How Merchants Can Leverage Social Commerce

Social commerce refers to sales activity conducted on or influenced by social networks, including brand-managed posts, paid influencer promotions, livestream shopping, and advertisements linked directly to checkout. It offers merchants a way to demonstrate more complex products, build consumer trust through authentic-looking content, and reach customers where they spend substantial time online. However, businesses must develop effective audience-focused strategies, choose between selling through social platforms or directing shoppers to their own mobile-optimized sites, and manage logistics, affiliate tracking, inventory, and platform fees. While using a network’s built-in payment system can simplify early efforts, fees such as Instagram’s reported 5% sales charge can reduce margins, encouraging merchants to retain control of checkout and payments. More advanced approaches may use payment automation, multiple payment providers, and third-party token vaults to secure customer data, support varied payment methods and international transactions, lower compliance burdens, and improve authorization rates and processing costs.

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