Social commerce predicted to reach $1 trillion by 2028
A new study forecasts skyrocketing growth for the social commerce marketplace.
The global social commerce market is expected to gross $688 billion in 2024, 20% more than almost $571 billion in 2023, according to data from Statista presented by investment analytics site Stocklytics.com. The total is predicted grow by another 57% in the next four years, with social commerce becoming a trillion-dollar industry by 2028.
Statista data indicates that the global social commerce market grossed roughly $81 billion in 2018, and has expanded 750%, or an average of 46% per year, in the six years since.
The share of social commerce in the global e-commerce market is also expected increase. Statista data shows that social commerce represented less than 5% of global online sales in 2018.
Since then, its marketshare more than tripled and hit almost 17% in 2024, with a predicted almost 20% share of the overall e-commerce market by 2028.
A recent survey from AfterShip and Ipsos indicates younger shoppers are embracing social commerce, with 34% of 18- to 34-year-olds shopping on social media weekly and 65% likely to continue shopping on social media platforms in the future. This likelihood is only 49% for 35- to 54-year-olds and 15% for those 55 and older.
China to remain dominant
China is the single largest player in the social commerce landscape, and Statista expects the Chinese market to grow by 57% and hit $824 billion in revenue by 2028, representing two-thirds of the world`s expected total that year.
As the second-largest market globally, North America is forecast to see 55% growth and $148 billion in revenue by 2028. Although Europe is behind the top two social commerce markets in revenue, Statista expects revenue in the European market to jump by 77% and hit $48 billion in the next four years.
User growth anticipated
The Statista survey also indicates the social commerce market will add hundreds of millions of users in the next four years. During 2023, 1.38 billion Internet users made at least one purchase on social media, 100 million more than in 2022. Statistics show that 2024 saw roughly 80 million users in the market, with their total number rising to over 1.44 billion.
[READ MORE: Survey: Business leaders to invest in social commerce ahead of holidays]
According to Statista, roughly 300 million additional people will socially shop in the next four years, helping the global social commerce user base exceed 1.7 billion by 2028.
