Millennials Are Social Shoppers

Chart: Social Commerce, 2019-2020

Millennials appear to be taking to social commerce. A GfK survey reveals that 37% of Millennials have used a buy button on a social media channel while 30% have clicked on a shoppable post or story in a social network.

Social commerce was bound to take off eventually, though it has taken more than a decade to move the needle. And, as usual, it is the younger generations that are most likely to provide the engine that pushes the needle.

As if to punctuate the point, Instagram has just rolled out it’s new interface that puts social commerce front and center with Shop as a primary tab on the home screen.

Screenshot: Instagram Shop

Consumers are gaining confidence in the idea that they could do nearly all of their shopping online.

GfK found that more than half (52%) of US consumers believe they can shop online for almost 100% of the products or services they need, up from 48% feeling that way last year.

As online shopping continues to grow, particularly during the current pandemic, shopping via social media appears to be picking up steam.

GfK’s survey shows that close to one-fifth of US consumers have shopped online either by using the “buy” button on social media (18%) or by clicking a shoppable post or story on a social network (16%). This is up from 13% and 12% of shoppers, respectively, who said the same in 2019.

While the report does note that the US is slightly below the global average when it comes to using the “buy” button and clicking on a shoppable post, US advertisers might be well-advised to target the youngest generation of shoppers for these social media shopping behaviors.

Looking at results by age group, the report indicates that the share of 15-22-year-olds who engage in either of these shopping behaviors is about double that of the general population, with 37% using the “buy” button and 30% clicking on a shoppable post. Read the rest at Marketing Charts.

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