Social commerce to surpass USD 30 bln in the US, eMarketer reported

According to the press release, in 2021, US social commerce sales will rise by 35.8% to USD 36.62 billion. That’s only a slight deceleration in growth from social commerce’s blowout 2020, when sales surged by 38.9%, thanks mainly to the pandemic-driven boom in ecommerce and increased social media consumption. However, despite strong growth, the US’s social commerce market will be about one-tenth the size of China’s – USD 351.65 billion in 2021.

The US also lags behind China when looking at social commerce as a percentage of total ecommerce sales. According to the company, in 2020, social commerce is expected to make up just 4.0% of the US retail ecommerce market, compared with 13.7% in China. The gap between the two countries might remain fairly stable through 2024, when social commerce will make up 5.0% of US retail ecommerce sales versus 14.5% in China.

Moreover, the forecast shows that Facebook is the number one social commerce platform in the US, and 22.3% of US internet users, or 56.1 million people ages 14 and older, are expected to make at least one purchase on Facebook in 2021. Meanwhile, 12.9% of internet users, or 32.4 million people, will make a purchase on Instagram, compared with 5.6% of internet users, or 13.9 million people, on Pinterest.

Another reason for China’s strong lead in social commerce is the sheer number of social buyers in the country. In 2021, 424.4 million people ages 14 and up in China will make at least one social commerce purchase during the calendar year, versus just 90.2 million in the US.

Overall, the company defines social commerce as products or services ordered via social networks, such as Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, WeChat, Line, VK, and others, either by buying directly on the social platform, such as via Instagram Checkout or WeChat Mini Programs, or through clicking links on the social network that lead to the retailer’s product page to complete the purchase. 

It also includes transactions that were agreed to on social platforms but where payment took place elsewhere, such as C2C transactions on Facebook Marketplace. Yet, it excludes travel and event tickets, tips and digital gifts, subscriptions, payments (such as bill pay, taxes, or money transfers), food services and drinking place sales, or gambling and other vice goods sales.