Nearly 40% of the world’s population engages in some form of social media – therefore, social commerce is also on the rise – and social media has revolutionized consumer behavior. Today, social media advertising, influencer marketing (which most often takes place on mobile), and community building (via social channels) are the dominating customer acquisition strategies for leading brands. And for good reason. According to Retail Dive, 80% of Generation Z and 74% of millennials report that social media influences their purchases.Take Glossier as a quick case study. “Glossier harnessed the power of user-generated content as part of a successful social media marketing strategy,” writes Springwise in their 9 Trends for Retail in 2020 report. “By reposting images, videos and product takes from their social media followers and offering other incentives like free product giveaways to brand loyalists, it has created an army of what are known as ‘Glossier Girls.’” Social media platforms from Instagram to Snapchat are merging the line between discovery and purchase, with the goal of making purchases easier. In 2018, Instagram launched a tag-feature on the platform that allows users to tap on items and navigate directly to a brand’s site to purchase. Snapchat has embraced shoppable augmented reality (AR). The app now hosts advertisements with AR lenses for users to virtually try on products.And, consumers love it. A report from Piper Jaffray found that:
73% of Gen-Z shoppers in the U.S. want brands and retailers to connect with them about new products and promotions through Instagram
Snapchat followed at 49%
Email at 37%
Text messaging — an increasingly popular communication tool for DTC brands — at 34%