蘑菇AV

TikTok is going all-in on in-app purchases; Meta is focused on shoppable ads; and YouTube hopes to gain a competitive advantage through its strong creator relationships. All of this is happening as we forecast US retail social commerce sales will grow nearly 30% this year to hit $68.92 billion

TikTok aggressively courts sellers: The company aims to grow its social commerce sales by offering merchants free listings and shipping, along with zero commissions.

Influencer marketing is a booming industry. But accessing the opportunity requires navigating a complex web of consumer preferences and platforms, and growing pressure to prove ROI.鈥�

TikTok Shop drove $100 million in Black Friday sales: Efforts to introduce social commerce to users are working, but the ban looms large.

TikTok Shop鈥檚 launch and relative success in the UK are a testament to the growing influence of social commerce, with social commerce sales set to double in the country between 2024 and 2028, according to Retail Economics.

US social commerce sales will surpass $100 billion in 2026, 蘑菇AV forecasts, and 49.5% of US social shoppers say creator and influencer content has influenced their social purchases, according to an 蘑菇AV survey. 鈥淲hen [a creator] you trust recommends a product, it鈥檚 a game changer,鈥� said Luiz Felipe Barros, global CMO at Channel Factory.

This data drop focuses on the top four social commerce platforms as measured by retail social commerce sales and the number of social buyers, according to our forecasts. (Our social commerce forecast excludes YouTube.). Instagram shoppers tend to spend the most. Over half of shoppers on each platform spent less than an average of $200 on purchases in the 12 months preceding our survey.

Online fashion sales growth in France is stabilizing as global competitors capture market share and social platforms become more influential.

Online fashion sales are stable and growing slowly, but they lag wider ecommerce. Consumers are concerned about sustainability, but price is a bigger priority.

The news: Cannes Lions 2025 marked a shift in retail media strategy, with platforms like Pinterest and Reddit forging deeper ties with retailers. CVS announced a clean room data partnership with Reddit to allow targeting based on shared first-party data, launching a Sensodyne and Advil campaign this fall. Pinterest partnered with Instacart to enable shopping from pins and connect ad exposure to sales via closed-loop attribution. Our take: Social platforms are becoming full-funnel retail media environments. By fusing community context with purchase signals, these integrations aim to blend discovery and commerce in real time鈥攑aving the way for more data-rich, measurable campaigns.

The second phase of the partnership will introduce closed-loop measurement that lets advertisers tie Pinterest Ads to sales on Instacart鈥檚 marketplace. As part of the deal, Instacart will facilitate shoppable ads on Pinterest, allowing users to complete purchases in just a few clicks and receive their items in as little as 30 minutes.

There are already indications that uncertainty is weighing on buyer behavior: Sales from foreign sellers have fallen since March, with daily sales down as much as 20% to 25% MoM, per BI. Our take: TikTok鈥檚 promise as an ecommerce platform has been severely curtailed by the tariffs, which are harming its ability to bring merchants onto its platform as well as threatening discretionary spending.

Monetizing experiences: In-game merch sales have a bigger implication for independent sellers and game creators who can now offer a frictionless experience for impulse buys without having to direct them to another website or app. Merch can foster deeper relationships between creators and their users.

US retail social commerce sales increased 26.0% YoY in 2024, per our forecast. Brands selling goods via social channels will want to answer customer questions and send them AI-aided paid or organic marketing messages within platforms. And consumers are open to customer service interactions happening on social media.

As consumer attention and advertising channels become more disjointed, the demand for advanced measurement has increased鈥攅specially as brands face higher expectations to prove ROI to their leadership teams. 71% of US CEOs want their marketing teams to focus on sales and revenue metrics, per a January Boathouse survey.

Despite uncertainty related to the economy and tariffs, US social network ad spending is expected to grow. AI offerings, social commerce, and lower-funnel investments will drive outlays.

JD reported its fastest growth since 2022, with sales rising 16% YoY and net income up 53%. That鈥檚 in part thanks to quick uptake for its food delivery service, which now handles nearly 20 million orders daily鈥攔oughly one-fifth of Meituan鈥檚 2024 peak. But looking past the topline growth, conditions appear more challenging.

While a ban looks increasingly unlikely, so too does a sale of the company鈥檚 US business. That uncertainty, along with tariffs, is beginning to chill sales: TikTok Shop鈥檚 US GMV fell by over one-fifth during the week reciprocal tariffs were announced compared with the prior week, per EchoTik data reported by the South China Morning Post. Other markets are beginning to take precedence.

Beauty鈥檚 run of strong retail sales growth is winding down, but new audiences and sales channels will offer opportunities for savvy brands and retailers to regain momentum.

Social media plays a major role in product discovery, with 51% of global consumers discovering a new brand or product on social media in the last six months, per November 2024 data from Capgemini. But convincing consumers to purchase on a social platform is more complicated. Here are three key ways brands can convert social media discovery into sales.