Approaching platforms and fulfillment in 2023

Social Commerce

What’s in this Report

• The role of social commerce in the omnichannel experience
• Improving fulfillment: The importance of technology to deliver on brand promises
• Steps retail teams are taking to drive social commerce performance now and in the future

Social media has become an integral factor in the growth of e-commerce. Brands have recognized the importance of building audiences and growing customer bases across social platforms, and as the cost of advertising and customer acquisition on platforms continues to rise, brands are increasingly turning to new social commerce strategies to engage existing audiences, acquire new customers online and offer a new, direct path to purchase.

The Role of Social Marketing and Commerce in Building Omnichannel Brands

Brands have formed direct relationships with consumers on social platforms, and they will need to continue building those relationships as social media evolves to combine community, entertainment, and commerce as part of platform offerings.

Successful omnichannel brands in 2022 are present across social media and numerous other channels, offering customers the ability to check out digitally and purchase a product at every touchpoint. While social media is compelling for upper funnel selling and relationship building, most customers are still redirected to buy their products outside of the social platform.

Key Takeaways:

• Online and offline, consumers expect a seamless, personalized experience throughout their entire shopping journey.
• Brands will succeed in the social commerce space if they offer an experience that earns customer trust by delivering fast and convenient product delivery that shoppers expect from any channel.

Why Brands are Prioritizing Social Commerce

As social media platforms offer new formats, brands are shifting strategies to capture and engage audiences. The survey found that more than 65% of the respondents have recently started investing in social commerce, being one to three years into their strategy.

Prioritizing Social Commerce

The cost of advertising on social platforms is rising, which is pushing brands to seek new ways to find and engage their customers. In tandem, social media platforms are continuing to release and update social commerce capabilities such as live shopping and augmented-reality experiences.

The survey found that brands have clear reasons for why they are shifting to social commerce. Respondents are prioritizing social commerce as a sales channel due to:

• Providing a new opportunity for customer acquisition and advertising
• Ownership of customer data
• Long-term brand loyalty
• Improving customer experience

The Quality of Traffic and Customers from Social Commerce

The quality of traffic and customers from social commerce is comparably better than other e-commerce channels for a majority of respondents — 89% reported the quality was comparable or better.

Key Takeaways:

• Data privacy protections are hindering advertisers’ ability to track shoppers across the web.
• Social commerce provides brands with a new outlet for customer acquisition and advertising, ownership of customer data, creating long-term brand loyalty, and improving the customer experience.

Social Commerce Strategies and Functionalities

As brands seek to integrate or advance social commerce into their e-commerce strategy, figuring out which platforms and which functionalities will resonate with audiences is critical to drive growth.

• Top tactics include formats that provide a direct path to purchase — shoppable livestreams, shoppable videos and social posts with a direct checkout option.

Diving Into Social Commerce: How Brands are Spearheading Innovation

Brands such as Rare Beauty and Glow Recipe have adopted TikTok’s in-app checkout feature. They are seeing significant engagement and sales spikes from their social commerce strategies.

Improving Social Commerce Transactions for Customers and Sellers

To push online shopping forward, brands must deliver a seamless experience through fulfillment and delivery. An effective social commerce strategy needs to consider and prioritize fulfillment optimization and offer a frictionless transaction experience.

• Key Factors for Fulfillment Optimization:
  • Owning customer data
  • Efficient product delivery
  • Proper infrastructure for reliable fulfillment
  • The right technology to support a fulfillment program

Preparing Social Commerce Strategies for the Future

With social commerce growing, brands must decide which platforms and technology vendors to partner with to drive performance. Proper Wild, a DTC energy supplement brand, illustrates the importance of seamless fulfillment across sales channels for ensuring regular customer repurchasing.