As Social Media continues to dominate our daily lives, it's no surprise that it's also infiltrating the way we shop and make purchasing decisions. With more and more platforms offering shopping options and features, it begs the question: are these changes truly shaping our buying behavior?

With this in mind, we wanted to take a closer look at how these platforms are impacting consumer behavior. We surveyed 1,000 American social media users, aged 13+ years old, who had ever shopped / purchased brands on social media.

This research delves deep into the world of Social Media's impact on shopping habits, from the influence of influencers on our purchasing decisions to the power of Social Media advertisements.

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Example insights & IMPLICATIONS found in the topline report

Purchasing habits

• Social Media is revolutionizing the way we shop! 44% of social media users have made a purchase while on social media platforms. Gen Z leads the way in this trend, with 33% shopping from social media weekly.

• But, some concerns such as product quality, delivery speed and return policy will need to be addressed by companies wanting to leverage social media as a marketplace.

Influencers

• Social media shoppers find influencer information useful, but it doesn't always lead to a purchase, only 1 in 6 indicate that influencers impacted their decision to make an actual purchase.

Advertisements and purchasing

• Promoted ads are making waves in the world of social media shopping! These ads are a powerful tool for catching attention and driving purchases. Social media shoppers report that they typically see an ad 2-3 times before making a purchase.

IMPLICATIONS

Shopping on social media is on the rise, but there's room for improvement! Brands have an opportunity to streamline the shopping and purchasing process for consumers by focusing on:

• Optimizing the platform for executing purchases and providing a better overall shopping experience.

• Leveraging influencers effectively to create awareness and drive sales, by complementing their efforts with other strategies that lead to actual purchases, such as promoted ads.