New Report Highlights the Rise of Social Media Shopping

While eCommerce has witnessed a significant increase as a result of the pandemic over the last two years, social networking networks have also been attempting to get in on the action by introducing more direct purchase choices in-stream, allowing users to both find and buy products without ever leaving their apps.

Is it true that consumers are becoming more comfortable with in-stream purchasing and sending payment information directly to each platform?

According to the latest research from The Influencer Marketing Factory, which surveyed over 1000 US consumers in early December last year to get their perspectives on social commerce - which, as IMF points out, is direct, in-stream buying rather than referring users to a third-party website for purchase - they appear to be.

It's worth noting that 57 percent of respondents said they've purchased while watching a live stream. Another reason why Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, and TikTok are all investing in live-stream commerce to promote their buying possibilities is because of this.

User behavior must evolve, with users becoming so accustomed to paying money in social apps that buying becomes second nature. As each platform tries to encourage more in-app spending to increase direct purchasing, expect to see a greater focus on in-stream payments in various forms (subscriptions, contributions, etc.). And, based on these statistics, that push will pay off.