81 Social Commerce Stats Marketers Need to Know in 2023

The way people shop online is evolving. Increasingly, consumers are turning to social media not just to connect with friends and be entertained, but to research and purchase products. This shift has given rise to social commerce – the convergence of ecommerce and social media.

For brands, social commerce presents a huge opportunity to meet customers where they already are and provide a seamless path to purchase. By enabling shopping directly within social apps, businesses can shorten the sales cycle and boost conversion rates.

As we move further into 2023, social commerce will become an even more critical part of the retail landscape. To help you stay ahead of the curve, we‘ve compiled the latest social commerce statistics, trends, and best practices. Read on to learn where the industry is headed and how your brand can capture your share of this fast-growing market.

The Rise of Social Commerce

Over the past few years, social commerce has grown from a niche trend to a mainstream phenomenon. Consider these stats:

• 67% of consumers have already made a purchase directly through a social media platform. (Wunderman Thompson, 2023)

• Global sales through social platforms reached an estimated $992 billion in 2022. (Statista, 2022)

• In the US, nearly 36% of internet users – about 90.2 million people – are social buyers. (Insider Intelligence, 2021)

• Insider Intelligence predicts social commerce will be a $79 billion market in the US by 2025. (Insider Intelligence, 2022)

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the shift to online and mobile shopping, and social distancing led more consumers to turn to social apps for product discovery and purchases. But social commerce was on the rise even before 2020, driven by the creativity of digitally-native brands and the launch of new social shopping features by platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

Social Commerce Projections for 2023 and Beyond

Social commerce shows no signs of slowing down. Here‘s what analysts expect in the coming years:

• Annual social commerce spend per buyer in the US will increase by $419 over the next three years. (Insider Intelligence, 2023)

• The number of US social buyers will reach 107 million by the end of 2023. (Statista, 2023)

• Advertisers will spend $68 billion to promote their products on social networks in 2023. (Statista, 2023)

• 53% of global consumers intend to shop more via social platforms in the future. (Wunderman Thompson, 2023)

• 80% of social media marketers believe consumers will purchase more often within social apps versus brands‘ websites or third-party sites like Amazon. (HubSpot)

Social Commerce Trends by Platform

Nearly every major social network now offers shopping features, but some are further ahead than others. Here‘s a look at social commerce trends across the top platforms:

Facebook

• With 63.5 million social buyers, Facebook is the top social commerce destination in the US. (Statista, 2022)

• Facebook is the most trusted platform for social shopping. Consumers say it has the best in-app buying experience. (HubSpot, 2023)

• In Q1 2021, there were 1 million active Facebook Shops with over 250 million monthly shoppers. (AdWeek, 2021)

Instagram

• Instagram is the third most-trusted social shopping platform. Consumers rank it second for in-app shopping experiences. (HubSpot, 2023)

• The platform has 41 million social buyers in the US. (Statista, 2022)

• Fashion brand Jane reported 80% of its social sales came from Instagram Shopping between July 2020 and February 2021. (Instagram, 2021)

TikTok

• 45% of consumers made a purchase within the TikTok app in the past three months. (HubSpot, 2023)

• TikTok is the least trusted platform overall for social shopping, but is most popular with Gen Z. (HubSpot, 2023)

Pinterest

• 27% of consumers purchased within the Pinterest app in the last three months. (HubSpot, 2023)

• Weekly Pinterest users pay 40% more per month than people who use other social platforms. (Pinterest, 2023)

• Advertisers using mobile deep links on Pinterest see a 235% increase in conversions and 35% lower acquisition costs. (Pinterest, 2023)

YouTube

• YouTube is the second most-trusted social commerce platform. Users say it offers the third best in-app buying experience. (HubSpot, 2023)

• 31% of consumers discovered a new product through YouTube ads in the past three months. (HubSpot, 2023)

• Half of US and UK consumers use YouTube to research potential purchases. (GWI, 2020)

Social Commerce Demographics

Social commerce adoption varies by age group. Younger generations who grew up with social media and mobile devices are the most likely to embrace in-app shopping.

• Consumers ages 18-54 prefer social media for product discovery over any other online channel. (HubSpot, 2023)

• Over 1 in 5 Gen Z, Millennial, and Gen X social media users bought something via a social app in the past three months. (HubSpot, 2023)

• 41% of Gen Z and Millennials make an impulse purchase online every 2-3 weeks. (GWI, 2023)

However, older cohorts are also getting more comfortable with social shopping. In a recent HubSpot survey, 73% of Baby Boomers said they made a purchase on Facebook in the preceding quarter.

Geographically, the top social commerce markets are in Asia. Thailand has the highest percentage of social buyers worldwide, followed by India and the UAE. (Statista, 2022) China is far and away the largest social commerce market by total sales volume.

Top Social Commerce Product Categories

Apparel and accessories are the leading product categories for social commerce, but consumers also frequently buy beauty, home decor, and electronic items through social apps.

During Q2 2022, the average order value for social media referrals was $86.21. (Statista, 2021) Over a quarter of social-referred visits to ecommerce sites in early 2023 came from tablet devices. (Statista, 2023)

Keys to Social Commerce Success

To make social commerce work, brands need to focus on building trust and providing frictionless shopping experiences. Only 41% of social users currently feel comfortable transacting within social apps, and just 37% trust platforms with their payment information. (HubSpot, 2023)

Consumers who already shop via social media are twice as likely as non-social shoppers to purchase from an unfamiliar brand. (Accenture, 2022) User-generated content, like product demos and unboxing videos, can help establish credibility.

Streamlined, mobile-optimized checkouts are also critical, as 13% of social buyers say a "buy button" is a top purchase driver. (GWI, 2020) Headless commerce solutions allow brands to enable purchasing directly within social apps.

Finally, social commerce should augment rather than replace a brand‘s other online and offline sales channels. Providing customers with choice and consistency across touchpoints is key.

How Brands Are Succeeding with Social Commerce

Here are a few examples of businesses seeing strong results with social selling:

• Apparel brand Ivory Ella generated $156,000 in revenue and a 4.4X return on ad spend over 14 days by promoting their Instagram Shopping posts. (Instagram, 2023)

• Premium headphone maker Skullcandy drove a 95% increase in total purchases by using TikTok‘s product links and collection ads. (TikTok, 2022)

• Sephora added a Facebook Shop and saw an 85% increase in click-through rates, 41% boost in customer acquisitions, and 5X return on ad spend. (Meta, 2023)

Tips to Optimize Your Social Commerce Strategy

If your business is ready to start selling on social media or improve your existing efforts, follow these best practices:

1. Prioritize audience targeting to reach your most valuable customers.
2. Feature engaging creative like video content and AR product filters.
3. Streamline your checkout process as much as possible.
4. Enable post-purchase sharing to generate social proof.
5. Test and learn to optimize your strategy over time.
6. Connect your social commerce data with the rest of your retail tech stack.

87% of sellers say social commerce was effective for their business in 2022, and 56% made more sales through the channel than the previous year. (HubSpot, 2023) With the right approach, your brand can achieve similar success.

Conclusion

Social commerce has emerged as one of the hottest trends in online retail. As more consumers, especially in younger generations, embrace in-app shopping, the opportunity for brands will only continue to grow.

By building trust with shoppers, creating seamless purchase paths, and connecting social selling to the rest of your retail operation, you can turn "likes" and shares into a reliable revenue stream. Use the insights in this guide to jumpstart your social commerce strategy in 2023 and beyond.