How The Integration of Social Commerce App in eCommerce Helps You Enhance Growth?

Social commerce in ecommerce has started a new revolution.

Made by Mitchell, a leading makeup retailer brand, introduced a new product in the market. They wanted to promote their exclusive product using social media to attract potential sales.

So they used TikTok’s Live Shopping feature for its initial launch. It might feel amazed to know through this live social shopping feature, they could attract 2.4 Million product views and the livestream session turned out into 100% sell-out rate. (Source)

Similarly, an interactive shoppable Instagram livestream garners 40,000 comments.

This is the power of social commerce that enables ecommerce businesses to sell beyond their expectations.

In the current internet and smartphone-driven age, where 4.6 Billion people (roughly 58% of the population) spend 2.5 hours every day on social media, social commerce is evolving as a powerful tool that takes online shopping to the next level.

Today, consumers have become more conscious and curious about their purchases. Before they buy anything online, they like to explore products on social media and consider feedback & reviews.

Therefore, social commerce in ecommerce or social ecommerce is emerging as one of the top ecommerce trends in the industry. Consumers are highly interested in using this social shopping feature since it removes friction from the entire buying process and gives them a more engaging buying experience.

If you are planning to build an ecommerce app or currently have an ecommerce platform, you must think of integrating social commerce features into your ecommerce application. In this blog, we will explain how the integration of social commerce in ecommerce app development benefits your business.

What is Social Commerce?

Social commerce is the integration of social media and ecommerce platforms. It creates a seamless shopping experience within social networking sites or apps. eCommerce apps that are powered with these features are also called social commerce apps. This is because social commerce apps utilizes social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and others to facilitate online shopping and drive sales.

This social shopping concept offers a more immersive and convenient way of online shopping. Consumers to discover, explore, and purchase products while staying connected with their social networks. So, social media integration in ecommerce bridges the gap between social media and online shopping.

How Does Social Commerce App Work in eCommerce?

Social commerce app in ecommerce leverages the power of social media to enhance discoverability, engagement, and conversion. It focuses on creating a more interactive and personalized shopping experience for consumers while driving business growth for e-commerce brands. So, social commerce app works in several ways to enhance the shopping experience and drive sales.

• Social Shopping Features: Social commerce in ecommerce works in various social shopping features such as user profiles, social sharing buttons, and commenting systems directly into their ecommerce platforms or mobile ecommerce solutions.
• Social Login and Registration: Users can log in or register for an account using their social media credentials. This process makes the signup process faster and more convenient. It also enables ecommerce apps to access useful user data from social networks.
• Social Proof and Recommendations: Social commerce apps utilize social proof and recommendations in ecommerce apps & platforms to build trust and reliability.
• Social Sharing and Referral Programs: It encourages users to share their purchases, wishlists, or favorite products with their social networks.
• Influencer Marketing and Collaborations: Social ecommerce allows brands to collaborate with influencers and content creators on social media to promote their products to a larger audience. It involves sponsored posts, product reviews, unboxing videos, and other forms of branded content.
• Social Advertising: Social commerce platforms invest in social media advertising like Facebook ads, Instragram ads, and so on.
• Social Customer Service: Through social commerce, ecommerce brands provide customer support and assistance through social media channels. They respond to inquiries, resolve issues, and engage with customers in real-time.

Benefits of Integrating Social Commerce Apps in eCommerce Business

Social commerce is an interactive online shopping process. It leverages social media capabilities to sell products directly to users using social media features right from product discovery to checkout. So, it gives an engaging and frictionless shopping experience. Therefore, social commerce offers great scope for eCommerce.

When you use social commerce platforms, it enables them to leverage social media capabilities for better customer reach and sales.

Today, many ecommerce brands and retailers utilize social commerce apps in their ecommerce businesses to enhance the buying experience. These social commerce platforms allow them to improve the conversion ratio along with many advantages. Leading mobile app development company in USA also suggests the growing adoption of social media features in ecommerce applications.

Therefore, the market of social commerce is growing drastically. If you look at recent market mobile app statistics & industry reports, social commerce is expanding at a fast pace. According to Statista, the global sales via social media platforms were $992 Billion in 2022. And this value of social commerce sales is expected to reach around $8.5 trillion by 2030.

So let us explore why eCommerce businesses should integrate social commerce in eCommerce app development.

1. Increased Brand Awareness and Customer Reach

Who doesn’t want to have access to billions of potential customers? Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok are teeming with active users. These apps are now working as social commerce platforms. When you implement social commerce features in your ecommerce app, you can showcase your brand and products to a massive audience.

This organic reach, coupled with targeted advertising options, allows you to place your brand right in front of your ideal customers. As a result, you can significantly boost your brand awareness and drive them toward your ecommerce app.

2. Enhanced User Engagement

Social commerce goes beyond just displaying products. It’s about creating an interactive experience that keeps users engaged. Features like user reviews, social sharing buttons, and live shopping events spark conversations, encourage user-generated content, and answer questions in real-time. This two-way communication fosters a sense of connection and excitement around your brand. So, it makes the shopping experience more enjoyable and memorable for users.

3. Social Community Building

Traditional ecommerce lack the ability to provide community-building features. Most consumers must go on social media platforms to get people’s feedback to make a well-informed decision. So, through the integration of social commerce in ecommerce app development, you can create a space where users can connect with your brand and each other.

User reviews, discussions about products, and brand advocacy through social sharing all contribute to a sense of belonging. And this loyal community becomes a powerful asset. It helps you promote your brand organically and drive sustainable growth.

4. Streamlined Shopping Experience

Friction in the buying journey is a conversion killer. It is one of the major challenges that ecommerce businesses face. Social commerce platforms tackle this problem by streamlining the shopping experience. It enables e-commerce businesses to deliver frictionless buying experience to customers.

Through in-app purchase options, social logins and other social shopping features eliminate the need to switch between platforms and fill out lengthy forms. Hence, this smooth and convenient purchasing journey removes barriers and encourages users to complete their purchases.

5. Higher Conversion Rate

Either you integrate social media in ecommerce or ecommerce in social media app development, in both ways you get the ease of social media benefits. Social commerce helps you create a powerful recipe for boosting conversions by providing a streamlined shopping experience.

Your ecommerce app is equipped with social proof elements like user reviews, and influencer recommendations. So you can build trust and confidence in potential buyers. In addition to this, you can also add augmented and virtual reality features in social commerce to engage customers and increase conversion ratio in your ecommerce app.

Read Also: Social Media App Development Guide- How to Build a Leading Social Networking App?

6. Valuable Customer Insights

Social media platforms are treasure troves of customer data. When you integrate social commerce in your ecommerce app, you gain access to valuable insights into user behavior and preferences. This social media analytics lets you track user engagement with your shoppable posts, influencer marketing campaigns, and live streams.

You can see what kind of content resonates most, which products generate the most buzz, and even identify potential pain points in the buying journey. Hence, with such a goldmine of information ecommerce and retail businesses can strategize their ecommerce app development & marketing strategies.

7. Targeted Marketing

Gone are the days of traditional marketing campaigns. Social commerce allows you to leverage customer insights for hyper-targeted marketing strategies. The data gathered from social media platforms allows you to segment your audience based on demographics, interests, and buying habits.

It further enables you to craft personalized marketing messages, product recommendations, and promotions that resonate deeply with specific customer groups. Through targeted approach you increase the effectiveness of your marketing efforts and maximize your return on investment.

8. Influencer Marketing Opportunities

Social media is the natural habitat of influencers! Social commerce integration in ecommerce opens doors to powerful influencer marketing collaborations. It lets you partner with social media influencers who align with your brand values and target audience.

You can leverage their credibility and reach to promote your products in a genuine and engaging way. Influencer endorsements can significantly boost brand awareness, build trust among potential customers, and drive traffic to your ecommerce app.

9. Social Proof and Trust Building

In today’s digital world, social proof works as the best convincing force. User reviews, ratings, and recommendations displayed on your ecommerce or social shopping platforms

hold immense power to influence your customers’ decisions. Social commerce lets you leverage social proof like positive reviews to build trust and confidence in potential buyers. It acts as a virtual testimonial for your products.

Apart from this, user-generated content, such as photos and videos showcasing your products in real-world settings, further strengthens social proof. So, in this way, social commerce helps you in convincing users to take a chance on your brand and ultimately convert into loyal customers.

10. Improved Personalization

It is one of the top reasons why ecommerce businesses should integrate social commerce in ecommerce application development. Social commerce empowers you to personalize the shopping experience for each customer. It lets you leverage data on past purchases, browsing behavior, and social media interactions. You can even recommend products that are most relevant to individual user preferences.

Suppose a user who frequently interacts with posts featuring activewear on your social media page.  Your ecommerce app can use this information to showcase targeted promotions or offer a personalized online shopping experience.

Read Also: 9 Unique And New Social Media App Ideas For Entrepreneurs

How To Integrate Social Commerce App In Your Ecommerce Business?

(Source: Deloitte)

Integrating social commerce features into ecommerce app development requires a strategic approach. There are two options. Either you can go with ecommerce integration in social media. Or you can integrate social commerce strategy into your development to build social commerce app.

When it comes to integrate social commerce in ecommerce you need to follow the proper steps. Since we are an expert ecommerce app development company, we know how this process works. Below we have shared the step-by-step guide on how to integrate social commerce into ecommerce app development:

1. Define Social Commerce Goals

Start by defining your social commerce goals and objectives. Determine what you want to achieve through social integration. Whether it’s increasing sales, enhancing engagement, building brand awareness, or improving customer satisfaction.

2. Choose Social Media Platforms

It is an important step. Here, you need to identify the social media platforms that are most relevant to your target audience and industry. You can consider platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and other social media platforms according to suitability for your products or services.

3. Implement Social Login and Registration

Enable your users to log in or register using their social media accounts. For this, your ecommerce application development company or dev team may integrate OAuth or dedicated social login SDKs provided by respective social media platforms.

This will streamline the authentication process and access user data. For this, you can consult UI UX design agency to create a social media friendly user interface that ensures smooth navigation & app journey. 

4. Enable Social Sharing

Now, you should implement social media sharing functionality in your social commerce app. It will allow users to share products, wishlists, or purchases with their social networks. Here, your ecommerce app development team will need to integrate social sharing APIs to enable these features.

5. Integrate Social Proof Elements

Incorporate social proof elements such as customer reviews, ratings, and testimonials into your ecommerce app. Your ecommerce app should display user-generated content and social endorsements to build trust and credibility in your brand and products.

6. Utilize Social Data for Personalization

It is also an important part of integrating social commerce in ecommerce. Your app must have the ability to utilize social data to personalize the shopping experience for users. Your social commerce app should have data analytics to analyze users’ social profiles, interactions, and preferences.

7. Optimize for In-app Checkout

Don’t forget to make the checkout process seamless and frictionless. You can streamline the checkout process by enabling in-app checkout options and integrating with payment gateways. You can also add omnichannel commerce strategy to your ecommerce to ensure a seamless buying journey experience and improve conversion rates.

8. Implement Live Streaming Shopping Feature

Live streaming is one of the most sought-after features in the current e-commerce industry. People highly rely on watching live product demonstrations and real-time feedback on products. Therefore, your ecommerce app must have these social commerce features. Many leading brands like Amazon, Sephora, and other e-commerce brands have implemented this feature in their apps and witnessed great outcomes.

Top Examples of Social Commerce Apps in eCommerce

The concept of social commerce has been already running in the market for many years. However after the adoption of social media in various ecommerce strategies, its adoption has increased significantly. There are many ecommerce brands and companies that implemented social commerce strategy in their ecommerce apps. And they achieved impressive results. Here are some of the top examples:

Wayfair:  A leading home store retailer, Wayfair is successfully using the power of social media in retail industry. Their app utilizes Pinterest Buyable Pins to allow users to purchase furniture and homeware directly from inspiring Pinterest boards. They also run interactive polls on Instagram Stories to understand customer preferences and curate product recommendations.

Shein:  This fast-fashion giant thrives on social media engagement. They leverage TikTok for trendy product hauls and challenges. This company partners with micro-influencers for authentic product reviews and encourages UGC through hashtag campaigns. So, in this way, Shein leverages the power of the social shopping community in their business.

Starbucks:  Starbucks uses social media to create a personalized and engaging experience. They offer mobile ordering and payment options through their app, integrated with social media platforms. They also run social media contests and promotions, and thus encourage user interaction and brand loyalty.

Sephora:  It is a well-known beauty brand. Sephora seamlessly integrates social commerce throughout its customer journey. They leverage Instagram Shopping for shoppable posts, and partner with beauty influencers for product reviews and tutorials.

Nykaa:  This leading Indian beauty retailer has mastered social commerce. They run interactive polls and quizzes on Instagram Stories to gauge customer preferences. And also utilizes user-generated content (UGC) featuring customer makeup looks, and hosts live shopping events with beauty experts on Facebook.

Wrapping Up

Social commerce apps empower ecommerce businesses to make the most of social media. It enables brands and retailers to create more engaging and proven content that builds trust in customers. Integrating social commerce in ecommerce enables you to engage customers more effectively and thus drive better ecommerce sales.