Shopper Experience
08 June 2022
Social commerce has shoppers' attention, but brands must build trust
A report from Mintel offers data on the reality and opportunity of shopping on social media.

(Illustration by The Current)
A report from Mintel offers data on the reality and opportunity of shopping on social media.
(Illustration by The Current)
Social media gained a key role in ecommerce as an engine to discover new products. Increasingly, platforms want to become places where purchases are made, too.
A series of moves being made by social media companies are setting the stage for an expansion of social commerce. The first quarter brought a flurry of announcements about how the platforms where trends are made are becoming more shoppable, and they're continuing into the summer. Consider these announcements from the last week:
The attention and capital being put toward these efforts speaks to the growing consumer interest in social commerce. As with any emerging behavioral trend, however, it’s necessary to take a step back and consider how much progress is really being made toward widespread adoption, and the factors beyond platform features that could help it grow.
With a recent report, market research firm Mintel is putting data behind these considerations. Here’s a look at three takeaways that outline the state of social commerce at a time of rapid expansion, according to the firm:
While many new capabilities are coming in the near future, there’s evidence that social commerce already has momentum. According to Mintel, 39% of US consumer said they made a purchase on social media and would do so again. The adoption rate is even higher in the age range of 25-34-year-olds, of which 61% shop on social media.
As the platform plans indicate, there are also ample opportunity to increase that number within view.
Social commerce is often dependent on interfacing directly with brands on social media, and 90% of users are aware that these pages and accounts exist.
Of those users, one in 10 say they avoid brand pages on social media – a low number, given that a direct tie-in with a brand overtly seeking to market products may have been considered a turnoff in other eras of media.
Factor in how platforms like TikTok and YouTube are using video to make content from influencers and users shoppable, and there’s even more potential to create opportunities for engagement that don’t require navigating directly to a brand page.
Digital adoption often requires reaching a point of trust with users, especially when it comes to purchase and delivery of items. According to Mintel, current barriers include security and shipping:
This offers a message for brands and platforms: Alongside new technology and great shopper experience, education about social commerce processes are necessary.
"As with any new concept, consumers still need a fair amount of education and reassurance on the process, as they are concerned that their data might not be secure and/or that they'll never receive the item they purchase,” said Katie Hansen, retail and ecommerce analyst at Mintel, in commentary issued with the report. “Brands will need to demonstrate to consumers how shopping on social media is quite similar to shopping via a website or mobile app and how, in fact, social commerce can even further streamline the process.”
Inspiring a purchase goes beyond getting the attention necessary for a like or share. This means brands must also forge a connection with users. One important step toward doing so is to ensure that users see themselves reflected on social media. That means reflecting the diversity of audiences present on these platforms, Hansen said.
Change can take time. Ecommerce grew steadily over 20 years as platforms like Amazon and Shopify built, with rapid acceleration in the last two years.
When judging the adoption curve of this area, consider that many of the tools for social commerce are just being put in place now. The factor that will push them into wide use may have yet to arrive.
When it comes to decisions about investing time and energy toward social commerce, it’s also worth remembering that shopping is likely to take place across multiple channels. Shoppers want options to buy an item easily and have it delivered to them wherever they are. Social platforms are where many potential customers are gathering, so they stand to be a viable option for shoppers. Yet it's worth pointing out that this is one of a growing number of choices consumers have about where to shop. They're also seeking out ecommerce marketplaces, Shopify sites, delivery services and brick-and-mortar stores, as well. And all of those channels are making digital upgrades to work together more seamlessly, as well.
“As with the adoption of online shopping, it will take time for consumers to become comfortable purchasing items via social media, and even more time for them to do so on any kind of regular basis, but the category will see a boost as a result of increasing engagement from younger consumers as they grow into adulthood and earn more money,” Hansen said. “That said, social commerce will in no way replace traditional ecommerce or in-store shopping, but it will become a key part of their shopping repertoire.”
A new AI Sandbox is the testing ground for generative features that could be soon rolling out to Facebook and Instagram ads.
Meta is bringing advancements in AI to its advertising tools, as the Facebook and Instagram owner seeks to improve performances for brands.
With AI advancing rapidly, the company is seeking to harness generative capabilities for social media advertising that has been an engine of ecommerce over the last decade.
Here’s a look at a series of new tools that Meta rolled out this week:
Meta rolled out a “testing playground” for new AI features. The idea is to provide space to learn what works, and create tools that are easy to use. The work is beginning with a small group of advertisers, and will roll out more widely in July. Some features may roll out more widely later this year, according to the company.
Initially, Meta is testing the following capabilities in the sandbox:
Text variation: This generates multiple versions of text, allowing advertisers to test different messages.
Background generation: This creates background images from text inputs, allowing rapid testing.
Image outcropping: Creative assets can be adjusted for different aspect ratios across Stories, Reels and other formats.
Advantage is Meta’s suite of automation and personalization tools for advertising. This week, it rolled out a series of features that are focused on expanding AI within this product set. These include:
Advantage+ audience: This product will provide a new way to reach people. Here’s how Meta describes it:
"Instead of using an advertiser’s audience targeting inputs as hard constraints, such as Men, 18-35 years, who like baseball, advertisers who use Advantage+ audience will add their audience inputs as suggestions to guide who sees an ad,” Meta writes. “This allows our ad system to find more people outside of those suggestions if we think they will be interested and likely to convert.”
Those "hard constraints" have long been key to Meta's targeting tools. The new product signals that their reach could extend. While intriguing, keep in mind that this is still in pilot mode, so it won't bring a paradigm shift just yet. The tool is currently in testing with a select group.
One-click Advantage+: Businesses will be able to switch from manual campaigns to AI-powered Advantage+ shopping campaigns with one click by clicking “duplicate” on a campaign in Ads Manager. The feature will roll out gradually within the next month.
Video creative: Advertisers will now be able to add video creative to catalog ads, which promote a variety of products. This includes the ability to upload brand creative or customer demos. Meta will then apply AI to show the “best” video to people Feed, Stories, Watch and Reels.
Performance comparisons: A new automatic report will allow a comparison between manual campaigns and Advantage+ shopping campaigns. This will enable a better understanding of how AI has a positive impact on performance.