Social commerce is a growing industry in India and its expansion was accelerated by the global pandemic. Social commerce as a sector has the potential to expand to $16-20 billion by FY25, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 55-60 percent and $60-70 billion by 2030. Furthermore, the share of social commerce in India's e-commerce sector is predicted to grow at a CAGR of 65 percent between 2020 and 2025. Social commerce is predicted to revolutionize and democratize the broader e-commerce scene in India, thanks to strong support from younger generations and a stable rate of growth.

Our online community is social media, and it is quickly becoming a virtual mall. Using social media channels to sell goods is known as social commerce. Brands should be happy about social commerce since it gives them a great chance to connect with new consumers on well-known platforms. Social commerce also has the significant advantage of expediting the sales process because customers may make purchases without ever leaving those platforms.

It's not difficult to understand why social commerce is being welcomed by businesses all over the world given that social media has attained global penetration and sustained growth over the years.

The emergence of suggestion-based shopping, influencer, and creator-led live commerce, and other factors that give consumers a rich and innovative buying experience from the comfort of their homes have undoubtedly given social commerce a significant boost. The Covid-19 pandemic, which changed how we live our lives online, the ‘Digital India’ effort, the rise in smartphone usage, and rising Internet penetration all contributed to the expansion of social commerce in India, which is expected to soar in the upcoming years.

What Growing  Impact will Social Commerce have on Business?

The Growing Number of Social Media Users: The social commerce sector has enormous growth potential due to the growing number of social media users. India currently has over 340 million users, making it the world's largest user base. India has more Instagram users than the United States and Brazil combined, with over 180 million. Indian consumers spend an average of three hours each day on social media/messaging platforms and video apps. 28 percent of millennials are influenced by social media recommendations to purchase various products.

Cost-Effective Medium: Compared to the brick-and-mortar business model, social commerce allows more cost-effectively accessing the target audience with fewer investments. It can also provide businesses with a wealth of information on consumer attitudes and reactions to products that are being advertised.

Rural India is Catching Up: Social commerce, in collaboration with concerted efforts by India Inc., start-ups, and other initiatives, can provide financial independence, accessibility, and inclusion to the rural population. This will be consistent with the government's objective of transforming the rural market into an inclusive economy in which access is no longer a barrier to productivity and growth. According to a survey provided by the Internet and Mobile Association of India, India's rural internet users are expanding three times faster than the urban population, with a 13 percent increase in internet users by 2020. (IAMAI). By 2025, India's rural sector will have more internet users than metropolitan areas.

Vocal for Local: There has been an increase in the propensity to market local goods. Given the numerous logistical difficulties and the nationwide lockdowns, the pandemic has created a habit of purchasing things with quicker delivery dates. Local producers have been encouraged by this to use social media to their advantage as they transition from in-person delivery to online ones.

Conclusion

In conclusion, technology is available, even though social commerce is still developing and being tried by both businesses and consumers. Retailers now have the ideal chance to jump in, experiment with social shopping, and get ahead of the curve. Platforms for social commerce that employ augmented reality (AR) technology and very specific specialized segmentations will flourish. It's likely that more and more brands will be linked to software that promotes cutting-edge technology to satisfy consumer desires.

Although the concept of social commerce has been around for more than a decade, it has only lately begun to take off with both customers and brands. It's not surprising that social networking and e-commerce are combining as they increasingly penetrate every part of our life. Consumers can now directly purchase new products in the locations where they spend the majority of their free time thanks to social commerce. Social commerce is evolving into the modern mall as social media platforms roll out more and more features to support these transactions.

One thing must be at the center of brands', retailers', and platforms' strategies as they formulate their plans: people. In the following piece in this series, we'll go further into customer expectations for a social shopping experience, adoption challenges, and the responsibilities that platforms, merchants, and brands ought to play in meeting those needs.