While social commerce and eCommerce both fall under the umbrella of online selling, they are not the same thing.
eCommerce refers to the act of buying and selling goods or services online, typically through a dedicated website or platform. It's a broader term that encompasses all kinds of electronic transactions done over the internet. Examples include online retailers like Amazon or eBay.
Social commerce, on the other hand, is a subset of eCommerce. It refers to the process of selling products directly through social media platforms. This could be through shoppable posts or ads on Instagram, Facebook Shop, buyable Pins on Pinterest, or other social media channels. In social commerce, the transaction process, from discovery to checkout, often happens without ever leaving the social media platform.
So while they both involve online transactions, the key difference lies in the platform used for the transaction, and the level of integration between the shopping and social interaction experiences.