Sporting goods brands should take a harder look at the benefits of social commerce, judging from a new report issued by Accenture. It says that shopping through social media platforms is expected to grow three times as fast as traditional e-commerce. Boosted by the Covid pandemic, it should rise from $492 billion a year to $1.2 trillion globally by 2025. The report shows that 64 percent of the 10,000-plus social media users it surveyed made at least one purchase via social commerce last year, indicating that this new retail channel was used by two billion people. Clothing attracted the largest portion of the purchases, or 18 percent of them, followed by consumer electronics. An estimated 80 percent of Chinese consumers use social commerce already, compared with less than 50 percent in the U.S. or the U.K. Shoppers in China, India and Brazil are more interested in the features of the products, while those in the U.K. and U.S. care more about their price. Interestingly, 59 percent of the social buyers surveyed said they are “more likely to support small and medium-sized businesses” through social commerce than when shopping online in general. However, about half of all the buyers are not sure that they are going to be properly protected or refunded. The report stressed that social commerce should be part of the company’s overall multi-channel strategy, working within “a dynamic ecosystem of platforms, marketplaces, social media and influencers to share data, insights and capabilities to deliver the right incentives and best consumer experience across an integrated digital marketplace.”

Topics