Social commerce has rapidly moved from emerging trend to core component of the media mix, collapsing the traditional marketing funnel and turning discovery, influence, and purchase into a single moment.
In this blog, members of our Retail & Commerce Media Committee, April Hancock and Malay Shah, explore what this shift means for retailers and brands: how to balance seamless shopping with consumer trust and privacy, how to rethink measurement and attribution in a world where ROAS alone isn't enough, and what early success stories like M&S Food can teach the industry.
The message is clear; the retailers who win will be those who leverage their first-party data advantage, prioritise authentic content, and build measurement frameworks fit for an omnichannel world.
April: "Social commerce has quickly become a core part of the media mix as consumers increasingly discover, research and buy products within social platforms. This shorter path to purchase is driving more impulse-led buying and creating new opportunities for brands and retailers to influence decisions closer to conversion. While most retailers recognise the opportunity, many are still developing the capabilities needed to fully capitalise on it. Beauty and fashion brands have led the way through creator partnerships and shoppable content, but success won't come from a one-size-fits-all approach. Retailers must identify where their categories, products and audiences naturally align and prioritise accordingly."
Malay: "Over time, social media has evolved like a stepwell (baoli/baori/vav) — layered, deepening, and revealing more the further you descend. People first used it as a digital extension of their social identity, a space for connection in its truest form. As time spent on these platforms grew, so did their utility: brands found a space to connect with customers, and individuals found a way to connect with others across the world, unbound by geography.
Social commerce, then, was never really a possibility — it was an inevitability. It simply needed social media to first earn the trust of its audiences and establish itself as a credible space for them to inhabit. Now, it presents both a challenge and a tremendous opportunity for retailers, who must reconfigure a traditional, proven operational model into one where discovery and purchase can happen within seconds, triggered by a single ad.
Retailers are already gearing up for this shift. And given the pace at which social platforms and retailers are adapting to each other's needs, it won't be long before retailers are fully ready — after all, marketing and selling is what they do best."
April: "Consumer trust is key to the success of social commerce. Brands can build credibility by partnering with creators who genuinely align with their values and products, producing authentic content that resonates with their audiences. Consumers can quickly spot content that feels forced or overly commercial, and trust can be lost just as quickly. Long-term creator partnerships can be effective too. Helping to build familiarity, consistency and confidence over time. From a privacy perspective, transparency is equally important. Brands should be clear about what data they collect, why they collect it and how it will be used, while giving consumers meaningful choice through clear consent and responsible data practices."
Malay: "For a reputable brand (or one on track), their digital identity should match their real identity as that would build trust right away. Social media has further enhanced the power of the consumer with online reviews by people and with the growth of UGC (User generated content) which goes beyond influencers. To match that with a digitally educated customer who values their privacy and presence it becomes vital for the brands to focus on three distinct elements which starts with taking the jargon away by making it easy for the consumer to understand their data use, clearly outlining the value of their data use with the benefits being as simple as being able to create a personalised user experience and finally, giving them the benefits by creating a value exchange between the two parties. The great thing about social is that it operates in an environment with high information symmetry."
April: "Social commerce is turning the traditional marketing funnel on its head. The awareness, consideration and purchase stages that marketers have relied on for years are now happening in the same moment. Consumers can discover a product through a creator, see reviews and recommendations from other shoppers, and complete a purchase in just a few clicks. As a result, buying decisions are becoming faster and more impulse-driven. This is also changing how brands measure success. While it’s easier to connect ad exposure to conversion and measure metrics like ROAS and CPA, brands must avoid focusing solely on these. Engagement, creator influence and other upper-funnel signals remain equally as important to understanding true marketing effectiveness."
Malay: "Marketing funnels are an archaic system but one that is easily understood across the businesses. Retailers, social platforms, measurement teams and sales teams need to come together to find viable solutions that can exist in the world of measurement which are not just attribution models (whether that be last click or multi-touch attribution) but start to look into omni-channel measurement solutions ensuring that required signals and data layers are connected to find the right measurement technique that can fit the requirement. One-size won’t fit all but at least there will be a potential mould to eventually fit the work . There are some great partners doing great work with the likes of Fospha but this is still early doors as measurement will further require optimisation which brings us back to square one."
April: "Retailers need to strike the right balance, as not every category will be transformed by social commerce in the same way. For FMCG, where many purchases will continue to happen in-store, the focus should be on creating more engaging, experiential shopping environments that drive discovery and give customers something they can’t get online. Technologies such as scan-and-shop and digital screens can also help retailers make better use of their rich first-party data to enhance the customer experience. For higher-involvement categories like beauty, fashion, consumer electronics and home furnishings, retailers need to show up wherever discovery and purchase happen, from TikTok Shop to shoppable media. But regardless of channel, their biggest advantage remains their first-party data and ability to build direct customer relationships. Keeping this front and centre is key to driving loyalty, repeat purchase and long-term growth."
Malay: "Retailers need to ensure their core tech stack is properly set up, and make sure all the right signals are being passed. Build a rigorous test-and-learn agenda, and be ruthless about executing it.
Retailers can bring their own perspective to the approach, but social commerce is fundamentally rooted in the social media content consumption space — a space where millions of impressions are served and processed by algorithms operating at a scale and at a speed never seen before is a known detail which gets forgotten in the day to day.. Letting the platforms do what they do best; leading on activations and tweaking results in real time will get retailers to their desired outcomes."
April: "Early social commerce success stories show that winning isn't just about making products shoppable – it's about creating content that feels authentic, relevant and useful to consumers. M&S Food has done this particularly well, using recipe-led content, influencer partnerships and social-first campaigns to inspire product discovery and drive engagement. For FMCG retailers, the opportunity is less about driving every sale through social platforms (while still beneficial for some categories) and more about influencing basket choice, building brand affinity and creating demand. The key lesson is to meet customers where they are, create content that adds value and connect social engagement with both online and in-store experiences."
All of the work of the Retail & Commerce Media Committee can be found in our Retail Media Hub here.
Find out more about our work and how you can get involved by contacting Marie-Clare Puffett - puffett [at] iabeurope.eu.
