Social Commerce and In-App Purchases: Turning Followers into Customers

Social media is no longer just a space for likes and shares—it’s now a powerful marketplace. In 2025, social commerce has become a leading sales channel, enabling brands to turn followers into buyers without ever leaving the app. With platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube integrating in-app purchasing features, users can now discover, evaluate, and purchase products seamlessly within their social feeds.

According to Statista (2025), global social commerce sales are expected to reach $2.9 trillion USD by the end of this year. This article explores how social commerce works, why it matters, and how brands can use in-app shopping to boost revenue, trust, and customer engagement.

1. What Is Social Commerce?

Social commerce is the process of selling products directly through social media platforms. Unlike traditional eCommerce, where users are redirected to a separate website, social commerce keeps the entire journey—from discovery to checkout—within the app.

Key platforms supporting social commerce in 2025:

• TikTok Shop
  
• Instagram Shopping
  
• Facebook Shops
  
• YouTube Shopping
  
• Pinterest Shopping
  

This model simplifies the purchase process and increases conversion rates by reducing friction.

2. Why Social Commerce Is Exploding in 2025

Several trends are fuelling this rapid growth:

• Mobile-first users: Over 5.4 billion people use mobile devices worldwide (eMarketer, 2025).
  
• Short attention spans: Customers want fast, intuitive shopping experiences.
  
• Influencer marketing boom: Shoppable posts from trusted creators convert better.
  
• Trust in social proof: People buy what their peers and influencers recommend.
  

Accenture (2024) notes that 64% of Gen Z and 58% of Millennials have made a purchase through social media in the past six months.

3. Key Features of In-App Purchases

Social platforms have evolved to offer full shopping experiences:

• Product tagging in posts, stories, and videos
  
• In-app checkout with secure payment options
  
• Live shopping events
  
• Customer reviews and ratings
  
• Wishlists and save-for-later features
  

For example, Instagram allows tagging products in Reels, while TikTok lets users add “Buy Now” buttons during live streams (TikTok for Business, 2025).

4. TikTok Shop: Entertainment Meets eCommerce

TikTok is blending entertainment and shopping like no other platform. Its TikTok Shop feature allows creators and businesses to sell directly through videos, livestreams, and a dedicated shop tab.

Best practices for success:

• Use trending audio and hashtags to increase reach
  
• Collaborate with influencers using affiliate features
  
• Include product demos in short-form videos
  

TikTok reports that products featured in videos with authentic storytelling have a 3x higher conversion rate (TikTok for Business, 2025).

Tool to try: TikTok Shop Seller Center

5. Instagram and Facebook Shops: Meta’s Commerce Ecosystem

Meta has built a robust commerce system across Instagram and Facebook:

• Instagram Shopping: Shoppable Reels, Stories, and Explore tab
  
• Facebook Shops: Customisable storefronts within a business page
  

Brands can showcase collections, add CTAs, and enable in-app checkout (Meta Business, 2025). Instagram also integrates AR try-on filters, which boost engagement and reduce return rates.

Meta Pay, the built-in payment gateway, simplifies checkout and builds trust.

Tool to try: Meta Commerce Manager

6. YouTube Shopping: Sell While You Stream

YouTube’s shopping features let creators:

• Link products below videos
  
• Showcase items during live streams
  
• Connect directly with Google Merchant Center
  

In 2025, YouTube is pushing shopping integrations for Shorts as well. Influencers can highlight products mid-video or offer exclusive deals to subscribers.

YouTube reports that viewers are 70% more likely to buy from creators they follow (YouTube Ads Help, 2025).

Tool to try: YouTube Shopping Guide

7. How to Build a Social Commerce Strategy

Here’s how to turn your followers into customers:

1. Optimise Your Product Catalogue

Use clear images, short descriptions, and mobile-friendly tags. Add reviews where possible to build trust.

2. Use Influencer Partnerships

Collaborate with creators who already have your target audience. Authenticity sells.

3. Integrate User-Generated Content (UGC)

Repost videos, reviews, and testimonials from real customers. UGC improves conversions by up to 4x (Sprout Social, 2025).

4. Go Live

Run livestreams to showcase products, answer questions, and drop exclusive discounts.

5. Enable In-App Checkout

Don’t redirect users to your website—let them buy without leaving the app. This reduces friction and cart abandonment.

8. Tools That Power Social Commerce

Here are some tools to streamline your social shopping experience:

• Shopify Collabs: Manage influencer campaigns and link Shopify to social platforms.
  
• Taggshop: Shoppable galleries for Instagram and TikTok.
  
• Bazaarvoice: Collect and manage customer reviews and visual UGC.
  
• Ecwid: Set up multi-platform product listings from one dashboard.
  

These tools improve automation, analytics, and consistency across channels.

9. Metrics That Matter in Social Commerce

To measure success, track:

• Conversion rate: % of people who completed purchases
  
• Click-through rate (CTR): Engagement with product links
  
• Cart abandonment rate
  
• Average order value (AOV)
  
• Return customer rate
  

Use analytics dashboards from platforms like Meta Commerce Manager, TikTok Shop, or Shopify to gather real-time performance insights.

10. Challenges and How to Overcome Them

Despite its power, social commerce has hurdles:

• Trust issues: Users may fear scams. Solve this with verified badges, secure payment options, and social proof.
  
• Privacy concerns: Ensure compliance with GDPR and CCPA.
  
• Content fatigue: Stand out with quality over quantity. Don’t just sell—tell stories.
  
• Limited platform control: Algorithms change often. Diversify across channels and always keep a direct sales site as backup.
  

Deloitte (2024) recommends having a “multi-platform strategy” to mitigate dependency on a single algorithm.

11. What’s Next for Social Commerce?

By 2026, expect:

• AI shopping assistants inside social apps
  
• Augmented reality (AR) product testing (e.g. trying on clothes or makeup virtually)
  
• Voice commerce through social app integrations
  
• Greater use of chatbots for personalised shopping
  
• Cryptocurrency and blockchain payments for global reach
  

Accenture (2024) predicts that social commerce will account for 17% of total eCommerce sales by 2026.

References

Accenture. (2024). Why shopping’s set for a social revolution. Retrieved from https://www.accenture.com
Deloitte. (2024). The rise of social commerce in Southeast Asia. Retrieved from https://www2.deloitte.com
eMarketer. (2025). Social Commerce 2025 Forecast. Retrieved from https://www.emarketer.com
HubSpot. (2025). State of Social Media Marketing Report. Retrieved from https://www.hubspot.com
Meta Business. (2025). Instagram Shopping & Facebook Shops. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/business
Shopify. (2025). The Future of Social Commerce. Retrieved from https://www.shopify.com/blog/social-commerce
Sprout Social. (2025). How to build a social shopping experience. Retrieved from https://sproutsocial.com
Statista. (2025). Global social commerce revenue 2020–2025. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com
TikTok for Business. (2025). TikTok Shop Guide. Retrieved from https://www.tiktok.com/business
YouTube Ads Help. (2025). Shopping features for YouTube creators. Retrieved from https://support.google.com/youtube