Online shopping is no longer limited to traditional e-commerce websites. In 2025, social commerce—shopping directly within social media platforms—and social selling—building relationships on social media to drive sales—have become critical tools for businesses. These formats let brands meet customers where they already spend time, blending content, connection, and commerce into one seamless experience.
Why This Matters
Social platforms now act as discovery engines, shopping malls, and customer service channels all in one. Businesses that understand and use these channels effectively can build trust and close sales faster. As Mr. Phalla Plang, Digital Marketing Specialist, explains:
“It focuses on social commerce and selling because that’s where buyers already are—right on their feeds. That way, it doesn’t have to chase them—they simply shop where they scroll.”
1. The Growth of Social Commerce
- Social commerce represented 17.11% of all online sales in 2025 and is growing at a 13.7% CAGR, with projections to exceed $1 trillion globally by 2028 (Sprout Social, 2025a).
- In 2023, 23.6% of internet users made purchases via social platforms; this is expected to grow by another 5% by 2028 (Sprout Social, 2025b).
- Platform preferences vary by generation—55% of Gen Z prefer TikTok for shopping, while 52% of Millennials prefer Facebook (Sprout Social, 2025b).
- In the UK, TikTok Shop is now the 4th-largest beauty retailer, selling one product every second. UK social commerce sales are projected to grow from £7.4 billion in 2024 to £15.7 billion by 2028 (The Times, 2025).
2. The Impact of Social Selling
- Businesses using social selling generate 45% more sales leads than those that don’t, and sales reps who use it outperform peers by 78% (OptinMonster, 2024).
- 61% of organizations report measurable revenue growth from social selling activities (Spotio, 2025).
- Sales reps using social selling are 51% more likely to meet their quotas and 40% more likely to hit revenue goals when it’s part of a structured process (OptinMonster, 2024).
3. Live-Stream Shopping: The Next Frontier
Live-stream shopping—where sellers present products in real-time via video and buyers can purchase instantly—is becoming a standard sales channel in Asia and rapidly growing elsewhere.
- Live streams offer an interactive experience where viewers can ask questions, see products in action, and check out without leaving the platform (Wikipedia, 2025).
- Beauty brands in the UK, such as Rani & Co and L’Era Jewellery, generate significant weekly sales from TikTok live shopping sessions (The Times, 2025).
- Startups like Whatnot (over $3 billion in 2024 livestream sales) and ShopMy are securing large investments, highlighting the growth potential of live social sales (Business Insider, 2025a).
4. TikTok Shop & AI Transformation
TikTok Shop is redefining the social commerce model by merging product discovery with instant checkout:
- Short-form, algorithm-driven videos introduce products to the right audience at the right time.
- AI tools optimize pricing, manage inventory, and personalize recommendations for higher conversion rates (Business Insider, 2025b).
- Even with regulatory challenges in certain markets, TikTok’s model is influencing how other platforms, such as Amazon and Walmart, approach social-driven commerce (Business Insider, 2025b).
5. How Businesses Can Leverage These Formats
- Choose the right platform – Match your target audience’s preferred social network.
- Adopt live selling early – Particularly effective for fashion, beauty, home goods, and collectibles.
- Integrate social selling in your CRM – Track customer engagement alongside sales metrics.
- Use AI tools – Automate repetitive tasks, like responses and recommendations, to scale faster.
- Measure ROI consistently – Track click-through rates, engagement, and direct sales from social content.
Note
Social commerce and social selling are no longer experimental—they are becoming central to the digital sales playbook. By embracing these formats, brands can shorten the path from discovery to purchase, engage customers more meaningfully, and keep pace with shifting consumer behavior in 2025.
More Read
References
Business Insider. (2025a, January). Social-shopping startups are raking in funding amid TikTok ban concerns. Business Insider. Retrieved August 15, 2025, from https://www.businessinsider.com/social-shopping-startups-funding-tiktok-ban-whatnot-shopmy-2025-1
Business Insider. (2025b, January). How TikTok Shop and AI transformed the e-commerce landscape. Business Insider. Retrieved August 15, 2025, from https://www.businessinsider.com/how-tiktok-shop-ai-transformed-e-commerce-landscape-2025-1
OptinMonster. (2024, December 31). The most important social selling statistics for 2025. OptinMonster. Retrieved August 15, 2025, from https://optinmonster.com/social-selling-statistics/
Spotio. (2025, February 4). 149+ eye-opening sales statistics for 2025. Spotio. Retrieved August 15, 2025, from https://spotio.com/blog/sales-statistics/
Sprout Social. (2025a, May 29). Social media ROI statistics marketers need to know in 2025. Sprout Social. Retrieved August 15, 2025, from https://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-media-marketing-roi-statistics/
Sprout Social. (2025b, May 20). What is social commerce? Stats & tips to know (2025). Sprout Social. Retrieved August 15, 2025, from https://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-commerce/
The Times. (2025, January). Why TikTok is the new face of the £30bn UK cosmetics industry. The Times. Retrieved August 15, 2025, from https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/why-tiktok-is-the-new-face-of-the-30bn-uk-cosmetics-industry-2q2xmrpkn
Wikipedia. (2025). Livestream shopping. In Wikipedia. Retrieved August 15, 2025, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livestream_shopping
