Social Commerce: A New Era of Retail

Written by Erin Abramowicz

The way we go about business today has changed drastically from life before the pandemic. In the blink of an eye, we had to change almost everything about what was considered “normal life.” Unable to shop in stores, we had to shift our focus to ecommerce. However, the manner in which we had to change doing business was far from the only significant consequence of the covid epidemic. It was an isolating time. With all of the social distancing policies put into place, we had to change the way we interacted with people. Much like commerce, we had to shift our focus online as well. This sudden change in the concept of “normal life” was drastic, but it created a perfect storm for the rise of social commerce. 

So, what exactly is social commerce?

Social commerce is a subcategory of eCommerce. It involves shoppers making purchases on social platforms. In recent years, many popular social media sites have launched their own shopping features. Instagram has Instagram Checkout, which allows Instagram users to buy products featured in shoppable posts — posts that contain tap-to-view product tags — directly through the app. Facebook has Facebook Marketplace, which allows users to create an online storefront where other users can browse and buy. Unlike social-media-sites-turned-retail-channels Instagram and Facebook, other platforms, like Depop, were created solely for the purpose of stimulating social commerce.  

Depop describes itself as “a place to explore unique fashion and be part of a community-driven zeitgeist that’s shaping culture for the better” (Depop, para. 2). Buying and selling on Depop is a fairly simple process. Sellers can make an account and create their own shop where they can upload different pieces to sell with photos, a description, a location, a price, and the condition of the item being sold. Buyers can browse through the app’s Explore option, find items or sellers using the Search bar, or to personalize their feed, users can add their item, brand, and style preferences to the “My DNA” feature. Users also have the option to follow their favorite sellers and “like” pieces that interest them. Buyers can directly message sellers and make their purchases through the app. Depop boasts over 30 million users in more than 150 countries and there are over 32 million items for sale on the platform (Depop, para. 4). While big name fashion brands like Neiman Marcus and J. Crew were forced to declare bankruptcy, in 2020 alone, Depop generated nearly $660 million in merchandise sales (Dockterman, 2021, para. 3).

What sets Depop and similar social commerce retailers apart is the interactive experience they provide to users. Unlike traditional eCommerce retail sites, buyers can like different posts and listings. They can message sellers and get a reply. They have the ability to wager prices. Users can showcase their creativity by posting pictures of their clothing or accessories and others can follow their accounts and draw inspiration from them. The allure of social commerce lies within the interactions that can occur between the buyer, the seller, and the product and the emergence of communities within the app centered around similar fashion choices or niche aesthetics. On Depop, there is something for everyone. 

The pandemic accelerated the ushering in of an already-impending new era of retail: social commerce. So much so that according to a 2021 report co-published by the Business of Fashion and McKinsey and Company, 74 percent of consumers say that they feel more influenced to shop via social media than they felt pre-pandemic (BoF Team & McKinsey & Company, 2021, para. 1). With the creation, adoption, and popularization of social media, it was only a matter of time before social commerce would be born and subsequently evolve into a major retail channel. If the pandemic has taught the fashion and retail industries anything, it's that the future of eCommerce is centered around creativity, community, connection.

Sources:

BoF Team, & McKinsey & Company. (2021, December 6). The Year Ahead: Unlocking next-generation Social Shopping. The Business of Fashion. Retrieved November 13, 2022, from https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/technology/the-state-of-fashion-2022-bof-mckinsey-social-media-app-ecommerce-marketing/ 

Depop. (n.d.). How does depop work? Depop Blog. Retrieved November 13, 2022, from https://blog.depop.com/articles/how-does-depop-work 

Dockterman, E. (2021, August 19). Inside Depop's big plans for the future of fashion upcycling. Time. Retrieved November 11, 2022, from https://time.com/6089003/depop-upcycling-fashion/