Why social commerce isn’t trending yet

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It was August 1, 2003: the country was still mourning the loss of the space shuttle Columbia, which had disintegrated upon re-entering Earth’s atmosphere six months earlier and the Black Eyed Peas’ “Where is the Love?” topped the radio charts.

What’s the significance of August 1? A man by the name of Tom Anderson had just founded MySpace, which would grow to be the largest social networking site in the world in 2004. It would also largely change the way we use the internet, ensuring that cataloging and communicating with friends became one of the top uses of the web.

Now, social media is undergoing yet another transformation. As Gen Z, a group largely dependent on mobile, looms ever larger in the consumer space, retailers are increasingly trying to meet them where they are: on the social channels where they post photos, talk to their friends and follow their favorite influencers.

There is a level of authenticity in social posts, and the good brands use that and amplify consumer voice in their social postings in a way that makes them more relatable and more trustworthy.

– Kelly Davis-Felner (Senior Director of Demand and Retention Marketing at Bazaarvoice)

“What we’ve seen over the last several years is people bringing social photos into their product pages and making it a part of the traditional e-commerce experience,” Kelly Davis-Felner, senior director of demand and retention marketing at Bazaarvoice, told Retail Dive. “So that came first. This ‘going the opposite direction’ — so that you’re bringing the shopping experience into social — that’s much more nascent.”

So nascent, that social commerce made up only 2% of revenue in 2016, 34% of shoppers had never bought anything on social media at the end of 2017, and the only major success story of social shopping in 2018 is the now-famous 23-minute Air Jordan sellout on Snapchat. Otherwise, the channel has about as many accolades as the Chicago Cubs (which is to say, not many, but a couple exciting ones).

Here’s our look at shopping on social media — and how long before the industry really nails it.

Fertile ground for a social invasion

Social media platforms are already playing a huge role in influencing consumer purchase decisions, especially with Gen Z and millennials. Gen Z-ers are actually twice as influenced by social media as by deals, and 80% of the group are influenced by social media when making purchases.

Leading the charge is Instagram, which alone influences 72% of its users’ purchase decisions — not to mention the platform’s influencers, which are used by 70% of brands and retailers. Part of the reason for social media’s success, according to Davis-Felner, is how visual the platforms are, which has driven social media to become more of a “third channel” of sorts, behind e-commerce and brick and mortar.

“Even when you’re talking about a brand-promoted post, there is a level of authenticity in social posts, and the good brands use that and amplify consumer voice in their social postings in a way that makes them more relatable and more trustworthy,” Davis-Felner said, noting that visual content on social media is also playing a huge role in conversions.

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