Consumers spent $992 billion in 2020 on social media commerce, and that number is expected to reach $2.9 trillion by 2026. Of those buying through platforms like Instagram and Facebook, 55% were between 18-24. Commerce leaders looking to provide a more convenient shopping experience must keep their audience in mind, adapting their strategies to meet the demographics and preferences of their best customers. Each technology and trend they implement should streamline the path to purchase on whatever channels consumers are shopping.. And do it in a way that speaks to the digital natives who are entering the market.
Creating a seamless social commerce experience
Brands that haven't invested in the right tools often offer a disjointed social commerce experience. They rely on old methods where consumers see and click on an ad. Then they're taken to a site. They look for reviews in multiple channels — and if by chance they add the item to their cart — they may experience a drawn-out checkout. None of this is dynamic, user-friendly, or memorable. And it often leads to cart abandonment.
Social commerce is an ecosystem — one where brands, consumers, creators, brand advocates, and influencers are all connected. Retailers who view social commerce as an opportunity to convert shoppers at their highest moment of intent will repeat the benefits in their bottom line. Since 64% of digital buyers discover brands and/or products via social media, and 11% buy what they see right at that moment, social commerce allows brands to provide instant gratification to their customers, streamlining the path to purchase.
Some of the first steps you can take to boost your social commerce strategy are:
Increase tech integrations: A lot of your digital capabilities depend on your integrations. Your tech needs to work together to create a seamless experience. Today's platforms can connect, interact, and enhance each other. Whether you're embedding social media onto your website or importing products into your social channels — increased integrations drive a better, more engaging journey.
Add a catalog and enable in-app transactions: The clunky checkout process has been the source of many abandoned carts. Today's buyers want speed and convenience. And by enabling social media in-app transactions, you're providing a frictionless checkout. A good way to boost your social commerce is using something like Instagram or Facebook's catalog. Add all the products you want to promote or sell. Use the catalog to store product info, prices, descriptions, inventory, and more.
Add shopping tags with product information: According to Instagram, nearly half of people say they use Instagram to shop weekly. Users can select tags that have been added to posts to find out more about products and make it easier to navigate to your website and buy the products they see in their feeds. You can tag up to five items in an image or in-feed video post or up to 20 when using the carousel feature. You can also expand the number of products you tag by adding them to Reels, Stories, Captions, Bios, and Live Video — and using each feature creatively and engagingly.
Leveraging conversational commerce
Conversational commerce is another part of social commerce. It's leveraging conversational interactions between a brand and the consumer using chat, chatbots, and SMS. The more personalized the conversation, the better.
When consumers know they can enjoy relevant and personalized conversations on your company's dedicated website, they'll begin to choose that over social media, bringing your audience back to your home turf. And that's where an AI-powered chatbot makes all the difference.
Any AI conversations should use technology like natural language processing. Not only does this add intuitive abilities to meet customer expectations, but it also allows your chatbot to answer their questions in a relevant and intelligent way.