What you need to know about social commerce

Social commerce is the fusion of e-commerce and social media. Brands choose social media platforms as a channel to sell products and services . If your business involves e-commerce sales, then you are already involved in social commerce to a large extent . But how can businesses maximize the potential of social commerce ?

Social commerce has a bright future

For years, China has led the world in social commerce, but during the pandemic , social commerce has also seen unprecedented growth in the United States as countless American consumers turned to online shopping .

Data shows that there were 80 million social platform buyers in the United States in 2020 , a 30% increase from 2019. These 80 million buyers spent approximately $27 billion in 2020 , and experts predict that social commerce sales will increase by more than 35% this year to $36 billion , while in China, social commerce only accounts for 10% of market consumption .

Looking ahead to 2025, social commerce sales in the United States are expected to grow to $80 billion. However, this figure only accounts for about 5% of US retail e-commerce sales .

How can enterprises effectively use social commerce?

Considering the predictions for social commerce and the growing popularity of social media, any business and seller engaged in e - commerce sales has the potential to benefit.

While it’s important to ensure your commerce strategy matches your brand , there are some one-size-fits-all strategies that include user-generated content, partnering with influencers, and adding calls to action to posts.

Another major consideration is the choice of platform. Facebook is currently the largest social media platform in the United States and is expected to attract more than 56 million buyers by 2021 .

Facebook also provides a customized platform for small and medium-sized businesses . Facebook Shops was launched in 2020 to help small businesses survive the epidemic crisis . Through this tool, sellers can migrate their stores to the Internet for free .

Instagram has been building influencer culture for years . Although it has fewer overall users than Facebook , it is a good choice if you want to increase brand awareness through influencer marketing .

Instagram offers a variety of tools to help sellers sell , and recently, the platform just launched Instagram Checkout to make it easier for consumers to buy. Since 2020, the platform has provided a shop tab that allows users to view and purchase items of interest in one click .

TikTok is the new darling of social media . The platform has grown exponentially since its inception, many brands have benefited from user-generated content , and some platform users already have a huge fan base .

E-commerce giant Amazon has also added a column on its website to list the products that are popular on social media platforms . TikTok has also realized the huge potential of the platform to promote the development of e-commerce and launched TikTok Shopping to provide sellers with a wider range of solutions.

Social media marketing and social commerce have become important channels for e-commerce sales . With the arrival of the holiday shopping season , sellers can consider increasing their investment in social media sales channels .

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