According to Statista, the social commerce penetration rate is expected to rise continuously over the next few years and is forecasted to reach almost 25% by the end of 2024. These statistics mean that social media will gain further relevance and popularity as an e-commerce tool, and businesses should continue using its full potential. In The State of Consumer Trends in 2023, published by Hubspot, they found that 64% of Gen Z and 59% of Millennial consumers have discovered new products on social media, and 22% of Gen Z and 27% of Millennials have purchased products directly from social media platforms. You read that right: consumers can now discover and buy products without leaving their social media apps. This is called social shopping.
The emergence of social media shops on popular platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok created a digital mall environment that has revolutionized shopping and e-commerce. Social shopping enables users to purchase products and services instantly upon seeing them on their feeds or pages. This integration of the purchasing aspect into the social media experience has made shopping more convenient than ever before.
Social Media Shops and Their Features
Instagram Shops
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Product Detail Pages – provide all relevant info on items from your product catalog, such as short descriptions, prices, photos, etc.
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Collections – allows businesses to curate and share their products and services in themed collections for easier browsing.
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Shopping Tag – tags products from your catalog in your Instagram posts, reels, and stories so viewers can click the tag to learn more or purchase directly.
Image courtesy of Victoria’s Secret Instagram Shop
Victoria’s secret makes perfect use of Instagram Shop’s collection feature to categorize their wide range of products.
Facebook Shops
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Checkout – instead of directing customers to a website, they can directly checkout products on Facebook shops.
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Collections – similar to Instagram, you can customize collections to showcase your products easily and share relevant stories to attract customers.
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Insights – an integrated Commerce Manager will show how your Facebook and Instagram shops are faring to help you plan your next marketing steps.
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Marketplace – your shop and products can gain more exposure when they get featured on Facebook Marketplace.
Image Courtesy of Samsung’s Facebook Shop
Samsung’s Facebook shop showcases the brand’s products and limited offers with a checkout option for a more convenient transaction.
TikTok Shop
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Shoppable Videos – users can simply tap on the featured product on a TikTok video, and a product information tab will appear where they can add to cart or buy directly.
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Live Shopping – businesses can do live streams to showcase their products to their audience and pin the featured products for easy access.
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Product Showcase – by clicking on your TikTok account profile and swiping to the product showcase page, your followers will have access to all your products and services and their relevant information.
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Content Creator Affiliate – influencers have a platform to connect with your business to create a mutually beneficial partnership, allowing them to create posts and videos to help boost your brand.
Social shopping creates a seamless transaction and faster conversions between your business and your audience without having to transfer to a different platform or page. Aside from using the platforms to promote your brand and share stories, creating an excellent social media shop is vital to attracting new customers, especially the younger generation. In this ever-evolving digital environment, it is only suitable that businesses utilize available tools to keep up with the latest trends and enhance their audience’s shopping experience.
Businesses looking to sell their products directly to their customers while fostering online customer interactions should start planning their social shops. To attract more audiences, you can also integrate limited-time offers and special discounts to your social shops and social media advertising plans. If you are targeting the older generation, you will find more active users and customers on Facebook Shop, while Gen Z and Millennials are likely to be active on TikTok Shop and Instagram Shop.
Social shopping is targeted more towards businesses with specific products for easy checkout such as the case for Victoria’s Secret selling apparel and perfumes and Samsung selling gadgets and electronic accessories. But with the continuous evolution of e-commerce and digital platforms, it would not be surprising to see these social media shops introducing new features to cater to all kinds of ventures. There will surely come a time when every business will benefit from social shopping, and you should be ready for when it arrives by enhancing social media engagement and improving your social media presence.
Contact C2 Communications to prepare your business. We offer social media tools and expertise to grow your brand through social media.
