What is social commerce?

Social commerce, also known as social e-commerce, refers to the use of social media platforms to promote, discover, and sell products, without requiring users to leave the app. It transforms traditional e-commerce by embedding shopping functionality directly into social content, enabling users to move purchase in a single, uninterrupted flow.

By merging the community-driven nature of social platforms with native checkout tools, social commerce creates a buying experience that feels intuitive, mobile-first, and integrated into the user’s digital life. Whether it’s tapping on a tagged product on an Instagram post or purchasing an item during a TikTok livestream, the path to purchase is now built into social media experiences.

Social commerce allows users to shop products they discover on social media apps without having to leave the app to do so. Instead of being redirected to a brand’s website, users can find products in their feeds, look at them more closely in-app, and complete their purchase—all in just a few taps.

This streamlined process is driven by the integration of commerce tools into social media features such as shoppable posts and stories, live shopping events, creator storefronts, and native checkout functionality.

This end-to-end experience removes friction, increases purchase intent, and takes advantage of the high engagement social platforms naturally generate.

Which platforms support social commerce?

The social commerce experience varies across platforms, but all of the leading channels have heavily invested in native shopping features:

• Instagram offers Shops, product tags, and in-app checkout, allowing users to purchase products directly from posts, reels, and stories.
• TikTok has emerged as a key player with TikTok Shop, which enables creators and Insbrands to tag products in videos and sell during live streams.
• Facebook supports integrated storefronts through Shops and also facilitates peer-to-peer sales via Marketplace.
• Pinterest emphasizes discovery and inspiration with Rich Pins and catalog feeds that drive product exploration.
• Snapchat supports social commerce through Store, shoppable ads, and creator content, with AR features like virtual try-ons offering a differentiated, immersive layer to the shopping experience.

For mobile marketers, the rise of social commerce opens new, performance-driven opportunities. It’s not just another channel, it’s a convergence of content, community, and conversion, all happening in the same space. Key benefits include: 

Shorter user journeys
Social commerce keeps the entire funnel—from discovery to purchase—within the app, minimizing drop-off and improving conversion rates.

Higher engagement and trust
Users are more likely to engage with and trust content from creators and peers. This trust translates into higher click-through rates (CTR) and stronger purchase intent.

Creator-powered sales
Social commerce enables influencer marketing to go beyond awareness and directly drive revenue, linking product discovery with in-platform checkout.

Mobile-native experiences
Designed for mobile-first users, social commerce aligns with how people already use their phones: swiping, scrolling, and tapping through content.

Precision targeting and optimization
Social platforms offer targeting based on user behavior and preferences, while integrated analytics and mobile measurement partner (MMP) support make it possible to measure performance and lifetime value (LTV) over time.

The social commerce industry is projected to exceed $2 trillion in global sales by 2025. Users are spending more time on social platforms, trust creators (in many cases) more than brands, and expect fast, personalized experiences. This has created a significant for mobile-native shopping formats to thrive.

The industry’s growth is especially pronounced in mobile-first markets and among Gen Z and Millennial demographics, who are not only comfortable shopping on social apps, but often prefer it. Combined with the rise of AI-powered personalization, AR try-ons, and live events, the future of shopping is increasingly social, interactive, and app-native.

Measuring performance in social commerce

Measuring performance across social commerce channels can be challenging. Since purchases happen within social platforms, often inside closed environments, visibility into the full user journey can be limited without the right tools.

That’s where an MMP like Adjust plays a critical role.

By centralizing data across all your paid and organic sources, Adjust helps you understand which social commerce campaigns, platforms, and creators are actually driving app installs, conversions, and long-term value. This includes performance insights from in-app events like in-app purchases (IAP), sign-ups, or add-to-cart actions that stem from engagement on social platforms.

With Adjust, marketers can:

• Attribute installs and in-app actions to specific campaigns and creatives
• Measure performance across social, owned, and paid channels in one place
• Identify which creatives, influencers, or placements drive the most value
• Optimize campaigns based on real business outcomes

As social commerce grows, accurate measurement is essential for scaling success. Adjust gives you the visibility and confidence to invest in what works, and cut what doesn’t.

Social commerce is no longer an emerging trend. As platforms continue to roll out new features and users grow more comfortable shopping on social media, social commerce will continue to take a more central role in e-commerce strategies.

Looking ahead, we expect:

• Greater personalization through AI
• Deeper integration of AR and immersive product experiences
• Expansion of live commerce formats
• Continued innovation in creator monetization and affiliate tools

Success in social commerce will come from combining data-driven optimization with native, engaging content. Marketers who understand the unique dynamics of each platform, and who prioritize seamless, user-first journeys, will be best positioned to succeed.

To learn more about social commerce, mobile marketing attribution, and how measurement and analytics with Adjust can grow your app business, request a demo today.