Almost half of American consumers have bought something on social media this year, a new survey has found, as tech companies push for people to buy and sell products on their platforms.
A survey of 1,000 people based in the US, conducted in October by influencer-marketing firm the Influencer Marketing Factory, found that 43.4% of them had bought at least one product on social-media platforms in 2023.
YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok are among those pushing shopping and they continue investing in tools that simplify the process and encourage users to make purchases directly on their apps.
The latter’s TikTok Shop has found success, driving some small businesses to capitalize on the offering and making millions of dollars by sending products on the platform, as well as allowing creators to earn hefty commissions and rewards when they promote TikTok Shop products in their videos.
“Shoppable short-form video is on fire,” Bridget Dolan, YouTube’s top shopping exec, said at a recent panel in Los Angeles about creators and online shopping.
While the Influencer Marketing Factory’s report identified that many consumers still don’t trust social-media platforms with their data, that behavior might slowly be shifting.
Research from Insider Intelligence estimates social shopping in the US will grow from $67 billion in 2023 to $101 billion in 2025. In China, TikTok’s counterpart Douyin is expected to drive $334 billion in sales in 2023.
Here are 5 key takeaways from the Influencer Marketing Factory’s report.
Concerns about data and a lack of trust in platforms are the biggest reasons people didn’t buy
When respondents who didn’t make purchases were asked why, 30% said they “don’t trust social media when it comes to purchasing something,” while 22% said they “don’t want to share personal information.”
The findings show a stark generational divide: most respondents aged 18 to 44 said they had purchased a product directly on social media, while the overwhelming majority of users aged over 54 said they hadn’t.
Beauty products and clothes are the most popular items bought on social media
Over 25% of the respondents who did buy products on social media said they bought apparel on social media, while 19% purchased beauty products. The third most popular purchase was home products, which 13.5% said they had bought.
Speaking to Business Insider in June, Patrick Nommensen, TikTok UK’s general manager of e-commerce, said fashion and beauty were the most successful categories on TikTok Shop, with others like home and living, electronics, jewellery, and collectibles gaining ground.
Over a third of those who bought on social media spent more than $100
A total of 35% of those who bought something said they’d spent more than $100. Only 12.5% spent less than $20, while 20% spent between $20 and $50, and 32% spent between $50 and $100.
Almost 10% of those who bought something on social media did so weekly. “I believe this figure will rise rapidly due to substantial investments in social commerce by social-media platforms,” Alessandro Bogliari, CEO of the Influencer Marketing Factory, told BI.
Free shipping, discounts, and new products were the most popular reasons for buying on social media
When asked why they buy products on social media, 21.7% of respondents cited free shipping, while 20.4% cited discounts or limited-time offers, and 20% mentioned that they had not seen the products they bought before.
This discovery aspect is a big focus for social platforms.
TikTok execs often point to the hashtag #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt, as a sign of platform’s success in introducing users to new products. The hashtag had almost 79 billion views as of November 24.
Facebook is the best platform for social commerce and checkout experience, according to consumers
The report asked respondents to rank platforms in terms of the ease of the purchasing and discovery process, as well as the checkout experience. On both counts, Facebook came first, followed by Instagram in second, TikTok in third, and Pinterest in fourth.
The findings echo a recent survey from influencer-marketing platform Traackr, which also found that Facebook was the respondents’ preferred platform to shop.
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