In 2022, the global social commerce market was worth USD 727.63 billion, and it is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 31.6% from 2023 to 2030.
Increased social media adoption, average time spent on these platforms, and the convenience of purchasing products online are expected to drive market growth.
US Markets need to develop strategies around social commerce to boost their revenue compared to China.
We have some of these strategies to get you going. So keep up with us till the end of the blog.
Social Commerce Market Stats & Outlook
In 2021, social-commerce channels will have sold $37 billion in goods and services.
That figure is expected to rise to nearly $80 billion by 2025, accounting for 5% of US e-commerce. As a result, the global social-commerce market is expected to exceed $2 trillion by 2025.
While fashion categories such as apparel and accessories continue to be the most popular for social commerce, other lifestyle brands looking to market electronics and home decor are also important.
And brands with novel and distinct products are best suited to the social commerce environment.
How Social Commerce Is Growing In the US
Over the last few years, US social and creator platforms have added a slew of social-commerce features:
Pinterest: Pinterest’s “Shopping List” feature, which will be available in 2021, automatically saves users’ shoppable product pins (launched in 2019 and uploaded from verified retailers), displays product reviews, and notifies users when a pinned product’s price gets reduced.
Live Instagram Shopping: Influencers can live stream on Instagram starting in 2020 to introduce and sell products to fans in real-time. This expands on influencers’ ability to include shopping tags in their posts that consumers can use to purchase products. Brands can also use Instagram to create a digital, shareable catalog of their products, with customers purchasing directly from the app or clicking through to the brand’s e-commerce site.
TikTok Shopping: These videos and live streams, launched last year in collaboration with Shopify, allow Shopify merchants to sync their product catalogs to TikTok and create mini storefronts.
YouTube Shopping: Companies can sell on YouTube through live streaming, videos, or a storefront, thanks to a partnership between YouTube and Shopify.
Twitter Shops: Shops allow businesses to display up to 50 products on their Twitter profile, transforming the platform into a place where people buy products rather than talk about them.
The expansion of social commerce in the United States will be challenging. For example, meta, which had recently tested several social-commerce tools, including a native, end-to-end affiliate marketing program, has discontinued it in favor of its Creator Marketplace.
However, with Americans spending more time on social and creator platforms, consumer demand for these new shopping features is growing, particularly among younger generations.
According to a Forrester 2021 retail survey, 61 percent of online adults under 25 in the United States completed a purchase on a social and creator platform network without leaving the app or web page, up from 53 percent in 2020.
A McKinsey survey of US consumers who have previously shopped in 2022 discovered that 75% want to attend more live-shopping shows in the future.
US Market Strategies For eCommerce Businesses
Leverage User-Generated Content
Consumers regard user-generated content (UGC) – the images, videos, and reviews that people post on social media – as the most trusted, authentic, and influential content, making it an extremely valuable resource for marketers to leverage.
Indeed, UGC is 9.8x more influential than traditional influencer content. This trend indicates that today’s social influencers are more similar to reality TV stars than to average customers – and as a result, consumer trust is declining.
As a result, retailers should rethink their influencer marketing strategies, shifting away from paid macro-influencers and toward organic influencers.
Showcase Shoppable Content For Social Proof
Brands should not simply make it easy for people to “shop the look” on social media. Incorporating visual and actionable social proof into your eCommerce strategy is another proven way to increase online engagement and sales.
Customers are 6x more likely to buy a product if the page includes social media images.
Make an interactive lookbook or visual catalog of social content, then include ‘Buy Now’ calls-to-action to direct people to purchase pages.
Join Hands With Influencers For Product Tagging
Product tagging is no longer limited to brands on some platforms, such as Instagram. That means influencers can tag your product in their posts, allowing their followers to buy the item directly from the post.
Customers will not have to go through the lengthy process of visiting the influencer’s bio, clicking on a link, visiting a different website, and trying to find the item in question.
This streamlined buyer’s journey can result in significant sales from your influencer partnerships.
So, to increase social commerce’s impact, use this feature in your influencer marketing campaigns.
It would help if you found the right influencers to collaborate with and approve those chosen influencers.
Find & Invest In Meaningful Channels
People use numerous social and digital platforms daily worldwide; however, brands need more budgets and resources to devote to digital advertising.
The more you know about your customers, the better you’ll be able to target the right channels for your marketing efforts.
What channels do they use to search for and share content? When are they most likely to use those channels?
Obtaining answers to these and other similar questions will go a long way toward informing a winning social commerce strategy for your brand.
Run Experiments With Chatbots Or Chat Commerce
According to research, consumers will spend more when their shopping experience is personalized. However, doing so at scale can be difficult, especially in social media, where you have far less control over the channel’s infrastructure.
Chatbots are one way to address the personalization challenge. Although chatbots have limitations regarding how specific they can be, they can provide consumers with quick, simple answers to their questions.
They also provide numerous business benefits, including saving time and money and building trust.
Wrapping Up!
These are just some examples of social commerce strategies. Still, the best strategy will depend on your business’s specific needs and goals.
