Hey there! Social commerce is taking the online shopping world by storm. By integrating buying directly into social media apps and platforms, social commerce creates a more interactive, seamless way for people to shop.
In this post, we‘ll explore the key statistics, trends and forecasts every marketer needs to know to succeed with social commerce in 2024 and prepare for the future. Let‘s dive in!
Contents
What is Social Commerce?
First, a quick primer on social commerce for those unfamiliar with the term.
- Social commerce involves selling products directly within social apps and platforms, such as Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Snapchat and more.
- Instead of leaving the app to make a purchase, users can conveniently browse, research, and buy items seamlessly within the social platforms where they‘re already highly engaged.
- For businesses, social commerce opens up new sales channels and provides a way to turn social media followers into paying customers.
- Leading platforms are rapidly building tools and features to facilitate social commerce, like shoppable Instagram posts, live shopping on TikTok, and Facebook Shops.
So in a nutshell, social commerce blends online shopping with social media activity. Now let‘s look at some of the numbers.
Key Social Commerce Statistics
- Global social commerce sales hit $492 billion in 2020, up an impressive 38% from 2019. [Source: eMarketer]
- There are over 89 million social buyers in the United States alone. [Source: Insider Intelligence]
- An estimated 55% of Gen Z social users have purchased products directly via social apps. [Source: Influencer Marketing Hub]
- China leads the world with over $351 billion in social commerce sales in 2021. [Source: eMarketer]
- U.S. social commerce sales grew nearly 36% to $36.6 billion in 2021 and are continuing to accelerate. [Source: eMarketer]
- By 2028, global social commerce revenue could top $3.4 trillion, representing massive growth from today. [Source: Grand View Research]
Diving Deeper into the Data
Let‘s dig deeper into some of the key stats and trends around social commerce.
Social Commerce Users and Demographics
- There are over 89 million social buyers in the U.S. alone, showing massive adoption. [Source: Insider Intelligence]
- An astounding 55% of Gen Z social media users have made at least one purchase directly via social apps. [Source: Influencer Marketing Hub]
- 43% of 55-64 year olds say they have never shopped online, compared to just 11% of 18-24 year olds. Younger generations are clearly more comfortable with social commerce. [Source: Pew Research Center]
- Men shop online more overall: 84% of men vs 77% of women. However, women tend to shop online more frequently – 7.1 times per year vs. 5.4 times for men. [Source: Statista]
- The number of U.S. social commerce buyers is forecast to grow from 79 million in 2021 to over 108 million by 2024 as adoption increases. [Source: eMarketer]
Table 1: U.S. Social Commerce Buyers Growth
| Year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social Buyers | 79 million | 91 million | 99 million | 108 million |
Social Commerce Revenue and Sales Growth
- Global social commerce generated over $492 billion in sales in 2020, up an impressive 38% year-over-year. [Source: eMarketer]
- China dominates social commerce revenue, driving over $351 billion in sales in 2021 – more than 10x the U.S. [Source: eMarketer]
- U.S. social commerce sales grew nearly 36% to $36.6 billion in 2021, a rapid acceleration. [Source: eMarketer]
- Global social commerce revenue is forecast to hit $3.4 trillion by 2028, reflecting massive future growth potential. [Source: Grand View Research]
Table 2: Global Social Commerce Revenue Growth
| Year | 2020 | 2023 (Projected) | 2028 (Projected) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $492 billion | $1.2 trillion | $3.4 trillion |
Top Social Commerce Platforms
- Pinterest leads platforms in buyer focus and purchasing, with over 85% of users buying based on content seen. [Source: eMarketer]
- Facebook dominates in total number of social commerce buyers at 56.1 billion globally. However, buyers tend to spend less than other platforms. [Source: eMarketer]
- Instagram is growing quickly for social shopping thanks to shoppable posts, Instagram Shopping and built-in shopping features.
- YouTube and Twitter have limited commerce capabilities currently and don‘t rank highly.
Social Commerce vs. E-Commerce
- Global retail e-commerce sales will approach $5 trillion in 2022, providing plenty of room for social commerce to expand. [Source: eMarketer]
- While growing quickly, social commerce still represents just 5-10% of total global e-commerce currently.
- U.S. consumers still have more security concerns about social commerce compared to traditional e-commerce. Addressing these concerns will be important as adoption grows. [Source: eMarketer]
Social Commerce Purchasing Behaviors
- 11% of social users report buying immediately, while 44% do more research before purchasing. Social platforms are powerful for discovery. [Source: Statista]
- The most social purchases stem from Facebook Shops, Instagram Shopping, live streams, and social stories. These tools bring buying seamlessly into platforms. [Source: Business Insider]
- Shoppable Instagram posts see 13% higher conversion when using a direct “Shop Now” call-to-action button. [Source: Instagram]
- Top-selling product categories on social include video games & accessories (44%), toys & hobbies (29%), and accessories/jewelry (25-26%). [Source: eMarketer]
As you can see, social commerce is already driving major revenues and gaining significant traction with consumers and businesses alike. Now let‘s look at what‘s ahead.
The Future of Social Commerce
Social commerce still appears to be in the early stages of adoption and there are huge opportunities ahead as platforms and businesses invest more in this space.
- An estimated 73% of businesses plan to use social commerce on platforms like Facebook and Instagram between 2022 and 2024. [Source: Statista]
- By 2025, social commerce could account for 17% of total U.S. e-commerce according to forecasts. Up from around 5% today. [Source: eMarketer]
- Advertiser spending on social commerce ads is expected to hit $56 billion in 2022. [Source: eMarketer]
- Generation Z coming into more purchasing power will likely only accelerate adoption of buying through social apps.
As you can see from all the data, the future looks very bright for social commerce. Implementing effective social commerce strategies will only become more crucial for businesses in 2024 and beyond.
Key Takeaways
To summarize some of the top insights:
- Adoption of social commerce is growing rapidly, with 89 million social buyers in the U.S. alone currently.
- Younger generations like Gen Z are especially comfortable with social commerce and helping drive growth.
- China leads the world in social commerce, while U.S. sales are accelerating with 36% growth in 2021.
- Global revenues could top $3.4 trillion by 2028 as adoption continues to increase.
- Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and TikTok are leading platforms for social commerce features.
- Developing effective social commerce strategies will be key for businesses in 2024 and forward.
So in summary, social commerce is transforming shopping by integrating it directly into the social platforms where consumers already spend significant time daily. As the data shows, this is fueling incredible growth in terms of users, sales and revenues.
Social commerce provides benefits for both shoppers and businesses alike. Consumers gain a more convenient, interactive shopping experience. And brands unlock new sales channels to engage customers in more relevant, targeted ways.
As platforms continue to roll out innovations and new features for social shopping, this trend will only continue to accelerate in 2024 and beyond. Businesses that don‘t start planning effective social commerce strategies risk getting left behind.
I hope these stats provide valuable insights into the explosive growth of social commerce. Let me know if you have any other questions!
