The social media and e-commerce alliance has been growing consistently – with social commerce predicted to be worth $600billion by 2028.

Global brands such as L’Oreal, Louis Vuitton and Burberry are already taking advantage of this new opportunity as social media platforms ramp up their e-commerce proposition.

From Facebook and Instagram Shops to TikTok and Pinterest’s enhanced partnerships with e-commerce platform Shopify, social media’s giants clearly see the increase in online buying behaviour as a key revenue driver to further grow their offering.

And it’s easy to see why. Keeping users within their feeds makes obvious sense: the more time we spend there the better for them.

Social commerce is already huge in south-east Asia. It is estimated that it accounts for nearly 50% of the $109billion e-commerce market.

And the West is now beginning to take it seriously. In 2021, about a quarter of UK shoppers are using social media to discover new products.

Discovery is the key for image-led platform Pinterest, wth users heading on to the platform for inspiration: for their home projects, special occasion outfits and much, much more.

After announcing an enhanced partnership with Shopify in 27 countries – including the UK – Pinterest’s Head of SMB, EMEA and APAC Export Martin Machinandiarena joined us as a special guest to discuss the platform’s future plans and the rise of social commerce.

He appeared alongside our very own co-founder Nathan Lomax, managing director EMEA of Shopify Simona Mehta, founder of paid media agency Launch Online Jaye Cowle, and co-founder of The Armoury, James Davey, now known as ‘The Oracle’.

Watch the video to learn how to build social commerce into your growth strategy.