A majority of shoppers don't trust buying on social media, survey

Social commerce might be all the rage, particularly for younger shoppers, but it turns out retailers and social media platforms may have to change their approach.

Although 60% of US shoppers are willing to pay $100 on a product purchased on social media, 53% said they are also having a harder time trusting products sold through those channels, according to a study from AiBUY. And this is not a generational split; 52% of Gen Z and Millenials expressed the same concerns.

• A majority (63%) said they don’t make purchases through social media because of concerns regarding scams, while 57% shared concerns with sharing their checkout information, counterfeit, or low-quality products (55%), lack of privacy safeguards (47%), and unclear return policies (46%).

“While social media has been around for nearly two decades, the concept of shopping directly through social platforms is still very new, so it comes as no surprise we’re seeing this reluctancy to purchase,” said Randy Bapst, CEO of AiBuy. “With 45% of social media users in the US open to the concept, there is ample untapped opportunity for brands who are not already leveraging the space, and for those that are, to tailor their approach moving forward.”

This is not to say that there is no demand for social commerce. Nearly a third of respondents (29%) said that social commerce gives a more personalized experience than traditional e-commerce. Plus, almost a quarter (24%) said they make more impulse buys through social media platforms.

• AiBuy highlights the largest motivating factors for social commerce including discounts or promotions (27%), ad targeting based on interests (21%), and finding the least expensive options available (23%).

“We’re hopeful that as new technologies emerge to strengthen the customer path to purchase and overall user experience, trust will increase, and this concept of social shopping will become more mainstream,” Bapst said.