66% of social media users said they made a purchase on social media in the past year. This number isn’t a surprise considering more consumers have shifted to shopping online and are spending more time than ever before on social media channels. These channels have become important not just for interacting with a brand, but for enabling easy, convenient purchasing of items in-app. Instagram and Facebook provide this through their Shops feature, Snapchat and TikTok make in-app purchasing tools available as well.
More than a trend
The global social commerce industry is expected to grow three times as fast as traditional ecommerce. According to eMarketer, U.S. social commerce sales are expected to total close to $37 billion this year, up 35.8%. By 2025, the total is predicted to hover around $80 billion. This growth will be mainly driven by Gen Z and millennial consumers who will account for 62% of global social commerce spend by 2025.
What makes social commerce so great is that it combines content with commerce, increases discoverability, includes appealing imagery and videos and then lets people go ahead and make a purchase without leaving the app in a single click. For digital natives— Gen Z and millennials— this is becoming a go-to source for purchasing clothing and consumer electronics. 
Major retailers like Walmart have taken note and have made big moves in the last year to bring content and commerce together. They see the dramatic shift to online shopping and the value in leveraging social channels for commerce as an important way to connect with more customers. Late in 2021, they announced a partnership with TalkShopLive, a livestreaming social commerce provider, which gives Walmart the ability to provide shoppable content through embeddable videos across their platforms and properties.
Casey Schlaybaugh, Vice President of Brand at Walmart, said in the press release, “Powering our commerce API with TalkShopLive will provide customers with a seamless checkout experience anywhere online while being entertained.”
What retailers need to make social commerce a successful channel
Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as it looks to make social commerce an effective sales channel. There is a lot that needs to go into creating a customer experience that is smooth and seamless. The last thing any retailer or brand wants to do is risk their brand cachet by delivering a poor shopping experience.
Retailers need the right commerce partners to effectively leverage their social channels to ensure a seamless fulfillment process and offer the ability to provide the same degree of fast and transparent shipping that customers expect on other ecommerce channels.
Are you ready to boost your social commerce presence?
Social commerce will continue to grow in 2022 and beyond. With the ability to gain direct access to billions of users on the world’s largest social networks, increase conversion potential because adoption is already high and drive traffic and conversion through new advertising channels, social commerce is fast-becoming one of the best ways for retailers to get products in front of more (and new) customers.
Rithum can provide you with the expertise to drive demand with targeted and strategic advertising and enable a great customer experience. Contact us.