A person on a mobile device. U.S. social commerce sales are projected to total $82.82 billion this year, according to EMarketer.
iStock Photo/ Inside Creative House
By Tatiana Walk-Morris
Source: www.retaildive.com, August 2024

Instagram and Facebook are forecast to be the most popular platforms for gift purchases during the season.

Dive Brief:

  • Amid a rise in mobile shopping, Gen Z shoppers are more likely to buy their holiday presents directly from social media platforms this year compared to other age groups, according to an EMarketer report based on Basis Technologies and GWI research.
  • While 42% of Gen Z shoppers said they’re likely to buy gifts via social media, only 26% of millennials, 15% of Gen Xers and 6% of baby boomers said the same, a survey of 2,000 U.S. consumers found.
  • While 57% of respondents said they would buy holiday gifts via Instagram, Facebook came in a close second at 56%, followed by TikTok (43%) and YouTube (38%).

Dive Insight:

Gen Z has been buying items via social media for some time now, according to various research. A Shopify and Gallup survey last year found that 48% of Gen Z shoppers had planned to purchase some of their holiday goods via social media platforms. In July, a survey from Walmart and Morning Consult found that 55% of Gen Z consumers have bought items online while browsing social media in the past six months.

As Gen Z leads the charge on social commerce, mobile shopping is on the rise overall. Between January and July, consumers drove a 10.2% jump year over year in shopping via mobile devices to $280.4 billion, an Adobe Analytics report found. Mobile sales made up nearly half (47.7%) of all online sales.

EMarketer forecasts that U.S. social commerce sales will total $82.82 billion this year, making up 6.6% of total e-commerce sales.

Seeking to tap into the social commerce market, TikTok Shop debuted in the U.S. last September. The e-commerce hub allows businesses to make customized product collections on their profile pages and let customers manage orders and see product recommendations within the Shop tab.

Meanwhile, Shopify and YouTube recently expanded their partnership as part of YouTube’s ongoing investment in social commerce.