E-Commerce Will Go Viral on Social Media in 2023

(CTN News) – The social e-commerce craze will be one of China’s top exports in 2023. Companies like TikTok, YouTube, and Amazon.com (AMZN.O) are introducing tools that combine online sharing and commerce. The most recent fad will eventually encounter certain restrictions.

Early data suggests that live social networking for the sale of commodities is successful outside of the People’s Republic.

Although fans appreciate communicating with famous people and so-called influencers, the ultimate objective is to click to purchase.

For instance, one social media phenomenon, Nisrin, has 500,000 TikTok followers and has sold as much as $10,000 worth of cosmetics and other goods during a single video session.

ByteDance-owned To duplicate Douyin’s popularity, TikTok offered the idea in the United States and Great Britain. Through its Chinese sibling app, items worth $119 billion might be sold in 2021.

Recently, Amazon debuted Inspire, a knockoff of its own. A popular video platform called OnlyFans enables producers to offer members personalized products. Reduced marketing costs will be somewhat compensated by live online shopping income.

According to statistics site Statista, U.S. social media advertising expenditure, which had been increasing at a rate of over 30% annually, is expected to decline over the next three years to an average of roughly 12%, reaching $114 billion in 2025.

In contrast, consulting firm McKinsey forecasts that U.S. social media e-commerce sales would rise 20% yearly during the same period to $80 billion.

The argument is reasonable. Online retailers aim to attract and retain customers.

Customers should see fewer returns, an expensive component of the e-commerce industry, due to learning more about items via interactive live streaming. However, many things won’t work with the medium. For example, cosmetics do better than electronics.

Social media sites may find it difficult to charge shops and influencers additional fees. Shopping options are available from Amazon and others at no extra charge. And eventually, their clientele may be rival businesses.

According to research firm Pitchbook, venture capitalists have invested $700 million in businesses like Firework that provide similar technologies to brick-and-mortar stores.

Strong network effects are expected. One modest cosmetics firm used TikTok to host a two-hour live shopping event that resulted in sales equal to a week’s worth of business at its flagship location. These stories will cause e-commerce to take off on Western social media.

CONTEXT NEWS

On December 8, Amazon.com unveiled an Inspire feed that lets users browse videos and images that influencers, companies, and other customers have contributed.

On November 17, OnlyFans, a subscription site renowned for its sexual material, announced a collaboration with online retailer Spring to let artists sell customized items.

Source: Reuters