Social media is no longer a mere platform for networking. Today, it is redefining online selling with its advanced capabilities. A report by Statista anticipates that global sales made through social media platforms will total 3 trillion by the year 2026. If you’ve never heard of social commerce, it is the practice of selling goods directly through social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. With social commerce, the whole purchasing process, from researching about products to making the purchase, takes place on social media.
Today social commerce is so relevant that you don’t have an escape from it. Whenever you open Instagram, you get that reel or story highlighting a product based on your search history. Social commerce combines marketing and retail channels into a single dynamic world since consumers discover and purchase things in the same medium. Social commerce allows you to put certain, ready-to-buy things in front of selected individuals who would enjoy them in a manner that traditional eCommerce and marketing cannot.
Nearly 26% of internet users between the age group of 16 to 64 said that their primary motivation for accessing social media was to find things they could buy. Social commerce is creating a radical shift in how customers experience purchasing. For instance, if you are selling a skin care product, an influencer can take them through their skin care routine to promote your products, which enhances the credibility of your product. Also, the product can then be purchased by customers directly on the platform, whether it be YouTube Shopping, Instagram, or TikTok. Fashion enthusiasts no longer need to wait for the most recent edition of a magazine to find out what is trending during a specific season; all the information is readily available on social media.
Brands can get inspired by companies currently utilizing social media channels to expand their ecommerce storefront to social media to increase sales. In this post, we’ll provide you with four brilliant instances of social commerce that you can refer to for building an effective social commerce strategy.
H&M
Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) was established in Sweden in 1947, and Nasdaq Stockholm serves as its corporate headquarters. The goal of this fast fashion retailer is to provide style and quality at competitive prices in a sustainable manner. H&M was one of the first clothing companies to invest in bridging the gap between social media and online purchasing. The brand’s social commerce strategy uses various social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram to promote its products.
On Twitter, they share the most current products in their store and provide a link to purchase them online. The company now links to the items featured in each post and promotes its newest fashions on the mobile app via Instagram shopping. According to Shuli Lowy, Marketing Director at Ping Mobile in New York, “H&M’s posts are part of a broader re-engagement strategy.” The images are clean, visually beautiful, and speak directly to the target audience.
Mallows Beauty
Mallows Beauty is a skincare company launched in 2020. They saw immense growth over a span of a short period using TikTok. It started off with social-first content to promote brand awareness. However, it has further benefited from new social commerce capabilities in recent months. In particular, TikTok’s relationship with Shopify and its live shopping feature has allowed businesses to leverage existing product catalogs to build a mini storefront on TikTok.
Mallows Beauty, a D2C skincare company, uses Live stream shopping to market to customers. The company claims that live streaming generates more revenue than its physical storefronts. Since its inception in 2020, the company has embraced social media to engage and grow its audience with genuine content.
Air Jordan
Michael Jordan, a basketball legend, founded the Air Jordan shoe brand in 1985. It is a branch of the well-known shoe company NIKE. Since its creation, Air Jordan has expanded beyond its original purpose as a basketball sneaker to serve various purposes. It now has endorsement deals with 21 active NBA players that wear AIR Jordan. NIKE’s social commerce game is top-notch as it delivers products dedicated to a specific target segment. Nike used Snapchat to promote its Air Jordan sneakers during the NBA All-Star game. All customers within a certain radius of the court received texts offering them the option to participate in a unique launch deal. Snapchat uses augmented reality to provide the best customer experience to its clients.
With its social commerce strategy, Jordan generated enthusiasm among fans during the NBA event, and pre-release merchandise was rapidly sold out. Social media and retail have been used to increase interest in the sale and foster their dedicated community. The clients’ purchasing experience of the shoes becomes smooth.
Clinique
A division of the Estée Lauder Company in the United States, Clinique Laboratories produces skincare, cosmetics, toiletries, and perfumes. It is one of the most well-known businesses to embrace online purchasing on the Facebook ecosystem. They established a vibrant and engaging online storefront across various social media platforms. With its Facebook shop and shoppable Instagram posts, it promotes sales using product tags and captivating pictures. Clinique launched a live shopping event to promote an Instagram-exclusive set incorporating their iconic Almost Lipstick in Black Honey.
At the event, three Clinique Field Executives spoke on camera to discuss what they liked most about Black Honey, and each person applied the shade for viewers to observe how the item appeared on various skin tones. The product link was displayed on the screen so that users could later add it to their Instagram shopping baskets and make a purchase. According to Instagram, Clinique had a 7X quicker product launch activation time over the typical new launch activation period of 3 weeks.
Although social commerce is still in its inception stage, shopping is moving closer to the edge, and the momentum we saw is just the beginning. People are going crazy for the conformable user interface that social media provides. Businesses now are leveraging the endless potential of social media to give the brand more visibility. The sooner businesses embrace this trend, the more they stand to gain from it.
