In case you haven’t noticed already, the social commerce takeover is here. Shopping has never been so social, with 28% of social media users saying they use the likes of Instagram and Facebook for inspiration for things to buy. But like any burgeoning concept, the definition of social commerce is still somewhat vague, allowing for anything remotely related to social commerce to be included. But what does social commerce really mean? Is your brand prepared for the new age of consumerism? It’s important to assess your brand’s flexibility as the digital marketplace continues to shift.

Preparing for the social commerce takeover starts with great social commerce strategies!

Defining Social Commerce

Generally speaking, social commerce can refer to the many ways in which brands get consumers to shop their products through social media, with successful purchases linking consumers from the social media platform they’re scrolling on to a standalone e-commerce site. However, it’s becoming more common for brands to complete sales all in one place at the initial “point of purchase:” on that consumer’s social media platform of choice, thus creating a more specific social commerce. This is a huge advantage for brands and their social commerce strategies, especially as social commerce sales are expect to hit more than $53 billion this year, only to experience double digit growth in the next three years!

Strategies to win over consumers during the social commerce takeover are vast and varied, but there are key trends in social commerce strategies that are important to keep in mind.

Today’s Successes

The strategies working best currently are those that appeal to a more connected consumer psychology — personalization and identification are key. Consumers want to feel listened to and, more importantly, want to have their questions answered. Staying transparent is a strategy and there are easy ways to give this transparency, from utilizing user-generated content to maintaining conversational commerce, whether that be with a live agent answering chats or AI chatbots troubleshooting with a consumer for a quick answer.

These strategies and integrations are already well-popularized among brands, but strategizing for the social shopper can go even deeper. Shopping on social media is usually a more impulsive experience for a shopper and listing higher-priced items first doesn’t necessarily allow for this impulse to take hold. Lower-priced items being featured first for shoppers to access more easily, however, encourages the shopper to take advantage of how quickly they can get a bargain just from scrolling social media.

A Future Full of Possibilities

The future is frictionless…well, not totally, but at least the shopping experience could be! The seamless shopping experience is the next frontier as we continue to see social commerce and in-app purchasing thrive. There are already integrations being made, like Shopify’s Pinterest integration, allowing for Pins to be immediately shoppable instead of redirecting to an e-commerce site off of Pinterest. AI and AR integrations also continue to be on the rise with brands as the conversational and immersive experiences prove to be popular with consumers. Ideally, a frictionless or seamless shopping experience will take advantage of these integrations to give consumers everything they would experience in store, all in the palm of their hands — easy access to product knowledge, simple navigation, and no need to go from app to browser and back again.

What do you think? What strategies are working for your brand now and what strategies do you plan to implement in the future? We’re always looking for more ideas on navigating the social commerce takeover, so let us know!

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