Social Commerce Evolved?

Social commerce has evolved from merely being a concept to becoming a way of shopping in 2023. But the evolution doesn’t stop here. It is transforming to become an essential part of the eCommerce sphere across industries. 

Let’s learn in detail about how it’s evolved:

1. Shoppable Social Media Galleries

Visuals are an important part of social commerce. No matter which social media platform, if the visuals are not engaging enough to capture customers’ attention, it might not generate any revenue. 

However, not every brand can start selling on social media. eCommerce giants have thousands of products and styles and need to categorize them to create a better shopping experience for their customers. 

This is where shoppable social media galleries come into play. By integrating shoppable galleries into an eCommerce website’s homepage or product pages, businesses can leverage the power of engaging social media content on their eCommerce website.

2. Shoppable Emails

Cart abandonment is a major problem for eCommerce businesses across industries. Researches show that customers abandon more carts than the purchases they make.

To minimize this problem, businesses use various marketing techniques, such as email marketing. But, in order to really stand out and get the customers to complete their purchases, eCommerce brands are integrating shoppable emails into their strategy. 

With shoppable emails, brands can integrate shoppable posts within the email and enable users to purchase products directly.

3. Video Commerce

Consumer behaviors are changing vigorously and businesses have no choice but to mold their ways of selling accordingly. Starting from replacing pre-posed brand-generated content with compelling user-generated images to now, when video content is taking over. 

Not just that, many e-commerce businesses use live video content to sell and promote products and services to an audience in real-time. This practice lets customers to see products in action, interact with and purchase them in real-time. Nowadays, most businesses use video translators to translate their product videos for reaching a broader audience.

4. Shoppable Social Ads

The inception of shoppable social ads is another strategy that backs the evolution of social ecommerce. Shoppable social ads are a powerful marketing tactic for e-commerce businesses to leverage the vast user base and engagement on social media platforms for direct sales. 

Shoppable social ads also offer a streamlined shopping experience for users and appeal to younger generations while allowing advertising to reach a highly targeted audience. They are highly effective as they blend the potential of traditional advertising with the social aspect.

Which Future Social Commerce Trends Can E-Commerce Businesses Expect?

As we know, by definition, social commerce is a form of commerce that uses ‘social elements’ to buy and sell products. This includes the integration of social media content, mainly user-generated content such as shoppable videos, shoppable images, or shoppable stories to showcase products.

The future of social commerce is poised to be transformative for e-commerce businesses, with several key trends expected to shape the landscape. Let’s delve into specific areas of focus:

1. Live Shopping Experiences

A good customer experience holds immaculate powers for businesses to retain customers. While there are numerous benefits of online shopping, the shopping experience still feels less immersive than retail shopping. Integrating live shopping experiences can minimize this gap and allow customers to engage with brands in real-time, make purchases and further amplify the reach and impact of these experiences.

2. Integration of Augmented Reality

The integration of augmented reality is another future social trend that will entirely change the way people experience shopping online. AR in e-commerce will welcome features like virtual try-ons and improved product visualization, allowing customers to make more informed purchases. This is particularly relevant in e-commerce industries like fashion and beauty, where users need help making buying decisions.

3. Integration of Virtual Reality

Virtual reality is an advanced technology and a future social trend with great potential. Businesses may enhance their social strategies even more by integrating virtual reality into their UX, creating virtual shopping environments where customers can navigate through virtual stores, inspect products in detail, and even simulate the physical shopping experience. VR could be particularly impactful for industries such as real estate or home furnishings, allowing users to tour properties or visualize furniture placements in their homes virtually.

4. Blockchain Technology

Another prediction of future trends includes the rise of blockchain technology that will help e-commerce businesses instill trust in consumers. Blockchain technology is expected to bring transparency, better phishing detection, security, and traceability to social transactions. This will help customers feel safer and secure while completing their transactions, leading to more revenue and less cart abandonment.

5. AI-Powered Customer Support

Artificial intelligence has proved to be of great value as a customer support tool in the e-commerce sector. AI voice assisting and AI chatbot functionalities have really helped businesses. In the near future, this feature can expect the continued integration of AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants to provide real-time support, answer customer queries, and offer personalized recommendations. 

As social commerce continues to grow and evolve, these trends are set to enhance this strategy even more, allowing e-commerce businesses to improve the shopping experience in a way that generates direct profit. 

However, even among these trends, integrating augmented reality and virtual reality in social commerce stands out as the supreme strategy. 

Let’s learn more about them.

Integration of AR & VR in Social Commerce

Three important factors define the scope of any novel technology:

1. It’s practical to use.
2. If there is an existing demand in the market.
3. The problem it is solving. 

When we talk about augmented reality and virtual reality in social landscape, it majorly ticks off all these points. AR & VR are already existing technologies that various industries are already using and are leveraging to achieve great value. 

Now, we shall talk about both technologies in detail.

1. AR in Social Commerce

The future of social commerce is filled with exciting technologies, and one of them is augmented reality. According to research by Deloitte, 60% of the global shoppers (and 50% in Europe) are interested in Augmented Reality driven shopping experiences. 

It’s because AR enables users to visualize products in real-world settings through their devices. This translates to features like virtual try-ons for the apparel and consumer goods industries, allowing users to see how products look on themselves before making a purchase.

2. VR in Social Commerce

When it comes to virtual reality, the retail world is already making big advancements by allowing customers to visualize products as realistically as it could get. Statistically, The global virtual reality market is projected to reach $87 billion by 2030. 

Similar to AR, VR can offer advanced virtual try-before-you-buy experiences. Users can create lifelike avatars to try on clothing or accessories, providing a highly immersive and personalized shopping experience. This highly immersive shopping experience can help e-commerce businesses stand out from the competition and showcase their offerings in a more dynamic way. 

The integration of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in social commerce enhances the overall shopping experience by providing interactive, immersive, and personalized features. These technologies have the potential to revolutionize how users discover, engage with, and purchase products in the evolving landscape of online commerce.

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Rise of Social Commerce & Top Social Commerce Tools

The rise of the social landscape represents a transformative shift in how people engage with online shopping. Here are a few emerging social commerce tools that are super aligned with the scope in the near future.

1. Yotpo

Yotop is a top social commerce tool that stands out in the wide social commerce arena by providing unique shoppable features. Focused on visual marketing content like images, videos, tagged pictures, and stories, Yotpo enhances brand credibility by providing a platform for businesses to boost their sales, improve brand identity, and establish trust by integrating this visual content into their e-commerce touchpoints.

2. Pixlee TurnTo

Pixlee TurnTo is a key player in the social landscape and e-commerce integration. Specializing in seamlessly leveraging user-generated photos, Pixlee empowers brands to drive engagement and boost sales by incorporating authentic visual content into their online presence and allowing consumers to shop from the content directly.

3. Tagbox

Tagbox is a top social commerce tool meant especially for e-commerce businesses looking to scale their growth through authentic and engaging social content. The platform has the ability to collect and curate social media content and turn it into captivating shoppable galleries. With Tagbox, brands can integrate their shoppable galleries into touchpoints like emails, home page and product pages. That’s not all. Tagbox also allows its users to create a shoppable link in bio to direct their audience on social media to their e-commerce website.

4. Bazaarvoice

Bazaarvoice is a leading social commerce tool that provides functionalities like shop the look, shoppable social galleries, and reviews and ratings. There is no feature that Bazaarvoice doesn’t provide. It is truly a full suite of social landscape and provides e-commerce businesses with the opportunity to enhance their credibility, improve revenue, and establish trust through social content.

5. Sauce

Sauce is another popular social commerce tool that claims to enhance the buyer’s journey significantly. This tool is recognized for its live shopping capabilities, enabling brands to sell products through social content in real-time. This dynamic platform allows for direct engagement with audiences, creating an interactive and immersive experience that goes beyond traditional online shopping. 

The above-mentioned tools are providing some of the most impressive features to e-commerce businesses. Reportedly, thousands of businesses have agreed they use social commerce platforms to enhance and accomplish their strategies.

Conclusion:

Social commerce has transformed the shopping experience by integrating e-commerce with social media platforms. Its evolution from simple product displays to interactive, shoppable posts has opened new opportunities for businesses to reach and engage customers. With the rise of advanced tools and features, such as influencer partnerships and in-app purchasing, the future of social commerce looks promising. As consumer behavior continues to shift toward seamless, interactive shopping experiences, businesses that embrace these changes will be well-positioned for success in the growing digital marketplace.