This year, social commerce is expected to account for approximately 20% of all online retail sales, according to global data analytics and market research company Statista. This type of selling, which drives purchases through social platforms like TikTok Shop, LTK and influencer links, enables instant shopping for potential customers who can browse and buy without leaving their platform of choice.
There remains a tendency to reduce social commerce to a set of tactics—posting content, sharing links or hosting live streams. While those activities are part of the ecosystem, they do not define it. Framing social commerce that way risks treating it as an extension of marketing, when it represents a shift in how the customer journey now takes place.
While most direct selling and social commerce companies are privately held, the principals behind Social Commerce Partners Acquisition Corp. are looking to help a high-quality, high-performing company within this arena to access the public markets.
Our rich history says it will start with leaders willing to take risks. Today, six frontiers stand out. Two involve new strategic approaches while the remaining four are product category opportunities that could fuel growth.
As 2025 draws to a close, the direct selling channel finds itself in a period of meaningful transformation—shaped by rapid technological advancement, shifting consumer expectations, economic pressures and renewed clarity around where future growth will come from.
Social commerce is a new term for a new era. But it is also a powerful signal to the outside world that the way people shop has permanently changed, and direct selling is uniquely positioned to lead—not follow—in this transformation.
New research revealed that Millennials in the UK have become the fastest growing demographic for social commerce purchases. This is in sharp contrast to popular belief.
Direct selling is blending with the direct-to-consumer space and it is changing two very important dynamics in the industry: The nature of our relationship with consumers and the nature of competition itself.
Social commerce—shopping that takes place from product discovery to purchase on a social media platform—is projected to grow three times faster than traditional ecommerce over the next three years.
Instagram is launching in-app shopping capability is another sign that social media platforms are getting into the commerce game. So how does all this impact direct selling? With so many distributors using Instagram as a way to showcase new products and build their own personal brand, it’s only natural to assume they will want to […]
Click here to order the November 2017 issue in which this article appeared. I LOVE BEING IN THIS CHANNEL. Over the past 27 years, I feel like I’ve seen it all. And really, truly, from daily field work to taking part in growing businesses, seeing the operations and mentoring young business leaders, I can’t imagine a better […]