Social commerce is emerging fast, especially among millennials and Gen Zs. Online retailers speculate whether it can replace eCommerce in the future. This blog post will explore social commerce and how it might shape online purchases.
eCommerce has dominated the market for over a decade. Just as it appeared that eCommerce would continue its reign for several more years, social commerce emerged as a formidable contender. It comes as no surprise that there is a gradual shift from e-commerce to social commerce, with the latter poised to make significant strides this year.
With the number of social media users in the country expected to reach approximately 448 million, social commerce is set to benefit directly from this robust growth. For those unfamiliar with the concept, social commerce involves directly buying and selling products or services through social media platforms. It encompasses various stages, from product discovery to checkout, providing consumers with a complete shopping experience.
By 2025, the global social commerce market is projected to reach a staggering $1.2 trillion compared to the current $492 billion, experiencing a three times faster growth than traditional commerce.
The Unstoppable Rise of Social Commerce
Social media is a great place to discover products for consumers, with 55% of online consumers learning about brands on a social platform. Apart from this, there are the younger consumers, especially the millennials and Gen Zs, who prefer to turn to people they trust for their opinion on a product or the influencers they follow despite being lured by the digital ads desperately trying to influence their purchase decision. Hence, it is unsurprising that most brands present their products on eCommerce sites and social media platforms.
Every day, consumers spend an average of three hours immersed in the online world, engaging in activities such as posting, scrolling, watching videos, and messaging. It is the time that provides a valuable window of opportunity to leverage your marketing tools and effectively reach your target consumers.
In contrast to transactional buy-and-sell models, social commerce focuses on fostering a dedicated community. Brand building revolves around cultivating a loyal fan base who appreciates and praises your brand and actively engages by commenting, sharing, and promoting its offerings.
Unlike other forms of commerce that rely on traditional marketing and advertising methods, social commerce harnesses the power of influencers to market products. This approach accelerates the establishment of a strong community or consumer base in a relatively short time.
Thanks to its presence on social media platforms and the sense of community it creates, social commerce benefits from a robust feedback system that is often organic and genuine. With its advantages over eCommerce and traditional selling methods, social commerce is widely regarded as the future of online retail.
Harness the Benefits of Social Commerce
Adapting to social media platforms has numerous benefits, especially if you seek to thrive in your eCommerce business.
• Better Customer Engagement
Improved customer engagement is achieved through social networks, facilitating two-way communication with your consumers. In addition to promoting products, you can establish a deeper connection with your audience. Social media channels allow new users to access and evaluate previous customers’ feedback, reviews, and opinions, enabling informed purchase decisions. It enhances your credibility and authenticity. Also, heightened engagement enables a seamless shopping experience, allowing your consumers to complete their buying journey with just a few clicks.
• Improved Average Order Value
It is widely recognized that millennials and Gen Z are the key demographics on social media platforms. You must seek to understand these generations’ preferences and behaviors to serve them better. With a focus on seamless shopping experiences, interactive features, and direct checkouts, brands encourage young consumers to shop online more frequently. This emphasis on convenience and user-friendly interfaces enhances the browsing and purchasing process, ultimately leading to increased average order values.
• Grow Audience Steadily
The primary objective of social commerce is to cultivate a dedicated community and loyal audience. As followers grow, you naturally experience increased sales and revenues. Engaging new shoppers with messaging that resonates with them makes them more inclined to recommend your products or services to others. Simultaneously, your messaging strategy is crucial in retaining existing customers and fostering continued loyalty and satisfaction.
• Better Visibility in Search Engines
Social media platforms increase website traffic and facilitate direct transactions by fostering stronger engagement with your consumers. As a result, you can target these users with more relevant content, motivating the audience to make frequent purchases. It sets a positive cycle of increased brand visibility, enhanced feedback, recommendations, and user comments in motion. The organic actions of users contribute to improving your digital footprint, optimizing your search engine ranking, and ultimately driving more visibility and growth.
• Smart Consumer Insights
Social commerce simplifies the process of measuring and analyzing valuable consumer insights. With readily available metrics for engagement, impressions, and reach across various digital channels, monitoring these parameters becomes effortless. It enables you to periodically assess and categorize their audience, ensuring that the right content is shared with each segment. By leveraging these insights, you can effectively tailor your marketing strategies to resonate with the target audience and drive better engagement and conversions.
Conclusion:
The projected growth of social commerce, expanding three times faster than traditional eCommerce, indicates a significant shift in consumer behavior toward making purchases through social media platforms. This trend has profound implications for your brand and consumers, prompting platforms and advertisers to adapt their strategies to attract target audiences. As social commerce continues to gain momentum, it promises an exciting future for you and consumers, transforming how transactions are conducted in the digital landscape.
With a robust ROI framework, effective brand creative, and robust analytics, social media can become the channel that unleashes unparalleled performance, surpassing even your highest expectations.
About XPDEL:
XPDEL is a leading hi-tech provider of Fulfillment and Logistics Services on a mission to enable growth for eCommerce companies. We are futuristic in our vision and constantly work on creating technology that helps us meet customer expectations for today and tomorrow. We have a wide network of Fulfillment centers that enables us to efficiently handle nationwide delivery in the US – same day, next day, and 2-day delivery. Being closer to the end consumer, we deliver much faster than others.
