Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have become important channels for advertising, growing social media following, and ecommerce. This type of marketing, commonly known as social commerce, uses social media platforms to promote products and generate sales leads.
If you’re curious about how powerful social commerce is, check out the following statistics and facts.
Top Social Commerce Statistics: Editor’s Choice
General Social Commerce Statistics
Besides boosting brand awareness, social commerce facilitates the way customers purchase products and services on social media platforms. Now, let’s take a look at some of the most influential data about this type of marketing.
1. A whopping 4.48 billion people are active on social media.
Considering that the worldwide population surpassed 7.8 billion, these social commerce trends in 2021 show that 56.8% of people worldwide have at least one active account on social media platforms.
Thanks to these staggering numbers, businesses profit massively from promoting their products on social networks.
2. According to social commerce statistics for 2021, US sales on social media are expected to reach $36.62 billion by the end of this year.
What’s more, this figure is expected to increase even more in the near future. More precisely, social commerce in the US is projected to reach $79.64 billion by 2025.
3. A good 49% of consumers rely on influencer recommendations.
Apart from that, about 40% of them purchased an item after seeing it advertised on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or other social media platforms.
Influencer recommendations have rapidly become the driving force behind the rise of social commerce over the past decade. As a result, it’s safe to say that influencer marketing is valuable to brands.
4. Facebook posts with 40 characters or less have 86% more engagement.
On the other hand, posts on Facebook with 80 characters or less receive 66% more engagement. With that said, these social commerce stats confirm that shorter posts get significantly more engagement. Still, only 5% of all posts have 40 characters.
5. An astonishing 91.9% of US marketers are expected to use social media for marketing purposes in 2021.
Social media marketing is playing a big role in today’s online commerce scene. Statista’s social commerce report demonstrated that 86.2% of marketers saw potential in acquiring new customers only eight years ago. Nowadays, social media marketing is something marketers can’t afford to disregard.
6. The social commerce market size is expected to reach $3,369.8 billion by 2028.
Given that the social commerce market size is constantly growing, Grand View Research forecasts that it will expand at a CAGR of 28.4% for the 2021–2028 period. Although the pandemic has caused disastrous consequences in every business sector, social commerce hasn’t stopped thriving.
Social Media and Ecommerce
Businesses are constantly looking for ways to attract customers and increase sales. Since billions of people use social media, social commerce is a logical progression in marketing strategies for many companies. Let’s see what the numbers say.
7. In 2020, the US had 80.1 million social commerce buyers.
While 2020 witnessed the highest number of social media ecommerce buyers, the growth rate will continue at a slower pace. The number of buyers will grow by 12.9% to 90.4 million and 6.3% to 96.1 million in 2021 and 2022, respectively.
8. By the end of 2021, there will be 230.5 million US online shoppers.
Global social commerce has resulted in a large portion of buyers, especially in the US. According to ecommerce statistics, this figure is projected to grow to 291.2 million US online buyers by 2025.
9. 87% of online shoppers agree that social media helps them make ecommerce purchasing decisions.
Thanks to reviews, videos, and influencers on social media, buyers are more inclined to buy a specific item. In addition, top social commerce companies, such as Samsung and Coca-Cola, use Instagram to boost sales and advertise products.
10. Online shopping cart abandonment rate was 88.05% in March 2020.
According to online shopping statistics, high shipping costs and prices, lack of payment options, and a lengthy checkout process are some of the reasons people decide to abandon shopping carts.
11. 51% of surveyed buyers use Facebook for product search.
Over the years, social media commerce has become an essential part of ecommerce. While many potential customers look for products on Facebook, shopping is the top priority for 48% of Pinterest users.
12. In the US, 22.3% of internet users have made at least one purchase through Facebook.
According to social commerce statistics for 2021, Facebook is the most popular social media platform for online shopping, followed by Instagram with 12.9% and Pinterest with 5.6% of online shoppers.
13. Facebook is the best performing social commerce platform with 56.1 million buyers.
Customers are more than willing to buy through social media platforms—none more than Facebook. More than 56 million people bought items from its sellers in 2021.
Facebook also launched its Facebook Shops last year. The free-for-all mobile platform was set in motion to help out small and medium businesses throughout the pandemic, but there’s no doubt it will eventually expand to bigger companies as well.
14. 93% of US companies are switching to social media for ecommerce.
According to social commerce trends for 2021, more than nine out of ten businesses in the US will be moving their ecommerce efforts to social media. Interestingly, 73% of these companies have already sold their products and services on social media.
Social Commerce Trends and Demographics
Now that you’ve got a grasp of how big social commerce is and how it affects our everyday life, let’s take a look at customer demographics.
15. Around 44% of US social media users over 14 make purchases on social media.
Social ecommerce platforms have attracted buyers of all ages. The most passionate social commerce shoppers are Gen Zers aged 18 to 24. On the other hand, buyers aged 65 and over only make up 34.3% of social buyers in the US.
16. By the end of 2021, 35.9% of US internet users will make at least one social commerce purchase.
With 46.4% of internet users being social buyers, it’s not a surprise that social commerce is most popular in China. The US ranks second out of 13 countries, followed by Australia, with 30.3% of internet users purchasing on social media.
17. In the UK, total online sales growth increased by 36.6% YOY in 2020.
Thanks to online shopping, people can look for products in the comfort of their homes. So, it’s logical that almost a quarter of UK shoppers use social media to make purchases.
Social media statistics for 2021 in the UK reported that 2020 saw the largest growth since 2007.
18. Social commerce in India could grow between $16 billion and $20 billion in five years.
As we already know, social commerce has redefined the entire online shopping scene. Over the past few years, India has benefited the most from ecommerce opportunities, thanks to its massive population and a large number of smartphone users.
It’s not surprising that the Indian online market will most likely reach 300 to 350 million shoppers over the next five years.
19. Only 6% of females regularly shop on social media.
While just a small percentage of women find new products to purchase on social media regularly, social commerce stats show that 38% haven’t used social media for shopping or aren’t interested.
Social Commerce Statistics: The Takeaway
Almost all marketers and entrepreneurs are currently running their businesses on social media platforms. Those who aren’t will probably consider it in the future. Selling products and promoting brands on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are daily activities essential for business growth.
Understandably, social commerce in 2021 is going strong in terms of market size and social media users. That’s why marketers should consider adopting the best strategies and tools to connect with potential customers.
We can say that ecommerce and social media have merged to offer the best online shopping experience to potential consumers.
Frequently Asked Questions
How big is the social commerce market?
The increased number of smartphone users, social media engagement, and convenient shopping experience are only a few of the most critical aspects defining the size of the social commerce market.
In 2020, the market size was worth a whopping $474.8 billion. This figure is projected to increase at a compound annual growth rate of 28.4% between 2021 and 2028. By the end of 2021, the value of the social commerce market size is expected to reach $584.9 billion.
Why is social commerce popular?
Currently, there are 4.48 billion active social media users, which is a perfect opportunity for brands to connect with consumers and increase sales. Social commerce is where the entire process from discovering products to selling and purchasing happens on social media.
There are many reasons why social commerce is popular, but convenience is probably the most prominent one. With it, most users simply need to click on a few buttons without providing additional information. Finding products and learning about them is also easier because consumers have immediate access to reviews and comments.
How will social commerce impact businesses?
Online shoppers expect immediate service. If the buying process takes too long to complete, they can easily get distracted and decide not to purchase products or services. With social commerce, the goal is to make purchasing easy and convenient without room for second-guessing.
Businesses that implement social commerce strategies effectively will have higher engagement and more sales. Moreover, brick-and-mortar stores will have to use social commerce as well if they want to survive, bring in new customers, and retain old ones. Retaining customers is a challenging task, but it’s essential for every business.
What are the types of social commerce?
There are seven different types of social commerce out there:
- User curated shopping
- Group buying and daily deals
- Social network-driven sales
- Participatory commerce
- Peer recommendations
- Peer-to-peer sales
- Social shopping
All these social commerce types are used to promote and sell products and services on social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The engagement rate determines campaign success, while retweets, likes, and shares make brands successful.
How fast is social commerce growing?
Social commerce has been around since 2007 when Facebook decided to launch its marketplace. Since then, every other social media platform began adopting the same strategy to promote companies and connect more easily with potential customers.
As a result, social commerce has seen considerable growth. According to social commerce statistics, social commerce sales value reached $27 billion in 2020 in the US alone and is expected to grow to $79.6 billion by 2025.
Sources
Backlinko, Buffer, Business Insider, Business Wire, Digital Marketing Institute, eMarketer, eMarketer, eMarketer, eMarketer, eMarketer, Financial Express, HubSpot, Net Imperative, PR Newswire, Smart Insights, Statista, Statista, Statista, Statista