Why should you care about social commerce?

Why should you care about social commerce?

Why indeed! What even is social commerce you may ask? Social commerce is an amalgamation of social media networks and ecommerce. Social commerce is the facilitation of online retail through platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Have you ever noticed the Facebook markets? Or the Instagram shoppable feed? Or even the Twitter sponsored posts? These are all types of social commerce and are becoming hugely popular across practically every social media platform.

Social commerce allows us to make online purchases through social networking sites. Social media networks provide API’s and processes that allow businesses to sell their products through their platforms. Some businesses such as eBay even work in conjunction and partner with social media sites for mutual benefit. This type of commerce has really kicked off in the last 5 years and continues to gain traction and popularity.

Examples of social commerce include the Pinterest buyable pins, the Facebook daily deals in partnership with eBay, and the Shopify integration with Instagram. This type of commerce is fantastic for both businesses and consumers for a myriad of reasons. Firstly, businesses benefit from increased exposure and can sell their products to a much wider audience. Secondly, customers can enjoy a streamlined shopping experience through their favourite social media platforms – everybody is a winner! As time progresses, we should see an increase In the use of social commerce as more social media platforms follow suit.