Social media is widespread across the globe. It touches nearly every aspect of our lives. However, one crucial aspect of social media is lacking in the Western world: social commerce.
It’s a $360 billion market in Asia. And a fraction of that in the United States.
Entrepreneurs and marketers are looking to capitalize on people loving their products and sharing them with their friends.
That may be a surprise to some, as many of the top social media companies in the world started in Silicon Valley.
While social commerce is still in its infant stages in the United States, it’s projected to be one of the fastest-growing trends of the 2020s.
“We’re paving the way for people to curate, monetize, and share their favorite products like never before,” says Groupshop CEO and Founder Maddy Sukoru.
Let’s explore some of the reasons why social commerce is likely to take the e-commerce world by storm over the next decade.
Advertising Is Broken
Recent privacy ‘wars’ have reduced advertising effectiveness. Many brands were built on the power of advertising on social media, but with tightening privacy updates, brands are seeking alternative customer acquisition channels.
“You start thinking about how much we pay social media platforms to bring in customers who may not be related to each other… if I do group shopping and get people to bring their friends in, I will probably see a great lifetime value,” said e-commerce entrepreneur Jason Wong, from Doe Lashes.
Entrepreneurs and marketers are looking to capitalize on people loving their products and sharing them with their friends.
We Trust Our Friends
In a case study we published with Impulse, a market research startup, a few numbers shed light into how much our friends inform our purchase decisions.
● 83% of people share their favorite brands with friends
● 53% send photos of clothes they want to their friends before they buy
● 88% trust friends recommendations more than influencers
● 85% of people would share a brand with friends
● 60% of people have bought from an affiliate link
Shopping has always been a social experience, but it’s no longer contained to malls and shopping centers. We look to our friends for what’s hot, what’s not, and everything in-between.
The Best Products Win
While sophisticated social media platforms somewhat account for customer happiness, they’re effectively incentivized to maximize revenue through advertising.
The stakes are arguably higher for individuals who are recommending products to family, friends, and digital friends. Talking politics will be the least of your problems at Thanksgiving dinner if you’ve recommended a product to your sister-in-law that broke at the worst possible time.
With our reputations on the line, we’re more likely to share the best products – the ones we can’t live without – to our circle.
This incentivizes entrepreneurs and founders to invest more in the quality of their products and customer experience than in marketing, given their customers are their marketing engine.
The next ten years of e-commerce will be shaped by word of mouth and social commerce. If you’re interested in learning more about the future of e-commerce.
Written by Paul Burke, Director of Business Operations, Groupshop
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