Social commerce set to scale, but concern of authenticity looms large: Industry
Social commerce is poised for dynamic growth, with some estimating a 10-fold rise by 2030, but building digital trust and inspiring consumer confidence around product authenticity is what will set the cash registers ringing for brands and founders as online shoppers eagerly browse, purchase and checkout directly from social media apps, say experts.
The coming together of e-commerce and social media to create a new business channel, social commerce is increasingly gaining traction in the retail space. Consumers discover and purchase goods and services directly through social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube among others.
"Social commerce is expected to grow 10x by 2030 to a USD 55 Billion market in India. It is particularly strong in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities with a focus on affordable products, particularly in the fashion and home improvement space," said Anand Ramanathan, Partner, Consumer Industry Leader, Consulting, Deloitte India.
Director of Influencer Content at influencer marketing agency BarCode, Sonia Sarashetti seconded the stance.
"It is gaining tremendous popularity amongst direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands across the luxury, retail and tech-gadgets industry. The social commerce spends have increased over 35-40 per cent QoQ (quarter-on-quarter) since the last 2 financial years.". It is a scalable long-term business channel, the internet and social media is here to stay and this will too, said Divija Bhasin, founder of a mental health organisation and a silverjewellery business.