As ecommerce capabilities evolve, social media platforms are turning into true retail destinations. Snapchat stickers and TikTok ads have cleared the way for direct purchasing opportunities on the apps; now, these platforms are reshaping retail with a drop, pin, or click.
Social platforms are rerouting the path to purchase. We roundup the top five ways social media is shaping new shopping behavior.
- Pinterest is connecting the dots between inspiration and ownership. Their Shopping List feature, which rolled out in June 2021, saves shoppable pins and notifies users about price changes. The update bridges users’ traditional “pinning” with new purchasing opportunities, fusing scrolling and shopping as a part of their normal engagement on the app.
- Volkswagen is bringing test drives to social platforms. As part of Pinterest’s new shopping features, users can take a virtual spin in the new ID.4 electric model on the app.
- Shop, drop and scroll with Instagram’s Drops tab. Launched in May, the new tab hosts an exclusively shoppable feed of designer and brand releases. This follows the launch of Instagram Shops last year, which lets businesses set up digital stores directly on the platform.
- TikTok is testing a digital storefront for European users, who can buy from streetwear brand Hype directly from the app. Users in the UK and Southeast Asia were also part of the experimental shopping experience that began in May of this year.
- Twitter CFO Ned Segal revealed plans to add shop buttons to Tweets, directly connecting advertisers with customers. “You should be able to click and buy something on Twitter,” Segal said at a J.P. Morgan conference in May.
Why it’s interesting:
Check-out functionality on social media is as natural as liking and posting a story, making consumer purchases a quick and organic action while scrolling through their feed. eMarketer predicts that social commerce in the US will rise by 34% this year to $36 billion, and these apps are prepared for the shopping spree. Social media platforms are honing in on shopper’s habits by generating an instinctive route to purchase, altering consumer shopping patterns and shortening the path between brands and consumers.
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