More than half of consumers belonging to Generation Z bought something on social media platforms, according to a survey in 2024. Almost a third of overall consumers bought on social media platforms. The consumer experience In a 2023 survey, Facebook and Instagram were the social media platforms offering the best shopping experience. To gain deeper insights into the elements constituting a satisfactory social commerce shopping journey from the user's viewpoint, key factors shaping consumers' heightened engagement with social commerce included, but were not limited to, deals and discounts, seamless purchasing processes, exclusive offers, and increased availability of customer reviews. Social shopping destinations Facebook is the leading social commerce platform globally, except among Gen Z, who favor Instagram and TikTok. However, the types of social media accounts that shoppers followed and purchased from varied by age group. Gen Z and Millennials predominantly bought from brand accounts, with Gen Z also showing a preference for social media influencers. Conversely, Gen X and Boomers preferred purchasing from trusted retailer accounts.

According to a 2024 survey, millennials made up the largest share of consumers globally who mostly shopped for beauty products online (42 percent). Gen Z (36 percent) and Gen X (36 percent) consumers followed, while around 34 percent of Baby Boomers did so. Doubling the money The online beauty and personal care market worldwide generated a revenue of about 42.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2022, with China, the United States, and Japan being the three biggest markets. The cosmetics market is the fastest growing segment of the beauty market worldwide and is estimated to incur almost double its current revenue by 2027. In 2023, around 900 million people around the world purchased beauty products online. This number is expected to increase to over 1.2 billion by 2027.
Trending on TikTok With social media becoming more and more prominent, especially in younger generations, it is not a surprise that more people also engage in social commerce and purchase beauty products from apps. In the United States, TikTok has become the leading social media platform for purchasing various beauty items, followed by Instagram and Facebook. On TikTok, content creators and brands promote sales in two main ways, video sales and live sales. The majority of app-based sales are made through live sales, which refer to livestreams that promote products and offer shopping links. It is easy to see how popular beauty products are on TikTok from the number of views they receive, with Dyson, Cerave, and The Ordinary being the most popular beauty brands.

In the United Kingdom (UK), digital wallets were a popular payment method used by 40 percent of consumers who made e-commerce payments in 2024. That year, credit and debit cards were both still common options as well. Embracing digital wallets Gen Z, has helped make digital wallets more popular. Growing up with smartphones, the fast, easy, and secure way digital wallets allow payment makes them attractive to use both online and in stores. For many Gen Z shoppers, digital wallets do not just make payments simple, they also offer loyalty programs and special deals. Because of this, Gen Z is shifting away from traditional payment methods, seeing digital wallets as a natural part of their tech-focused lifestyle. This trend will likely keep growing, as its shown through its transaction value worldwide.
Millennials and Gen Z: powerhouses in social engagement Although Gen Z has shown a higher presence when it comes to using social media platforms, Millennials are also avid users and participate on social platforms at the same capacity as Gen Z, at around 94 percent respecitvely. Both generation have high frequency of use of such platforms, with around 70 percent of them being on social media daily, making social media an important factor to consider when looking at e-commerce customer journeys.

In 2023, livestreaming commerce sales in the United States reached an estimated 50 billion U.S. dollars. Referred to as live commerce, shopping via online streams on social networks is gaining popularity globally. Forecasts indicate that by 2026, sales from live online shopping will grow by 36 percent, making up more than five percent of all e-commerce sales in the North American country.

The global landscape According to a survey, frequent users in the United States attended fewer live commerce shows compared to China, Latin America, and Europe in 2022. U.S. consumers may not participate in as many live commerce events as in other regions, but when they do, they bring their purchasing power with them. The average annual spending per frequent live commerce user in the U.S. surpassed that of Europe and matched that of Latin America, highlighting the potential of this emerging trend. China, known as the epicenter of live shopping, continues to lead both in attendance and spending.

Why livestream shopping? The increasing popularity of live commerce can be attributed to various factors. According to consumers worldwide, the main benefits of live commerce include access to exclusive discounts, inspiration, and ideas, as well as the ability to make smarter, more informed purchase decisions. However, livestream shopping isn't just about scoring great deals; it's also about having fun. Entertainment plays a significant role in attracting consumers to participate in livestream shopping. That is especially true for younger age groups, who value real-time interaction and personalized experiences, which Gen Z consumers see as a major advantage.

According to a 2023 survey, nearly half of India's millennials shopped with multiple vendors on the same online platform, while a similar proportion did online research before making major purchases. Gen Z showed comparable behavior, with 46 percent undertaking online research before major purchases.

B2C e-commerce

With the expansion of digital infrastructure and an increase in smartphone penetration, the B2C e-commerce sector in India has witnessed significant growth. The market size of the B2C e-commerce industry is estimated to reach around 95 billion U.S. dollars in 2024. Key market players like Amazon India and Flipkart have capitalized on these trends, offering a wide range of products and services that cater to the diverse needs of Indian consumers.

Online grocery shopping

Building on the surge in the e-commerce sector and restricted mobility during the coronavirus pandemic, there has been a notable uptick in the demand for online grocery services in India, with JioMart and BigBasket being the most preferred channels for shopping. While online grocery shopping currently represents a smaller fraction of overall grocery purchases compared to traditional stores in India, the sector's sales value is on an upward trajectory and is expected to reach over five trillion Indian rupees in 2025.

According to a global survey conducted in 2023, roughly two-thirds of Millennials followed and purchased goods from the social media accounts of brands. Overall, about half of Gen Z users followed and purchased from influencers, whilst just 11 percent of Baby boomers did. Additionally, six out of ten respondents belonging to the Gen X age group followed and purchased from the social media accounts of retailers. A booming market In recent years, social commerce has exploded in popularity among online shoppers. Consumers can now purchase items directly on social media platforms, going from discovery to purchase in a matter of minutes. Social commerce is estimated to reach over one trillion U.S. dollars in revenue by 2028, up from 699 billion in 2024. This new form of e-commerce is the most popular in Thailand, where around 91 percent of online consumers use social sites as a purchase channel. In comparison, this share stood at 57 percent in the United States. Chinese platforms dominate the social space Chinese social shopping sites are the most successful ones worldwide. For example, Douyin, a short-form video sharing app, ranked as the highest revenue-generating platform in 2024, raking in approximately 199 billion U.S. dollars. WeChat, a messaging app, came in second with a revenue of 152 billion dollars, followed by Little Red Book, a picture sharing app, with a revenue of 94 billion dollars. TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, came in sixth place, pulling in 20 billion dollars in revenue. While TikTok's popularity extends globally, its on-app purchase store, TikTok Shop, primarily caters to the Asian market. Thus, it is clear that China is the global leader in social selling.

During the third quarter of 2024, 57 percent of respondents in the Philippines stated that they purchased a product or service online each week. Online grocery shopping was also among their leading e-commerce activity in that period. Online shopping market Filipino online consumers gradually turned to e-commerce platforms for their retail purchases, especially at the height of the pandemic, with items ranging from mobile phones to beverages. These platforms provide more shopping variety and oftentimes competitive prices in comparison to physical retail stores. This changing shopping habit has resulted in an increasing e-commerce market size, which was estimated to grow massively in 2030. Online shopping habits Most Filipino online shoppers are Gen Zs and Millennials, which are also the country's most dominant internet user population. According to a January 2023 survey, about a quarter of Filipinos shopped online once a month, with around 11 percent even shopping daily.