NEW DELHI: Nearly eight out of ten social media users in India use social commerce to make purchases, according to an Accenture report released on Tuesday. According to the report, ‘Why shopping’s set for a social revolution’, despite being a mature market, almost half of consumers in India are making more impulse purchases than planned purchases.
Globally, the social commerce industry is expected to grow three times as fast as traditional e-commerce to $1.2 trillion by 2025, the study by Accenture suggests. The industry is currently estimated to be worth $492 billion. “Just under two thirds (64%) of social media users surveyed said they made a social commerce purchase in the last year, which Accenture estimates to reflect nearly 2 billion social buyers globally,” says the report.
It says China will remain the most advanced market both in size and maturity, however, the highest growth will be seen in developing markets. The growth will be driven by Gen Z and Millennial social media users, accounting for 62% of global social commerce spend by 2025. “Driven by mobile-first consumer preferences and the launch of new hyperlocal social commerce platforms, the emerging success of social commerce in India is a testimony to the power of people and communities,” said Anurag Gupta, MD and Lead - Strategy & Consulting, Accenture in India.