The first online sale was in 1994 which set the tone for ecommerce moving forward, but would someone from 1994 or even 2010 predict that social and Meta commerce would get as big as it is today? 

The pandemic expedited the growth of ecommerce predictions, what has once been known for steady growth for five years all of a sudden hit these predictions in one year. For companies searching to increase their online sales, like our client Thrift World, here are the predictions to include in the social media marketing budget. 

2022 social commerce trends

Social commerce 

What is Social Commerce? Social commerce is exactly what it sounds like. It provides companies and creators the ability to sell their products through Facebook’s various commerce options.

At the beginning of this pandemic, it seemed that it would only last a few weeks, but as cities and businesses shut down and companies went virtual, businesses had to adapt their current methodologies to stay afloat. 

With 56.1 million shoppers on its app, Facebook continues to reign as the top social commerce platform due to its several different options to sell on Facebook and Instagram. 

This includes Facebook page shopping, Instagram shopping, Facebook Marketplace, and the latest Facebook Groups. A large majority of online shoppers are using social media to discover new products and brands while searching to immediately purchase products. 

The research continues to show that video games, toys and hobbies, apparel and accessories, jewelry and watches, ebooks, and others are some of the top categories and items selling on social media platforms. 

In 2020, Thrift World came to our team to go digital along with their stores. In the last two years, Thrift World has sold to the following states and more! 

• AR
• AZ
• CA
• CO
• FL
• GA
• IA
• IN
• KS
• MA
• MI
• MN
• MO
• MS
• NC
• NE
• NJ
• NM
• NY
• OR
• PA
• TN
• TX

With the implementation of an Instagram Shop, Facebook Commerce Manager, eBay integrations, Shopify integrations, and even more on the way, this shows that social commerce can continue to drive sales, even two years later. 

Meta commerce 

In 2021, Facebook rebranded to “Meta” or “Metaverse.” In an effort to provide an immersive social media experience, Meta is bringing Virtual Reality (VR)  and Artificial Intelligence (AI) together in an effort to continue to grow. 

This means the implementation of new technologies within the metaverse to provide an immersive experience. As of now, the latest changes will involve WhatsApp within the company’s biggest changes for social commerce. 

While these are not the only trends for social ecommerce moving into the future, these are two of the largest trends to take into consideration.