E-commerce has changed the way we shop, making it easier and more convenient. But now there’s a new trend called social commerce. This is where online shopping and social media mix together. Brands are using social media in creative ways to connect with people, engage with them, and boost their sales like never before.
The Rise of Social Commerce
Social commerce is when businesses sell products directly on social media. With people spending more time on these platforms, brands are taking advantage of this by creating engaging and personalized shopping experiences. This approach has made brands more visible and has opened up new ways to make money and connect with customers in ways that weren’t possible before.
The Numbers Speak for Themselves
The huge growth of social commerce is backed by impressive numbers. A Deloitte Global report says the social commerce market is expected to reach over $1 trillion worldwide by the end of 2024, making up 4.3% of all online retail sales. In 2022 alone, people spent $37 billion on goods and services through social commerce.
But there’s a surprising issue: social commerce revenue is underreported by 245%. This happens because brands often have broken shopping experiences, missing out on potential sales. As brands improve their social commerce strategies, they have a big chance to boost their success.
What is Social Commerce?
Social commerce is all about combining online shopping with social media. It lets brands sell products directly through social media platforms, where people spend a lot of their time. This new approach goes beyond just marketing on social media, helping businesses connect with customers in more interactive and personal ways.
As email and SMS marketing become less effective, with lower open and click rates than ever, social commerce and chat communities are becoming strong alternatives. These new methods provide engaging experiences that appeal to today’s consumers.
7 Viral Examples of Social Commerce From Winning Brands
Brands across diverse industries have embraced social commerce, leveraging its potential to connect with their audiences in unique and captivating ways. Let's explore seven viral examples that showcase the power of social commerce and the strategies employed by these winning brands.
1. Glossier: The Beauty Brand for the Generation
Glossier, hailed as the "Beauty Brand for the Generation" by Forbes, has amassed an impressive following of over 2.7 million Instagram followers. Their success lies in their deep understanding of their target audience and their ability to leverage internet culture to sell their products through their Instagram Shop.
Glossier masterfully creates hype around new store openings, skincare line launches, and shares user-generated content (UGC) to build trust and credibility. One of their most innovative initiatives was the launch of a filter that allows users to virtually try on their lipsticks, enabling them to find the perfect shade effortlessly.
2. Nike: Inspiring a Healthier Lifestyle
Nike's social commerce strategy is multifaceted and tailored to different audience segments. With multiple social media accounts targeting diverse demographics, their posts are highly engaging and resonate with their community. By riding social media trends, collaborating with athletes, artists, and celebrities, Nike's reach and social commerce prowess are truly remarkable.
Nike's posts are designed to motivate people to embrace a healthier and more active lifestyle – with their products as the catalyst. In addition to their dedicated shop section, Nike also utilizes shoppable tags on posts, allowing customers to make purchases without leaving the app.
3. Sephora: Unifying the Shopping Experience
Sephora, a wildly popular brand, is constantly striving to unify the shopping experience for both online and in-store customers. Their goal is to bring personalization to every step of their audience's journey as they discover Sephora's products.
Sephora has mastered the art of gamifying browsing and engaging their audience through Snapchat takeovers with beauty influencers and shoppable augmented reality (AR) lenses. These innovative tactics have allowed them to captivate their audience and drive sales.
4. Lush (Pinterest): Educating Through Visual Inspiration
One of the reasons why people love visiting physical skincare and makeup brand stores is the opportunity to learn how to apply and use their products effectively. Lush has taken this experience online by leveraging Pinterest to educate their audience through visually stunning pins.
These pins not only showcase Lush's products but also provide seamless integration with their e-commerce platform, allowing users to add products to their cart without the friction of navigating a complex website.
5. Walmart (TikTok): Embracing Community Commerce
In China, live streaming has become an incredibly successful social commerce strategy for brands. In 2021, the #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt trend took the United States by storm, solidifying community commerce as a raging phenomenon. Users find TikTok videos engaging, authentic, and excellent for discovering and showcasing brands they love.
Walmart has embraced this trend by utilizing TikTok's shoppable product stickers, allowing users to make purchases without ever leaving the app. They have also shared exclusive discounts and promotions through engaging video content and introduced live streams for the first time in the US.
The Walmart x TikTok collaboration serves as an excellent case study for social commerce success. During their campaign, Walmart witnessed a remarkable 7X increase in views and a 25% growth in their follower base.
6. Coach: Luxurious Social Shopping Experiences
Coach has mastered the art of creating a luxurious social shopping experience for their Instagram followers. Their stunning photographs, each accompanied by a shoppable link, invite users to explore their collection and select their favorite shades and materials before being directed to the website to complete their purchase.
Additionally, Coach has curated guides for special occasions like Valentine's Day and Holiday Picks, leveraging Instagram's shop feature to provide a seamless shopping experience.
7. Wayfair (Pinterest): Inspiring Imagination
UK's Pinterest bio reads, "Take the average store, multiply it by a thousand. Then add a zillion options in furniture, lighting, cookware, and everything in between. That's Wayfair." This statement is brought to life through their numerous pins showcasing their entire catalog, curated by special occasions and trending events.
One of Wayfair's standout features is their "Shop the Look" board, which allows viewers to envision how Wayfair's furniture would look in their own homes or spaces, increasing engagement and, ultimately, conversions.
Strategies to Boost Social Commerce Conversions
While there is no one-size-fits-all approach to leveraging social commerce or selling on social media, there are several strategies that brands can employ to reach their audience more effectively and drive them towards making a purchase.
1. Utilize Shoppable Tags and Stickers
Many social media platforms offer shoppable tags and stickers that allow users to make purchases directly from the app. As demonstrated by brands like Coach and Tiffany's, this feature enables brands to simplify the shopping experience for customers and improve conversions.
2. Share User-Generated Content (UGC)
User-generated content is a powerful tool for showcasing products and building trust with followers. It helps customers visualize how a product would fit into their lives, which can be incredibly inspiring and persuasive when shopping online. By featuring UGC on social media channels, brands can showcase their products in real-world settings and provide social proof to potential customers.
3. Collaborate with Influencers
Collaborating with influencers who have a large following can help brands reach new audiences and build credibility. This strategy can be combined with tactics like live streaming, which we will discuss later, to create a potent marketing mix.
4. Leverage Social Listening
Social listening involves monitoring social media channels for mentions of a brand, its products, and competitors. By listening to what people are saying about a brand, businesses can identify what their audience is looking for and share relevant products from their catalog with shoppable or "swipe up" links.
5. Offer Excellent Customer Service Through AI Chatbots
AI chatbots can provide instant assistance to customers, improving their overall experience with a brand. By using AI chatbots to answer common questions and resolve issues, brands can enhance customer satisfaction and increase sales.
6. Build Pre-Launch Hype with Reminders
Reminders can be a powerful tool for building excitement around a new product or service launch. By creating a post or story about the upcoming launch and encouraging users to set a reminder, brands can increase anticipation and ensure that customers are ready to make a purchase as soon as the product becomes available.
7. Embrace Live Streaming
Live streaming has gained significant traction in the US and other countries, following its success in China. It offers a popular way for brands to engage with customers and offer exclusive deals. By hosting a live stream and offering discounts or promotions to viewers, brands can create a sense of urgency and drive sales.
8. Host Giveaways
Giveaways can be an effective way to generate buzz and attract new followers. By offering a prize in exchange for likes, comments, or shares, brands can increase engagement, reach new customers, and facilitate product discovery.
9. Utilize Short form videos
Short form videos is a popular feature that allows users to create short, entertaining videos synchronized with trending audio and music tracks. These videos have the ability to go viral in minutes and garner 22% more interaction on Instagram than other similar short-form video templates.
10. Leverage Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR)
Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) can be powerful tools for showcasing products and providing an immersive experience for customers. By allowing users to virtually try on clothing or see how furniture would look in their homes, brands can increase engagement and improve conversions. It's worth noting that 70% of Snapchatters regularly use AR filters, and 92% of Gen Z consumers want to use augmented reality tools for e-commerce.
Pro Tip: Enable Shopping on the Edges
Regardless of the social media platform used to reach a target audience, social commerce is often hindered by broken shopping experiences. Despite the shoppable features offered by most social channels, two distinct aspects need to be considered:
70% of consumers prefer to buy from brand websites instead of social media.
Most brands direct their audience to their brand websites through links in bio or calls-to-action (CTAs) to product pages.
Either way, the experience consumers are exposed to through social media content differs significantly from what is offered on brand websites, creating a substantial context gap.
Think about the products you see on a brand's social media page and how you seek the same on their website. Often, the look and feel of the product have changed, creating a disconnect between the initial impression and the actual product.
The inability of brands to carry forward the complete context of their social media content into their e-commerce websites results in lower conversion rates from social channels or inaccurate sales attribution.
This is where edge storefronts come into play. Edge storefronts leverage artificial intelligence to bridge the gap between the lifestyle content brands promote on social media and the commerce experience offered on their websites – all without requiring the consumer to leave the platform where they discovered the brand.
This approach offers two significant advantages:
It eliminates the need for brands to drive consumers from one platform to another, optimizing the purchase journey.
It enables brands to reassure consumers that the product they see is the product they will receive.
It helps consumers discover other related products that may be featured alongside the primary product in the content. For example, if a social media post showcases a pair of jeans with a t-shirt, instead of linking to a single item, the edge storefront tailors the landing page to display both products and other related items.
To learn more about e-commerce edge storefronts, please refer to the relevant resources provided.
Conclusion
Social commerce is an untapped opportunity that brands have yet to fully leverage. This is primarily due to each platform having its own set of commerce features, which can change the way brands promote their products. This discrepancy is also the reason why consumers continue to shop from brand websites, leaving the social channels where they initially discovered the brands.
While social commerce is here to stay, brands need to evolve their strategies to capitalize on its full potential. By embracing innovative solutions like edge storefronts and implementing the strategies outlined in this article, brands can unlock new levels of success in the ever-evolving world of social commerce.
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