Social commerce: the new way to shop online.

Social media and e-commerce have changed considerably in recent years and continue to evolve at a rapid pace, changing the way we shop, and shop online in particular. Digital experiences are now part of everyday life. Over the past year, social media and e-commerce have started to blend to form a new and engaging concept: social commerce.

What is social commerce?

Put simply, social commerce is the process of selling products or services directly through social media. The whole shopping process can be completed entirely within the app, without the need to leave. With consumer behaviours being influenced more and more through social media, popularity is increasing rapidly, as the potential of what is capable is further explored.

Social commerce creates a smooth and effortless purchasing experience for the consumer. Facebook and Instagram have both recently updated their social commerce capabilities, while TikTok recently partnered with Shopify to enhance its social commerce experience.

How does this impact your business?

Social commerce provides numerous advantages and benefits for those with online stores.

Smoother buying process
Typically, the consumer path to purchase from a social app would be to click on your profile, then the website link, navigate or search through the website to find the product they saw, then finally add the product to their cart and checkout. This can be time consuming and sometimes frustrating for the consumer, particularly when trying to locate the products. Social commerce completely removes those frustrations and reduces the steps in the path to purchase drastically.

Brings interactivity to your brand
Previously, the goal would be to send consumers from your social channels to the website to purchase, minimising the interactivity the consumer has through social media. Social commerce combines the two to make your products more interactive to your target audience. They can engage and purchase your products in the same space in which they are attracted to them.

Millenials and Gen-Z
If you target Millenials and/or Gen-Z as part of your online strategy, then social commerce can be an essential tool. The Shopper Experience Index 2021 Report showed that 23% of all UK shoppers now use social media to discover new products, with 43% of 18-24 year olds and 47% of 25-34 year olds. Social commerce is expected to continue to grow in years to come, becoming a major space for e-commerce brands.

What are the major platforms doing?

Facebook
Recently incorporated Shops into its app to allow businesses to run direct to consumer stores. Having also partnered with Shopify, store owners can integrate and synchronise their Shopify inventory to their Facebook storefront.

Instagram
Having recently announced their intention to move more toward shopping, Instagram clearly has big intentions for moving into social commerce. Naturally, being owned by Facebook, Instagram Shopping is linked to your Facebook Shop, so you will need to get set up there before getting started on Instagram.

Given Instagram is visually led, and many brands already post content showcasing their products, it's likely this will see the largest uptake in adopting social commerce. Instagram has also released a built-in shop browsing feature that allows users to scroll through products they may be interested in, increasing the potential for brands to get noticed.

Snapchat
Snapchat has taken social commerce the furthest by trialling augmented reality capabilities, with brands such as Gucci already involved. Snapchat's AR feature allows users to "try on" products before making a purchase, which capitalises on filters that have become so popular within the app.

TikTok
With the huge success of TikTok, it was inevitable that they would follow this up with exploring social commerce, also partnering with Shopify. TikTok's offering will allow brands to create and run Shopify marketing campaigns that produce native, shareable content for TikTok, which transforms products into in-feed video ads.

Some tips for getting the most out of your social commerce strategy

Understand your target audience!
Where do they spend the most time, where are they most likely to make a purchase, and what products are they interested in.

Showcase reviews and user generated content on your social channels to provide 'social proof'
User generated content is a great way to add authenticity and trust to a brand and its products. The Nielsen Consumer Trust Index found that 93% of marketers agree that consumers trust user generated content more than brand created content.

Monitor your reporting
It may take some time to learn what resonates best with your audience, so ensure you have sufficient reporting in place to monitor and respond accordingly. A/B testing is a great way to run simultaneous campaigns and see which your followers respond best to.

Be strategic with the products you choose.
Choose carefully which products you decide to offer through your social commerce channels. Shopping on social media can be very impulsive, so the choice of products should reflect that; choose products that sell easily and are not at the higher end of your product price range. For example, it's unlikely a user browsing a jewellery store on Instagram will buy a £500 watch, but a £50 pair of earrings is much more likely.

Social commerce is a way to engage and build meaningful relationships with your customers, while making their path to purchase as simple as possible. It is also an opportunity for you to grow your commercial presence beyond your website, offering your products to your ideal customers where they spend most of their time online.