While less than half of consumers go to social media for products or brand discovery, over a third end up discovering new products or brands on social media. Brands must tap into consumers’ social commerce preferences to provide an effective and enjoyable experience. This social commerce market report covers the US region, providing data-backed analysis and insights to propel your social commerce strategy.
Report Scope
Social commerce refers to consumers shopping via social media. While there is a main focus on purchase via social media, social commerce can also include the discovery and research phases of the consumer journey.
Core Topics Analyzed
- Participation on social media and purchases made on these platforms.
- Behaviors on social media platforms.
- Motivations and barriers to shopping via social media.
- Attitudes toward social commerce.
- Consumer attitudes and behaviors toward livestreaming.
- Market changes and demographics driving social commerce sales.
US Social Commerce Market Overview
US Consumers are highly active on their smartphones. Using their smartphones for entertainment and shopping, mobile purchases will account for a strong portion of eCommerce sales in 2024 and will continue to grow. As this growth continues, so will social commerce, albeit slowly, and younger generations will be central.
Social Commerce Market Insights
Below, we’ve provided hand-selected insights from this report.
Consumer purchase participation
Purchasing on social media remains consistent year on year, as consumers experiment slightly more than last year. While consumers are incorporating social media into their purchase journeys, they are only doing this slowly. With participation remaining steady, brands should continue to educate consumers on the availability of social commerce options and showcase its value to promote growth.
Role of social media in the shopping journey
Purchasing items is not the only part of social commerce. Consumers will also rely on their social feeds to learn about products and services from other contributors. Reviews are a key part of showcasing brand achievements and can be leveraged across key segments (e.g. parents, college students) to further increase brand engagement. Social media will remain an important part of brand/product discovery.
Barriers to shopping on social media
Payment security continues to be a top concern among social shoppers. Consumers are more wary of who they share their payment information with, as data breaches occur. Both brands and platforms must communicate the security and safety measures in place to reassure potential shoppers and encourage participation.
Buy the full report for a comprehensive look into the US social commerce industry, with statistics and accompanying analysis. Readers may also be interested in Mintel’s mobile retailing 2024 market report.
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Expert Analysis
Leading retail and eCommerce analyst Katie Hansen delivers expert industry insights with this in-depth report.
Social commerce is a key aspect of the ecommerce ecosystem. Its impact will only grow as time spent on mobile devices increases and younger generations expand.
Katie Hansen
Senior Analyst, Retail & eCommerce
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Executive Summary
- What you need to know
- Consumer trends: key takeaways
- Market predictions
- Opportunities
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Consumer Insights
- Consumer fast facts
- Consumer fast facts (cont.)
- Purchase participation
- Overall, interest and purchasing on social remains consistent year over year as consumers slowly experiment with doing so
- Younger consumers drive social commerce growth
- Graph 1: social media purchase participation, by gender and generation, 2024
- Let Gen X know they’re not forgotten on social media
- Hispanic consumers provide opportunity to drive engagement and purchases on social media
- Graph 2: social media purchase participation, by race and Hispanic ethnicity, 2024
- Platforms consumers shop on
- Marketplace gives Facebook an edge, followed by Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest
- Graph 3: social media platforms shopped, 2024
- TikTok and Instagram can connect with consumers across generations and gender
- Graph 4: social media platforms shopped – TikTok, by gender and generation, 2024
- Graph 5: social media platforms shopped – Instagram, by gender and generation, 2024
- Pinterest remains ripe with opportunity for social commerce options
- Graph 6: social media platforms shopped – Pinterest, by gender and generation, 2024
- Pinterest leads with inspiration
- Role of social media in the shopping journey
- Social media extends its assistance beyond purchasing products
- Graph 7: social media attitudes and behaviors, 2024
- Younger consumers seek out an elevated, tech-forward social commerce journey
- Graph 8: social media attitudes and behaviors, by gender and age, 2024
- Brands should incorporate tech, but not forget about the need for human connection
- Social media remains a source of discovery for consumers
- Graph 9: impact of social media on shopping behavior, 2024
- Social media can have the most impact on younger generations’ shopping journeys
- Discovery is big for women; younger males look for ads and rewards
- Graph 10: impact of social media on shopping behavior, by gender and generation, 2024
- TikTok, Pinterest and Instagram are set up for the discovery process
- Graph 11: impact of social media on shopping behavior, by platform use, 2024
- Motivations to shop on social
- Social media plays a critical role in the research process
- Graph 12: attitudes toward shopping on social media, motivations, 2024
- Discovery on social media isn’t always intentional
- Graph 13: attitudes toward shopping on social media, motivations, 2024
- Younger consumers look to social media as a resource to guide their shopping journey
- Pinterest leverages filters on its platform to help consumers narrow down products best suited for them
- Le Creuset takes to TikTok to spread the word on new products and how to use them
- Pricing, trust and saving time drive social media purchases
- Graph 14: motivations to shop on social media, 2024
- Leverage LTOs to connect with women across generations
- Graph 15: motivations to shop on social media, by gender and generation, 2024
- Bombas promotes discount offer with shoppable post
- Spotlight younger consumers and leverage exclusive products to drive interest in social commerce
- Recommendations will go a long way with Hispanic consumers
- Graph 16: motivations to shop on social media, by race and Hispanic ethnicity, 2024
- Brands need to emphasize reviews, security and transparency on their social pages to encourage consumers to shop
- Graph 17: reasons to shop on social media – I would…, 2024
- Brands have opportunities to drive engagement via social commerce with both men and women
- Younger women are seeking transparency; younger men are looking for human connection
- Graph 18: reasons to shop on social media, by gender and generation – I would…, 2024
- Barriers to shop on social
- Barriers related to security, confidence and familiarity prevent consumers across generations from shopping on social media
- Graph 19: barriers to shopping on social media, by age and gender, 2024
- Barriers are universal across platform users
- Graph 20: barriers to shopping on social media, by select platform usage, 2024
- Attitudes toward social commerce
- Social media can be a place for planned purchases, and a catalyst for impulse buys
- Graph 21: attitudes toward shopping on social media, impulse purchases, 2024
- Women are more likely to drive impulse purchases on social channels
- Graph 22: attitudes toward shopping on social media, impulse purchases, by generation and gender, 2024
- Consumers are split on using social media to access customer service
- Graph 23: attitudes toward shopping on social media, customer service, 2024
- Customer service on social can be effective in supporting younger shoppers
- Graph 24: attitudes toward shopping on social media, customer service, by generation and gender, 2024
- A look at livestreaming
- Livestreaming participation is on the rise
- Brands and consumers continue to experiment with livestreaming
- Graph 25: livestreaming participation, 2024
- Interest in livestreaming spans across most generations, aside from Boomers; early-adopting Gen Z males lead the charge
- Graph 26: livestream participation, by gender and generation, 2024
- While livestream participation is up, purchasing remains the same
- Graph 27: purchasing via livestreaming, 2024
- Younger men are taking to purchasing via livestreaming
- Graph 28: purchasing via livestreaming, by gender and age, 2024
- Asian consumers also drive livestream purchases
- Graph 29: purchasing via livestreaming, by race and Hispanic ethnicity, 2024
- Show consumers the money!
- Graph 30: motivations to participate in livestreaming, 2024
- Inspiration and engagement with others are additional opportunities to encourage younger consumers to join livestreams
- Graph 31: motivations to participate in livestreaming, by gender and generation, 2024
- Leveraging livestreams to further engage with consumers
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Competitive Strategies
- Competitive strategies and market opportunities
- Not all platforms have the same offerings, nor perceptions; as such, brands must be strategic in the types of content created for each
- Graph 32: social media platform attributes, 2024
- Overview of what’s happening with shopping features across social platforms
- TikTok expands features to reach more brands and consumers
- Let’s talk (TikTok) Shop
- Pinterest looks to partnerships to expand its reach
- Pinterest’s partnership with Tastemade
- YouTube launches Shopping Collections
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The Market
- Market context
- Market drivers
- Social media sales will support overall mobile retail growth
- In spite of stubborn inflation, consumers remain optimistic about the future
- Consumer prices rose by 3.5% in March, an uptick from February
- Graph 33: headline CPI, shelter CPI, and Zillow Rent Index, 2022-24
- Consumers are the most upbeat they have been in nearly three years
- Graph 34: consumer sentiment index, 2021-24
- Growing younger demographics will propel social commerce
- Mintel’s perspective: what a TikTok ban (or sale) could mean for marketers
- Mintel’s perspective: what a TikTok ban (or sale) could mean for marketers (cont.)
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Appendix
- Market definition
- Consumer research methodology
- Generations
- Abbreviations and terms
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