How Social Commerce is Shaping the Future of Shopping & How You Can Leverage It
E-commerce has dramatically changed the shopping landscape worldwide. A broad range of product selection, irrespective of location, 24/7 access, and competitive pricing has made it the standard shopping method.
While there was a time when it only augmented offline sales, today it drives the majority of total sales, triumphing over brick-and-mortar stores. It did become the de facto method of shopping. However, with the rise in competition, e-commerce today faces the same challenges as offline stores—too much competition to stand out and attract users.
Social Media: The Catalyst for E-Commerce Growth
Social media and social media marketing have pushed e-commerce even further by becoming the platforms where most people engage. By targeting the right audience, social media has elevated e-commerce to another level, enabling brands to connect more effectively with consumers. This has resulted in significant gains, with most brands scaling down the market and competing for attention.
Social Commerce: The Next Evolution
Just as the number of users on social media platforms is increasing, social commerce has emerged as a powerful new frontier. It integrates the social aspect of online interaction with a seamless shopping experience to create a dynamic environment where brands can engage directly with consumers and drive sales in real-time.
There are no distractions, no redirection to external websites—just one seamless experience in real-time which is performed on the foundation built by social media marketing.
But what exactly is Social commerce and how you as brand can leverage social commerce to drives sales? With insights for our social media markets at Samskriti Business Solutions, let us find out in our blog today!
What is Social Commerce?
Social e-commerce is the process of selling products directly on social media platforms, enhancing the social shopping experience. Customers can discover products and complete their purchases without redirecting to a website or another app.
For instance, when you see a pair of trousers on Instagram with a discount, you can click on it to complete the purchase right within the app. This seamless experience does multiple things at once: it connects the right product to the right audience, facilitates product discovery, and allows for immediate purchases. In the realm of social commerce, the ability to reduce the chances of customers changing their minds is a significant advantage, as it minimizes friction in the shopping experience.
Here are a few benefits of social commerce that our clients at Sanskrit Business Solutions have experienced:
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- Social Commerce simplifies shopping:
Imagine a brand sharing a customer story about a piece of apparel that a customer loves. The brand can directly share the feedback along with a shopping option. By clicking on it, customers can complete their purchase right in the app. When the right product reaches the right audience, everything can happen in just a minute. Social commerce recognizes the power of social platforms and enables sales with a breeze. - Highly targeted audience: Building strong connections with the right audience is only possible through targeted marketing. Thanks to the wealth of analytics provided by social media platforms, brands can engage and educate their target audiences effectively. While traditional social media marketing helps reach the right users, social commerce drives purchases directly.
- Social commerce is the next shopping evolution:Today’s millennials and Gen-Z consumers predominantly shop on social media, making it the primary channel for product discovery. Gen-Z, in particular, is a demographic that brands can easily target through social commerce. It’s only a matter of time before social commerce becomes the primary shopping method, and brands must be poised to leverage it for success.
- Social Commerce simplifies shopping:
That said, social commerce isn’t a straightforward path compared to e-commerce. A strong social media strategy combined with a solid social marketing foundation is essential for a successful social commerce strategy. The seamless experience created by social commerce results from utilizing the right analytics, shopping insights, and targeting the right audience.
If you aim to leverage social commerce to increase sales, you need to build a strong social media marketing foundation first. This foundation should then support a robust social commerce strategy to maximize your sales potential. As a leading social media company in Hyderabad, we have helped numerous brands harness the power of social commerce to drive their sales, and we can help you too. Feel free to reach out to us here @Call +91 40 2340 2060 / 2061