What is social commerce?
Buying and selling products directly from social media platforms like Whatsapp, Facebook, and Instagram is social commerce. Customers can directly get in touch with sellers to have a more personalised experience.
According to a report by Ernst & Young, the value of social commerce will reach $50 Billion in India in the next 5 years! That means more people are going to be shopping on social media.
Related read: Tips to use social commerce for your business
Why are people shopping on social media?
More than 150 million social commerce shoppers in India have driven $2 billion in gross merchandise value in 2020. This number is projected to reach $20 billion by 2025!
That’s a huge number considering there are 700 million internet users in India – including people from remote corners of the country.
This level of penetration of social media, even beyond tier-1 cities has resulted in a major uptick in eCommerce.
Top reasons Indians are shopping on social media:
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- Quick and direct communication with seller
- They get to be a part of a community of the brand they buy from
- New products and sellers are easily discoverable
- Vernacular product descriptions
- Opportunities to bargain
With social media, super-fast communication allows Tier-II shoppers the experience of offline shopping from the comfort of their homes.
Related read: Indian shopping trends – How your customers will shop online in 2022
Reseller model driving social commerce in India
The reselling model has made eCommerce more accessible in India. Social media has become the go-to platform for resellers all over India. It’s not just a great way to earn an income but is also helping remote India become independent entrepreneurs.
How reselling works:
Resellers connect sellers to interested customers and earn a commission. They share the images of the products on their social media to get orders. Once they have the customer information, they pass it along to the supplier. Then they also facilitate the order reaching the customer on time through their shipping and courier partners.
At Instamojo too, you can become a reseller by joining our reseller network. We power 20 lakh+ eCommerce businesses and over 10,000+ sellers that have listed their products on the reseller network.
Related read: Make money with the Instamojo Reseller Network
Buyer profiles of the next 500 million social commerce shoppers
According to the EY report, the first 50 million eCommerce consumers were tech-savvy, with a high median income. They came from urban areas. As the internet penetrates deeper into rural areas, the next generation of eCommerce buyers is characteristically different.
Traits of Tier-II buyers:
Not very comfortable with technology and wants easy user interface
Prefers vernacular languages
Depends on reviews or images shared by previous buyers
Expects non-branded but good quality products
Resellers and online businesses have been able to target Tier II users well with social commerce. It has brought in a new wave of eCommerce that is discovery-driven and not search-driven. This also resulted in more online sellers engaging in content marketing, and LIVE stream shopping.
With the rise in online competition, it is not enough to just post a picture on your personal social and expect huge growth in revenue. To build a successful online business, you need to also have a strategy in place.
Want to learn strategies about how to sell on Instagram? Take this FREE certification course on mojoVersity. Enrol in our FREE course here!
Social commerce simplified with Instamojo online stores
If you have been selling products via social channels, you’re probably doing this in silos – collecting payments manually over DMs, showing off products on separate social media platforms with different catalogs, and keeping track of your inventory on Google sheets.
That sucks!
Consider switching to an eCommerce platform that helps you display products, manage orders and inventory, collect payments and also ship to customers easily – all over India!
You could connect all your social media accounts to your Instamojo online store in a few clicks. Getting customers to your website from the social media platform has never been easier.
Instamojo powers over 20 lakh small Indian businesses. You can be next!
