[Free Takeaway Included – Instagram Macro Influencers in the United States]

Almost 30% of US shoppers now use social media to discover and buy new products. It’s becoming a common phenomenon as users casually scroll through their social media feeds only to stumble upon a new product that they like so much and end up buying it in the same ad window.

Social media shoppable ads have made this possible and led to the explosion of shoppable media content that shows no signs of stopping in the future.

Besides, audiences love them too and increasingly rely on social media platforms to make shopping decisions.

Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, Snapchat and more, are advancing their shopping and checkout capabilities at an exponential rate. With Integrations with e-commerce biggies like Shopify and BigCommerce, social commerce is becoming the largest and powerful trend like no other.

What is Social Commerce?

Compared to social media marketing that redirects consumers to an online store, social commerce refers to selling products directly through social media networks. It employs the use of shoppable social media ads that offer the ability for consumers to checkout directly within the social network they are using at the moment.

In essence, it’s all about making it easy for consumers to complete their purchase and remove friction and thus abandonment. Hence, brands can push consumers down the funnel within the same ad unit and capitalize on the point when a user’s purchase intent is highest.

Shoppable Ads - The Nexus of Media-Commerce Convergence

With online selling being accelerated due to the global pandemic outbreak, it has increased social media consumption and interactive shoppable ads, thereby presenting a great opportunity for brands to maximize sales.

All this has paved the way for a revolution in e-commerce with the dawn of Social Commerce as social media and e-commerce become further intertwined with the growth of shoppable social media ads.

It is estimated that the US retail social commerce sales will rise by 35% to $36.09 billion by 2021, representing 4.3% of all retail e-commerce sales.

As opposed to the old media value chain wherein content was designed to reach mass audiences to enable purchases at the physical store, the new media value chain is designed to reach niche audiences for specific products that can be bought online in a matter of minutes.

Top Social Shoppable Ad Platforms

Below are some of the top social platforms that provide native shopping experiences:

1. Facebook Collection Ads

With over 2.2 billion monthly active users, Facebook is perhaps the biggest player that is considered to be a pioneer of social selling. The newest addition to Facebook’s shoppable pages and posts is collection ads that enable brands to advertise a primary video or image with four smaller grid images so that audience can browse and learn more about the products without leaving Facebook.

2. Instagram Product Tags and Checkout

Instagram is one of the most promising platforms for shoppable ads. As people flock to look at beautiful images and videos, if you can make your product the feature of some of the stories, you could see some killer engagement. Product tags enable audiences to click on the ad to learn more or complete the purchase. Besides, it also has incorporated the Native Checkout button to facilitate instant purchases without leaving Instagram. Furthermore, Instagram’s livestream shopping combines the power of video and influencer reach and takes social shopping to a whole new level.

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3. Pinterest Shoppable Pins

Next up is Pinterest which is yet another popular social shopping destination. Businesses can create shoppable product pins that contain pricing information, product information and enable purchase with a click. You can also showcase multiple products to display a catalog of similar products relevant to people’s interests.

4. Snap Shoppable Ads

The all-new Snapchat native checkout feature facilitates consumers to buy products directly within the app. Besides, Snapchat makes mobile shopping a breeze.

Snapchatters are 20% more likely to make purchases on a mobile device compared to non-Snapchatters, and 60% more likely for that to be an impulse purchase.

In addition to the above, there are a lot of other platforms like YouTube, Tik Tok, Twitter, and more that are stepping up the social commerce game with the inclusion of shoppable ad features. Pretty soon Whatsapp is also likely to make its foray into shoppable ads as per the recent announcement that Facebook will start rolling out ads in WhatsApp stories.

84% of shoppers review at least one social media site before purchasing and so it makes sense to sell where they’re going to research.

As we move forward, shoppable ads and social commerce will undoubtedly become a bigger piece of the media mix and social media marketing strategy for e-commerce and retail brands.

So, what social media platforms do you use to display your shoppable ads, and what have your experiences with social commerce been so far?