“Social commerce is what happens when savvy marketers take the best of e-commerce and combine it with social media.” – Hootsuite
The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the desire in customers to achieve the most engaging and meaningful shopping experience possible; from businesses that provide the maximum value and minimum challenge.
In 2021, brands are discovering that social commerce is a new solution that can drive brand sales and growth while delivering valuable customer shopping experiences. We believe that the pandemic is one of the factors that pushed the evolution of e-commerce websites to social commerce.
“Since its inception, Social commerce has been trending among global brands selling products/services online. And now, marketers have predicted the Global Social Commerce Market to Reach $604.5 Billion by 2027.” – Taggbox
What is Social Commerce?
Social commerce is the process of selling and buying products or services directly from a social media platform.
With this commerce, social media has evolved from a place to discover a product or service to the place where the entire shopping experience exists — from product discovery and research to check-out.
Previously, there were only two social media platforms offering commerce features in Indonesia — Facebook, and Instagram. In Q2 2021, TikTok launched its social commerce feature across the nation.
The Difference Between Social Commerce and e-commerce
E-commerce refers to the process of buying or selling products and services from a website or marketplace app.
On the other hand, Social Commerce allows customers to make purchases directly from their everyday social media apps. Social commerce is not e-commerce.
Why Should You Care About Social Commerce?
Are you wondering why you should invest time in setting up your social media shop? There are many benefits to social commerce that may make it worth your time, especially compared with a traditional e-commerce platform.
- Makes online shopping a social experience
Shopping on social media platforms is a new experience for a lot of people. The shopping experience is also more interactive than buying products or services from typical e-commerce. With social commerce, consumers can interact directly with the brands they love, review comments from other shoppers, and easily consult with their friends about products that they want to buy. - Provides a seamless customer journey
According to Taggbox, “35% of consumers abandon carts because the shop asks them to create an account, while 27% think the checkout process takes too long or is too complicated”. A customer abandoning their cart is a nightmare for an e-commerce business, and as attention spans seem to decrease every day, the rate of cart abandonment is increasing as well. With social commerce, the consumer purchase journey is more seamless. Since consumers already provide their basic details on social media, the purchase journey becomes easier. Consumers see the product, click it, and buy it. Social commerce removes friction from the consumer experience, making it easy to follow through from discovery to purchase. - Focuses directly on the target audience
With the abundance of consumer data on social media platforms, you have the opportunity to tweak and target your advertising. Social commerce is equipped with analytics that allows you to assess your consumer’s behavior and see what works best for them. This approach allows you to offer your product directly to its target audience in a way that traditional e-commerce and marketing cannot. - Get discovered by a new audience
Based on recent studies, 43.8% of internet users claim that social networks are a primary source of information for researching brands. When brands use relevant hashtags and keywords in their shoppable posts, they easily appear for customers in their target market to discover. As consumers love to explore new products and search for them across various brands on social media, social commerce seems to be the perfect way for brands to increase their recognition and increase their sales.
Social media has revolutionized human life in many ways and social commerce is its newest product; by adding a new way businesses and consumers can interact. Now is the time to adapt and lean into change.
Get in touch with us
If you are interested in growing your social media presence with social commerce get in touch with our talented team at Juicebox today.
