In 2024, Meta (formerly Facebook Inc) generated over 160 billion U.S. dollars in ad revenues. Advertising accounts for the vast majority of the social network's revenue. Facebook advertising revenue – additional information Facebook’s business model heavily relies on ads, as the majority of social network’s revenue comes from advertising. In 2020, about 97.9 percent of Facebook's global revenue was generated from advertising, whereas only around two percent was generated by payments and other fees revenue. Facebook ad revenue stood at close to 86 billion U.S. dollars in 2020, a new record for the company and a significant increase in comparison to the previous years. For instance, the social network generated almost seven billion U.S. dollars in ad revenue in 2013, about 10 billion less than the 2015 figure. Facebook's average revenue per user also significantly increased in the same time span, going from 6.81 U.S. dollars in 2013 to 32.03 U.S. dollars in 2020. The U.S. and Canada are important markets for Facebook, considering the average revenue per user (ARPU) in these two countries is far above the global average. Facebook’s ARPU in the U.S. and Canada was 41.41 U.S. dollars in the last quarter of 2019, while the global average was 8.52 U.S. dollars. In Europe, Facebook’s average revenue per user was 13.21 U.S. dollars during the same time period. In terms of segments, mobile is the most promising advertising form for the company. In 2018, Facebook’s mobile advertising revenue already accounted for 92 percent of the social network’s total advertising revenue. Facebook’s mobile advertising revenue grew from an estimate of 13 billion U.S. dollars in 2015 to 50.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2018.

In 2023, Google accounted for an estimated 26.8 percent of the total digital advertising revenue generated in the United States and was the largest digital ad publisher in the country. Facebook and Amazon followed, with 21.1 and 12.5 percent, respectively.

Every year billions of dollars are spent on advertising on social media in the United States. In 2022, the amount reached 66 billion U.S. dollars, and included paid advertising on social networks as well as games and applications on social media. By 2025, advertisers are expected to spend over 82 billion dollars on promoting their products on social networks. Facebook commands the lion’s share of these expenditures (more than 80 percent), followed by LinkedIn and Pinterest with four and two percent respectively. Social network advertising – a closer look   Studies show that a little over 90 percent of U.S. companies are and will be using social media for marketing purposes. In 2017, social messaging and video were thought to be the trends of the future in relation to social media advertising and believed to have the biggest effect on marketing strategies. Lo and behold, advertising spending on social video has been growing ever since, and is expected to amount to nearly 15 billion U.S dollars in 2021. Even in this respect, Facebook has the lead, especially when it comes to influencer marketing. In fact, all tiers of influencers - from microinfluencers to celebrities - post the majority of their videos on Facebook. The second choice of platform to share their videos is YouTube, which despite being 'the' video sharing platform is not as popular yet among influencers most probably due to smaller user reach.

In January 2025, the United Kingdom had more than 55.9 million Facebook users. Four years before, in September 2020, the number of Facebook users in the UK stood at 45.85, showing a 21.9 percent growth in audience size in four years. Facebook remains the leading social network Despite a recent history of controversies and user privacy breaches - not least of which being the Cambridge Analytica scandal of 2018 - Facebook has managed to remain the top social network in the UK. As of July 2024, the platform had a 62.8 percent market share, almost six times over that of X, formerly known as Twitter. Besides being the most popular social network across all age groups, Facebook and its subsidiary WhatsApp report the highest use among those aged between 26 and 35 years old. Role in political advertising Facebook has also proved to be a lucrative advertising platform, having generated 22.7 percent of online ad revenue in the UK in 2018. This was forecast to increase to 28 percent in 2021, placing the social network second to Google within the online advertising sector. Unsurprisingly, political groups aiming to capitalize on this reach have taken to large-scale advertising on Facebook. In 2019, 3.31 million euros was spent on targeted political advertising in the UK alone, the second-highest reported figure in Europe.  

In June 2023, Facebook’s market share reached 55 percent in the United Kingdom, this is a slight increase on the previous month. In January 2017, Facebook's web visit share hit an all time high of 87 percent.

Lower market share, higher revenues

While the analysis shows Facebook losing market share in the UK, this doesn’t appear to have significantly hampered their ability to generate revenue. Facebook UK Limited generated approximately 211 million British pounds in revenue during 2015, a figure that increased to over billion British pounds in 2019. The company’s total European revenue amounted to 6.5 billion U.S. dollars as of the first quarter of 2021.

Growth in active users

As well as rising revenues, Facebook has also seen a slow increase in the number of monthly active users (MAUs) across Europe. During the first quarter of 2015 Facebook attracted 307 million MAUs, a figure that would rise to 423 million by the first quarter of 2021. Globally, Facebook had 2.85 billion MAUs in the first quarter of 2021.

According to Cognitive Market Research, the global Social Commerce Market size will be USD 769485.2 million in 2024. It will expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 32.20% from 2024 to 2031.

North America held the major market share for more than 40% of the global revenue with a market size of USD 307794.08 million in 2024 and will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 30.4% from 2024 to 2031.
Europe accounted for a market share of over 30% of the global revenue with a market size of USD 230845.56 million.
Asia Pacific held a market share of around 23% of the global revenue with a market size of USD 176981.60 million in 2024 and will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 34.2% from 2024 to 2031.
Latin America had a market share of more than 5% of the global revenue with a market size of USD 38474.26 million in 2024 and will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 31.6% from 2024 to 2031.
Middle East and Africa had a market share of around 2% of the global revenue and was estimated at a market size of USD 15389.70 million in 2024 and will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 31.9% from 2024 to 2031.
The business to consumer (B2C) held the highest Social Commerce Market revenue share in 2024.

Market Dynamics of Social Commerce Market

Key Drivers for Social Commerce Market

Growth of E-Commerce and social media to Increase the Demand Globally

The Social Commerce Market has experienced growth due to increasing penetration of social media. Social media platforms are quickly emerging as vital avenues for businesses to interact with customers, highlight their goods, and increase revenue. Moreover, customers are finding it simpler to find and buy things without ever leaving the app thanks to the direct integration of shopping functions into social media sites like Facebook and Instagram. Furthermore, the expanding user base on social media platforms is generating profitable expansion prospects for the industry as a whole.

Advancements in Technology to Propel Market Growth

The Social Commerce Market has witnessed steady growth, driven by advancements in technology. Mobile technology has advanced significantly over the last ten years, and smartphones are now an essential part of people's everyday lives. Users are increasingly choosing to shop straight from their smartphones because to improved smartphone capabilities and internet connectivity, which has expanded mobile commerce. Additionally, more people are using smartphones due to rising disposable incomes, which ultimately enhances the social commerce market value environment.

Restraint Factor for the Social Commerce Market

Serious concerns regarding customers' privacy to Limit the Sales

The Social Commerce Market, driven by its rapid rise in the application of social media marketing and advertising strategies. After discovering that social commerce platforms handle significant amounts of sensitive information, including financial and personal data, hackers turn their attention to social networking networks. Any data leak these days has the potential to harm a company's brand as well as cause emotional and financial harm to an individual. Additionally, there is a high likelihood of data misuse. Social commerce businesses stress the importance of keeping proper data security in addition to backing up important data.

Impact of Covid-19 on the Social Commerce Market

The Social Commerce Market has witnessed growth due to rising number of smartphones. Key drivers include technological advancements, increasing internet penetration, and expanding influencer marketing. However, the COVID-19 pandemic temporarily disrupted production and supply chains, affecting market dynamics. The lockdowns led to reduced consumer spending and manufacturing delays. Despite these challenges, market recovery was swift as the industries resumed operations. Long-term trends indicate a resilient market with steady growth due to ongoing social media platforms and a rebound in business activities. Introduction of the Social Commerce Market

Social commerce describes online stores that use social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to market and sell goods and services. The level of consumer interaction with a company's marketing through retweets, likes, and shares determines the effectiveness of a social commerce campaign. Additionally, social media marketers pr...

In 2023, Google's ad revenue amounted to 264.59 billion U.S. dollars. The company generates advertising revenue through its Google Ads platform, which enables advertisers to display ads, product listings and service offerings across Google’s extensive ad network (properties, partner sites, and apps) to web users. Google advertising Advertising accounts for the majority of Google’s revenue, which amounted to a total of 305.63 billion U.S. dollars in 2023. The majority of Google's advertising revenue comes from search advertising. Google market share These revenue figures come as no surprise, as Google accounts for the majority of the online and mobile search market worldwide. As of September 2023, Google was responsible for more than 84 percent of global desktop search traffic. The company holds a market share of more than 80 percent in a wide range of digital markets, having little to no domestic competition in many of them. China, Russia, and to a certain extent, Japan, are some of the few notable exceptions, where local products are more preferred.

In 2023, Instagram was projected to generate an estimated 23 billion U.S. dollars in revenue in the United States. The photo sharing app’s revenue is set increase to 29 billion U.S. dollars in 2025. Instagram as Facebook revenue driver Initially released in 2010 and quickly acquired by Facebook in 2012 for one billion U.S. dollars, Instagram has been in the public eye since its early days. Instagram’s monthly active users grew from a mere 90 million in January 2013 to over two billion MAU in December 2021 and the platform not showing any signs of slowing down. Apart from ongoing user growth, Instagram is also one of the most popular social media platforms used by marketers worldwide, second only to Facebook. Despite the rapid growth of Instagram under Facebook’s ownership and cross-platform promotion, not everything has been smooth sailing under the blue flag. In September 2018, founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger announced their resignation amidst reports of culture and product clashes between Instagram and its parent company. Facebook was quick to appoint a new CEO, and under former Facebook News Feed product manager Adam Mosseri the social network has been trying to make the most of Instagram’s ad potential. In late June 2019, Instagram launched ads in its Explore section. The platform already allowed ads in the regular feed and Stories.

As of January 2025, Facebook accounted for around 67 percent of the social media market across Asia. Comparatively, Instagram accounted for about 14 percent of the social media market in Asia. Meta Platforms, Inc Meta Platforms, Inc., formerly known as Facebook, Inc., is a global technology conglomerate that owns a vast social media portfolio, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger. Facebook remains one of the world’s most popular social networks, connecting users for sharing content and building communities. Instagram focuses on photo and video sharing, including features like Stories and Reels. In 2024, Meta’s annual revenue reached 164.5 billion U.S. dollars, with most of its revenue coming from advertising. Meta generated approximately 160 billion U.S. dollars in revenue from advertisements in that year. Meta’s market revenue and user base in APAC In 2024, Meta’s revenue from the Asia-Pacific region amounted to nearly 33 billion U.S. dollars. The growing mobile-first internet user base in Asia continues to drive engagement on Meta's platforms, solidifying its dominance in the region. Asian countries such as India and Indonesia have some of the highest numbers of Facebook users globally. India also leads globally in Instagram users, reflecting the region's significant contribution to Meta's success.

In the fourth quarter of 2024 social company Meta's total revenue amounted to 46.8 billion U.S. dollars, the majority of which was generated through advertising. Facebook company information It is hard to imagine internet without social media and social media without Facebook. With 2.9 billion monthly active users, Facebook is the biggest social network worldwide. In fact, almost two billion users access Facebook on a daily basis. Due to its immense reach, Facebook is a highly influential publisher and one of the leading platforms for influencer marketing worldwide, surpassed only by Instagram and YouTube. Brands value social media marketing for increased exposure, traffic, and leads, and it is no surprise that Facebook can deliver on these metrics in vast quantities.

Users aged 25 to 34 years old made up the largest audience of Facebook in the United Kingdom in January 2025, accounting for 24.7 percent of all users. Overall, Facebook users aged 35 to 44 were the platform's second-largest demographic in the UK, followed by those aged 18 to 24. Dip in overall user numbers As of November 2024, there were over 55.9 million Facebook users in the UK, up from 39.01 million in September 2018, according to napoleoncat.com. However, since a peak of 57.1 million users in May 2022, Facebook's audience has decreased slightly. Facebook’s user number issues have not just been limited to the United Kingdom, with figures released by the company highlighting issues in several key markets. There was a small growth in Europe from the first quarter of 2019 to the first quarter of 2020. The company counted 305 million daily active users (DAU) in Europe during the first quarter of 2020. Facebook United Kingdom key source of European revenue Facebook UK Limited generated approximately 211 million British pounds in revenue during 2015, a figure that skyrocketed  to 842 million British pounds in 2016. According to Facebook UK, this was the results of the company commencing advertiser reseller services in April 2016. In 2019, Facebook UK Limited revenue reached roughly one billion British pounds. In the third quarter of 2024, the company’s total European revenue reached over 9.49 billion U.S. dollars 

Which county has the most Facebook users? There are more than 378 million Facebook users in India alone, making it the leading country in terms of Facebook audience size. To put this into context, if India’s Facebook audience were a country then it would be ranked third in terms of largest population worldwide. Apart from India, there are several other markets with more than 100 million Facebook users each: The United States, Indonesia, and Brazil with 193.8 million, 119.05 million, and 112.55 million Facebook users respectively. Facebook – the most used social media Meta, the company that was previously called Facebook, owns four of the most popular social media platforms worldwide, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Facebook, and Instagram. As of the third quarter of 2021, there were around 3,5 billion cumulative monthly users of the company’s products worldwide. With around 2.9 billion monthly active users, Facebook is the most popular social media worldwide. With an audience of this scale, it is no surprise that the vast majority of Facebook’s revenue is generated through advertising. Facebook usage by device As of July 2021, it was found that 98.5 percent of active users accessed their Facebook account from mobile devices. In fact, almost 81.8 percent of Facebook audiences worldwide access the platform only via mobile phone. Facebook is not only available through mobile browser as the company has published several mobile apps for users to access their products and services. As of the third quarter 2021, the four core Meta products were leading the ranking of most downloaded mobile apps worldwide, with WhatsApp amassing approximately six billion downloads.

In 2022, X (formerly Twitter) generated 4.73 billion U.S. dollars in advertising revenue. This figure is expected to drop to 2.7 billion U.S. dollars by 2027. The social platform is responsible for roughly one percent of the global ad revenue.

Social network platform in transition

Established in 2006, California-based platform X (formerly known as Twitter) ranked among the most popular social networks worldwide by number of monthly users as of late 2023. The company has undergone a profound transformation after Elon Musk's acquisition in October 2022. After the billionaire bought the platform, advertisers and marketers have closely observed every change regarding its features and policies. Due to many contradictory developments at Twitter, industry professionals have become increasingly more cautious with their investments. A prominent example was IPG - one of the world's top five advertisers - advising its customers to temporarily abstain from putting money into the platform. Another big advertiser who has also ceased ad investment in Walmart.

Social media powerhouse: Facebook

In the meantime, nearly half of the responding marketing professionals named Facebook the most important social media platform for their business. The social network giant's revenue amounted to 114 billion dollars in 2022. Although the figure was roughly 60 percent of Google's ad revenue, Meta stood further ahead of X in terms of money earned through selling ad spaces.

In 2024, Meta Platforms generated a revenue of over 164 billion U.S. dollars, up from 134 billion USD in 2023. The majority of Meta’s profits come from its advertising revenue.Meta’s total Family of Apps revenue for 2022 amounted to 114 billion U.S. dollars. Additionally, Meta’s Reality Labs, the company’s VR division, generated around 2.1 billion dollars. Meta’s marketing expenditure for 2022 amounted to just over 15 billion U.S. dollars, up from 14 billion U.S. dollars in the previous year. Increasing audience base despite privacy misgivings Meta’s user numbers have continued to grow steadily throughout past years. In the fourth quarter of 2022, there was a total of 3.74 billion worldwide users across all of Meta’s platforms. For this same time frame, the company recorded 407 million monthly active users across Europe. Downloads of Meta’s app Oculus, for which virtual reality headsets are required, increased greatly from 2020 to 2021, reaching a total of 10.62 million downloads by the end of last year. Up until 2021, downloads had grown in a steady manner but from 2020 to 2021, they more than doubled.User numbers have increased despite data security issues and past controversy such as the Cambridge Analytica scandal in 2018. There remains skepticism surrounding the idea of the metaverse in which Meta aims to immerse itself. Of surveyed adults in the United States, the majority said that they were concerned about their privacy if Meta were to succeed in creating the metaverse.

In the United Kingdom in January 2025, women aged 25 to 34 years made up Facebook's largest audience in the country, accounting for almost 13 percent of all users. Men in the same age bracket were the second-largest audience base, accounting for 12 percent of users. Around 11 percent of Facebook users in the UK were aged 65 and older. Facebook UK  Facebook UK Limited generated approximately 211 million British pounds in revenue during 2015, a figure that skyrocketed to 1.27 billion British pounds in 2017. According to Facebook UK, this was the result of the company commencing advertiser reseller services in April 2016. For the year 2019, the company declared a revenue of roughly one billion British pounds within the UK. In the first quarter of 2021, the company generated a total European revenue of 6.5 billion U.S. Dollars.     Growth in European active users As well as rising revenues, Facebook has also seen a slow increase in the number of monthly active users (MAUs) across Europe. During the first quarter of 2015, Facebook attracted 307 million MAUs, a figure that would rise to 423 million by the first quarter of 2021. Globally, Facebook had roughly 2.85 billion MAUs by the first quarter of 2021.

Social commerce has become increasingly significant in the e-commerce sector. In 2025, sales through social networks accounted for an estimated 17.11 percent of total online sales. This figure is expected to continue growing in the coming years. Who has grown a liking for this channel? The term "social commerce" is gaining traction worldwide. In 2024, global revenues generated through social media platforms were forecast to reach nearly 700 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of roughly 23 percent compared to the previous year. However, some countries have embraced this sales channel more vigorously than others. Leading the way in social shopping are Thailand, Colombia, and China. In 2023, approximately nine out of ten internet users in these countries made purchases through social networks. The future of shopping is live Live commerce has grown in popularity in recent years. Its prevalence is only expected to increase as companies utilize livestreaming technologies more and more for promotional and marketing purposes. Digital shoppers benefit from live commerce because it offers attractive discounts as well as inspiration and ideas. In 2022, Facebook was the leading social network platform where internet users purchased products during live streaming events. As with social commerce, Asian countries have paved the way for this highly interactive shopping experience. In 2023, over seven in ten consumers engaged in live shopping in China, India, Thailand, and United Arab Emirates.

In the fourth quarter of 2023, there were approximately 1.37 billion monthly active Facebook users across the Asia-Pacific region. Comparatively, in the first quarter of 2015, there were 471 million monthly active Facebook users across the Asia-Pacific region. Facebook’s global domination In more than two decades of existence, Facebook has expanded alongside the evolution of social media and has come to dominate the industry for most of its lifetime. With a leading worldwide social media return on investment and monthly global active users surpassing three billion, Facebook achieved an average revenue of 13 U.S. dollars per user by the end of 2023. The rapid growth of Facebook was fueled in part by the expansion of internet access and smartphone usage globally. Developed markets with high internet penetration rates, such as North America or Western Europe, have seen high Facebook usage. Meanwhile, the Asia-Pacific region, with its growing population and increasing internet use, may offer opportunities for sustained growth. Facebook in the Asia-Pacific region While the Asia-Pacific region's importance for Facebook is relatively small in terms of marginal financial weight, the region's significance in terms of user base and growth potential is considerable. For instance, India led the list of countries with the most Facebook users, with an audience size of more than 378 million in 2024. In addition, Facebook held the largest market share of social media platforms in Asia in terms of traffic generating capability, accounting for more than half of the market as of January 2025.

A global survey conducted in the fourth quarter of 2023 found that the main reason for using social media was to keep in touch with friends and family, with over 49 percent of social media users saying this was their main reason for using online networks. Overall, 38 percent of social media users said that filling spare time was their main reason for using social media platforms, whilst 34.3 percent of respondents said they used it to read news stories. One in five users were on social platforms for the reason of following celebrities and influencers. The most popular social network Facebook dominates the social media landscape. The world's most popular social media platform turned 20 in February 2024, and it continues to lead the way in terms of user numbers. As of January 2024, the social network had over three billion global users. YouTube, WhatsApp, and Instagram follow, but none of these well-known brands can surpass Facebook’s audience size. Moreover, as of the final quarter of 2023, there were almost four billion Meta product users. Ever-evolving social media usage The utilization of social media remains largely gratuitous; however, companies have been encouraging users to become paid subscribers to reduce dependence on advertising profits. Meta Verified entices users by offering a blue verification badge and proactive account protection, among other things. X (formerly Twitter), Snapchat, and Reddit also offer users the chance to upgrade their social media accounts for a monthly free.

As of the most recent fiscal quarter ending June 2023, a whopping 98.4 percent of Meta's revenue was generated through advertising. Approximately 48.5 percent of Apple's revenue came from a single device, the iPhone. Amazon had the relatively speaking more diverse product portfolio, as only 39.4 percent of revenue came from it's strongest performing segment, Online Store Sales.