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.

Worldwide, social commerce generated an estimated revenue of 571 billion U.S. dollars in 2023. With an expected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.7 percent from 2023 to 2028, revenues in this segment are forecast to surpass one trillion dollars in the latter year.

In 2025, the social commerce market in the United States is estimated to generate 104 billion U.S. dollars in revenue. Forecasts indicate that this amount will increase over the next five years, exceeding 150 billion in 2029.

China and Thailand boast some of the highest percentages of social commerce buyers globally, with 95 percent and 94 percent of online shoppers making purchases through social media platforms in 2024. Peru closely followed with a 92 percent adoption rate, trailed by Colombia and India. A new era of online shopping Social commerce has transformed the online retail landscape in recent years. Between 2018 and 2024, social media sales revenue increased nearly eightfold, reaching approximately 700 billion U.S. dollars. By 2025, social commerce is projected to account for 20 percent of global online sales. While this purchasing channel attracts consumers of all ages, millennials, followed by Gen Z, are the most prominent direct buyers on social media. China: social commerce pioneer China's social commerce has experienced rapid growth over the past decade. In 2014, the market's gross merchandise value (GMV) stood at 95 billion yuan. By 2022, this figure had skyrocketed to over 2.7 trillion yuan, showcasing the immense expansion in this sector. This exponential growth is partly attributed to the significant increase in the number of social commerce users. In 2022, China had about 880 million social shoppers, more than double the number recorded in 2016.

In the year 2022, the estimated market size of social commerce in India is seven billion U.S. dollars. The market size of social commerce is likely to increase to 84 billion U.S. dollars in the year 2030. Social commerce is an e-commerce type that involves the online selling and buying of products through social media and online media.

When TikTok Shop launched in the United States in 2023, the conversion rate on the social network skyrocketed. In 2024, an estimated 43.8 percent of American TikTok users had bought something on TikTok Shop, as revealed by a survey. This share of purchasing users was much higher than for competing social networks like Instagram and Pinterest.

According to a 2023 survey, Facebook is generally the most popular social network for digital shoppers in the United States. Nevertheless, examining age-related preferences revealed that young adults aged 18 to 34 in the U.S. showed a stronger inclination toward Instagram.

When asked which social network they were most likely to shop on, 24 percent of global online shoppers named Facebook in 2024. Also operated by Meta (formerly Facebook, Inc.), Instagram ranked second, with 20 percent of respondents choosing it as the most likely to be used for this type of activity.

In 2022, social commerce gross merchandise value in Southeast Asia amounted to 42 billion U.S. dollars. Live shopping in Southeast Asia generated 13 billion U.S. dollars in GMV that year.

Approximately 63.5 million shoppers in the United States were estimated to purchase on Facebook in 2022, making it the most widely used platform for social commerce in the North American country. Forecasts suggest that both Facebook and Instagram will remain at the forefront of social shopping in the U.S. in the coming years, with over 69 million and 47 million shoppers, respectively, by 2025.

According to a 2021 survey, approximately 68 percent of U.S. online consumers made at least one direct social media purchase that year. In 2022, nearly all (98 percent) of consumers surveyed in the United States said they plan to use social commerce.

In 2022, there were around 880 million social commerce users in China. This indicated a year-over-year growth of 4.76 percent. That year, the market size of China's social commerce market reached almost eight trillion yuan.

Estimates indicate that around 23.7 million TikTok users in the United States have made purchases either via links on the app or directly through the platform in 2022. By 2026, this figure is expected increase approximately 67 percent, reaching a total of 39.5 million TikTok social buyers.

When asked what type of products and services they had purchased on social networks, two-thirds of respondents in Mexico said they had purchased fashion items such as clothes and shoes. Home goods and groceries came in second place, each purchased by 38 percent of social shoppers.

The revenue change in the 'Social Commerce' segment of the e-commerce market in Indonesia was forecast to continuously decrease between 2024 and 2029 by in total 12.9 percentage points. After the seventh consecutive decreasing year, the revenue change is estimated to reach 10.76 percent and therefore a new minimum in 2029. Find further information concerning the user penetration in the 'Social Commerce' segment of the e-commerce market in the Philippines and the revenue in the 'Social Commerce' segment of the e-commerce market in the Philippines. The Statista Market Insights cover a broad range of additional markets.

In 2022, gross merchandise value of social commerce in Southeast Asia amounted to 34 billion U.S. dollars. The projected total value of social commerce GMV in Southeast Asia for 2027 was 85 billion U.S. dollars.

Gen Z and Millennials are the generations that engage the most in social shopping activities in the United States and the United Kingdom. As of January 2022, more than half of respondents in those generations had discovered a new brand via social networks or visited a brand's social media store at least once. Baby boomers showed the lowest level of engagement in all the mentioned activities.

One-third of surveyed consumers in the United States and the United Kingdom had shopped online via social networks at least once as of January 2022. The most popular activity while social shopping was browsing a brand's social media page, with 49 percent of respondents.

According to a survey conducted by Decision Lab in Vietnam in 2022, fashion was the most purchased category on social commerce platforms, as stated by 61 percent of the respondents. By comparison, 48 percent of them claimed to have bought cosmetics via these platforms.

U.S. and British women are more likely than men to engage in social media shopping activities. A January 2022 survey showed that 37 percent of female respondents had bought a product via social networks at least once, while only 30 percent of men did. Other activities, such as visiting brands' social media stores or pages, were also more prevalent among women.