Online shopping: Social commerce is changing the way customers shop

 

Social media plays an important role in our life and now, it is not just used to chat with others. A key marketing channel, it has transformed the face of online shopping. Users are able to leverage these platforms to browse, shop and complete payments in a seamless way.

The phenomenon is becoming increasingly popular and is called social commerce. A research has revealed that this market has a remarkable growth trajectory. Analysts are predicting that it could be worth $600bn in the next seven years. Existing trends related to shoppers’ behaviour have been accelerated thanks to Covid-19. More people are now buying online. Despite this, social commerce is now taking birth in the UK and the US. In fact, according to studies, only 6% of UK consumers have purchased directly on a social platform.

This trend is more advanced in countries such as China. There, Tencent’s WeChat delivered $115bn in social commerce sales in 2019 alone and Pinduoduo, a group-buying app that allows friends to purchase together on social media has become the country’s most valuable online retailer.

As such, other countries are finding inspiration from China and are trying to replicate some of these functionalities. It provides a model on how social commerce will evolve in the future.


 China is more advanced when it comes to social commerce © Royalty-free image


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