What Is Social Shopping & How Can Your Online Store Use It?

Is your online store still just a digital catalog? For many e-commerce business owners, the answer is yes. They have a well-designed website, a great product line, and a time-tested checkout process. However, in 2025, that’s not enough, and customers expect much more. Modern e-commerce is no longer limited to passive activity and static product listings.

Today, you need to create an interactive, community-driven shopping experience.  This concept, called social shopping, has become increasingly popular lately. And for good reason.

The rise of platforms like TikTok Shop and Instagram Shopping, along with the growth of live commerce and AI-powered personalization, has made social shopping the key to deeper customer engagement and better conversions. According to Statista, global social commerce sales are projected to reach $1.2 trillion by 2026, with Gen Z and Millennials leading the shift. Sounds impressive, right?

At Laconica, we help companies build scalable e-commerce solutions, from simple online stores to omnichannel portals, that seamlessly integrate with relevant social platforms. In this article, we'd like to share our accumulated experience so that you can future-proof your business for the new social-first era.

What Is Social Shopping?

So, what is social shopping? It’s not just a trend but a critical revenue channel. Those who adopt it now will capture loyal audiences and consequently increase sales, while others risk being left behind.

Social shopping is the point where social media and e-commerce meet. Simply put, it’s about integrating e-commerce features into social media platforms. Instead of dealing with a traditional online catalog, shoppers can browse products, watch live demonstrations, interact with shoppable posts, read community reviews, and complete their purchases without ever leaving their social feed. This makes the whole process faster and more enjoyable; it feels less like shopping and more like some fun activity.

Traditional e-commerce is a bit passive, requiring a customer to search for a product on a website. Social shopping, on the other hand, is an active, interactive, and personalized journey. Imagine a user scrolling through their Instagram feed and seeing an influencer trying out a certain item from a renowned brand, sometimes in real time! It grabs and holds their attention, often prompting them to make an impulse purchase, right then and there. In a second, it's done!

Let's look at a clear comparison.

So when someone asks “What is social shopping?”, the answer is clear: it’s traditional commerce merged with the social experience where entertainment, trust, and purchasing converge.

Popular examples include Instagram Shopping, TikTok's live shopping events, Facebook Marketplace, and Pinterest Catalogs. And let’s not forget the review section on a brand’s website, which acts as a form of social proof.

The Core Components of a Social Shopping Experience

To create a truly effective social commerce strategy, you need to understand its core components. Let’s take this step by step.

Below, we’ve listed key features that work together to deliver a cohesive and engaging social shopping experience.

Social Commerce Integrations

We should start by discussing platforms that have added e-commerce features to their usual content-sharing and communication functionality. These platforms certainly got it right, as their smart move has helped them further engage their audience while simultaneously creating one more revenue stream. You, in turn, can use this to your business advantage, too.

Platforms Commonly Integrated with E-commerce Stores:

• Instagram Shop
• TikTok Shop
• Facebook Marketplace
• Pinterest Catalogs

When integrating your online store with these social platforms, ensure data sync across all channels, including products, inventory, sales, customers, and more. Otherwise, your sales information could be fragmented across different systems, which is clearly not good.

Laconica role:

Our team is happy to help you implement this functionality, with full data synchronization and a seamless integration process that won’t disrupt your daily e-commerce operations. The proof is our 15+ years of experience with Magento and Shopify, as well as a strategic partnership with Hyvä, an innovative Magento front-end solution. With this extensive knowledge and hands-on experience, we know how to help your brand sell through social media while maintaining a single source of truth for data and performance.

Live Shopping

What is live social shopping? It’s a real-time event where brands or influencers showcase products, interact with viewers, and allow instant purchases. No video, just a live stream where the presenter actively communicates with the audience and answers their questions. Sometimes the host even offers exclusive deals with a short expiration date, creating a sense of urgency and community.

BTW!

In Asia, live social shopping has become a multibillion-dollar trend. Western markets are catching up quickly, too, with TikTok Live, YouTube Live, and Amazon Live hosting shopping events. And since all these activities have become so trendy, it’s high time you joined the leaders as well.

Laconica role

We can build live shopping software for e-commerce directly into Magento or Shopify stores, giving businesses full control over branding, data ownership, and scalability without tying them to third-party platforms.

Shoppable Content

Shoppable content includes posts, videos, and stories with products tagged for immediate purchase. This format significantly shortens the shopping cycle, so users can go from discovery to checkout in seconds.

For example, an Instagram user might see a tagged item in a story, click, and order it within the app. No extra steps on the customer's part; everything happens smoothly and fast!

On your website, embedded shoppable videos can replicate the same experience, creating new buying opportunities without disrupting the browsing journey.

Key Benefits of Shoppable Content

• Reduces cart abandonment by shortening checkout steps.
• Increases click-through rates (shoppable videos can improve CTR by 30%+).
• Creates multiple touchpoints for purchase across content.

So, what is social shopping in this case? It’s a product tagged on an Instagram Reel, a link in a TikTok video, a Pinterest catalog, or more.

Laconica role

Our expert team creates custom shoppable content features for any e-commerce platform you prefer. Our approach ensures a seamless branded experience, unlike generic plug-ins that often feel disconnected.

Community & User-Generated Content (UGC)

User-generated content (UGC)—reviews, ratings, and testimonials—is the backbone of social shopping (and live social shopping, too, for that matter). The importance of so-called social proof cannot be overstated. When a potential customer sees a real person using your product and giving it positive feedback, it builds far more trust than a polished ad.

Through UGC, customers not only buy your products more and better, but also share their experiences, becoming advocates who influence future buyers.

Laconica role

We develop advanced review systems and community features for e-commerce stores. This includes verified ratings, Q&A sections, and loyalty-driven forums that keep customers engaged while generating valuable social proof.

Why Social Shopping Matters for E-commerce Stores

With Gen Z and Millennials driving a significant portion of online sales, embracing a social-first strategy is critical. Ignoring this trend means losing market share to competitors who are already ahead.

If you’re not convinced yet, let’s dive deeper into some of the latest statistics. As Grand View Research shows, the global social commerce market will hit $8.5 trillion by 2030. Already, nearly half of U.S. adults have made purchases through social media, while 62% of Gen Z prefer to discover products on TikTok or Instagram rather than Google.

Business Benefits at a Glance

Brands that resist digital commerce, which includes live social shopping, will see competitors dominate social feeds, capture younger audiences, and build stronger communities.  

Social shopping for your e-commerce business means an opportunity to sell more and better while satisfying your audience's current needs—a perfect win-win situation!

In the end, it’s where your customers already are. Meeting them there is not optional—it’s the path to sustainable growth.

How Your Store Can Leverage Social Shopping

All of the above sounds good and convincing, but how do you turn it into real action and achieve the described result? We offer you a simple guide with practical steps for implementing social shopping into your e-commerce system.

#1. Integrate Shoppable Features

• Connect your store with Instagram Shop, TikTok Shop, Pinterest, and other platforms you find relevant.
• Sync your product catalog to reduce friction in the buying process.

To connect your Shopify store to an Instagram Shop or another similar platform, you can use Shopify's built-in integration or a third-party app. For Magento stores, a custom system works better, combining all the elements into a unified user interface. The main thing in both cases is to ensure your product catalog syncs seamlessly across sales channels.

And of course, our Laconica team would be happy to assist you during this journey!

#2. Start Influencer Partnerships

• Find the right fit: Partner with micro-influencers for highly engaged, niche audiences or macro-influencers for broader reach.
• Track ROI: Use specific promo codes, affiliate links, or influencer dashboards to measure the sales generated from each partnership. After all, what’s the point of investing in a certain deal if the results don’t live up to expectations?

#3. Host Live Social Shopping Events

• Host events: Arrange live commerce events regularly and involve an influencer when possible. According to McKinsey, live social shopping can achieve conversion rates up to 10x higher than standard e-commerce.
• Choose the right format: Ideally, of course, you would ensure the participation of a certain celebrity, a popular blogger, or someone else with influence on your audience. However, that's far from the only option. Live commerce events can take different forms, from a product launch or a how-to tutorial to a classic Q&A session. The main thing is to think everything through so that customers don't get bored while watching the broadcast and receive real benefits.

#4. Encourage UGC

• Get customers to promote your products: Encourage them to tag your items in their social media posts and stories. When they share your products with their friends and talk about their social shopping experiences, preferably positive ones, you get a chance to increase buying activity.
• Offer incentives: Nobody likes doing anything for free, so you need to devise a suitable incentive for your audience. It doesn't necessarily have to be about money, just some benefit. For example, run a contest or offer a discount to customers who share their experiences with your products.
• Be proactive: Reshare UGC across all your channels, including social media and your own website. The more places your content is visible, the more likely you are to connect with a potential customer. You never know what piece of content will catch their attention and ultimately lead to a sale.

#5. Embrace AI & Personalization

• Use AI for recommendations: Stay current with new technology to innovate and keep up with the times. AI is a great example—it can analyze consumer behavior to predict trends and suggest products that will genuinely appeal to your customers.
• Deploy chatbots: Use chatbots inside social apps to guide purchase decisions and answer customer questions. This way, you free up your own resources and speed up the processing of requests.
• Analyze data: Integrate your analytics to track customer journeys and optimize your social strategy. As the saying goes, there's always room for improvement. Striving for excellence is a continuous process.

In summary, social shopping requires a combination of technical integration, community engagement, and personalized experiences. Businesses that master all three will strike the target.

Social Shopping Development with Laconica: Our Strategic Approach

Ready-made, off-the-shelf solutions look tempting, but they often require customization. Generic plugins and templates may not be enough for a scalable social shopping experience, especially if you have a complex business model.

That’s why you need professional assistance from a specialist like Laconica. Our team will carefully analyze your request and offer a strategy to fully cover your e-commerce needs.

Why Choose Laconica?

• Broad Expertise: We've been working in the e-commerce development market for over 15 years, specializing in Magento and Shopify solutions.
• Valuable Partnerships: Our team proudly bears the title of Hyvä Silver Partner, which allows us to provide more pleasant bonuses to Magento store owners.
• Strategic Approach: We ensure new social features work perfectly with your existing systems and technology stack, whether you use Magento, Shopify, or another e-commerce system.

Laconica can create an e-commerce store that fits your unique brand and business goals, whether we're starting from scratch or upgrading your current website with modern social shopping features. Our team is ready to rise to any technology challenge and handle any request.

Our solutions are not one-size-fits-all. They are built to grow with your business, easily handling high traffic during peak seasons like Black Friday or the holidays.

Actionable Steps with Laconica:

• Defining your goals: Before the implementation starts, our team determines what you want to achieve with social shopping—whether it's increased sales, community growth, brand awareness, or something else.
• Identifying your features: We help you choose the right components—live social shopping, UGC, etc.—for your e-commerce brand.
• Building a Roadmap: Based on the identified requirements, we draw up a detailed roadmap, which specifies all intermediate stages with clear deadlines.
• Implementation: Our seasoned developers now handle the technical work, integrating new features without disrupting your daily business. Our goal is to ensure a seamless process from start to finish.
• Going Live: After rigorous testing, we launch the updates. That's it—your e-commerce store is live and ready to engage social shopping fans with new features.

So, what is social shopping in our execution? It’s a smooth journey that requires absolutely no effort from you, while allowing you to attract a new audience of customers—those who make purchases without leaving their social media feeds.

FAQ on Social Shopping Experience

What is social shopping, and how does it work?

Social shopping is the use of social media to sell products directly. Merging e-commerce with social media through features like product tags and in-app checkouts helps customers discover items in posts, live videos, or reviews and purchase them without leaving the platform.

What is the main goal of social shopping for E-commerce?

The primary goal of social shopping is to create a frictionless path to purchase. It is about building a community around a brand, leveraging social proof, and enabling discovery-driven purchases that blur the lines between content and commerce.

Which social media platforms are best for e-commerce?

Instagram and TikTok are excellent for e-commerce thanks to integrated shopping tools. Facebook and Pinterest are strong secondary channels for catalog-driven sales.

Anyway, all three of them are a good choice because of their robust shopping features and visual-first nature.

How much does it cost to add social shopping to my online store?

The cost varies widely based on the complexity and scope of the project. Plug-ins may be inexpensive, but scalable solutions require custom development. The best approach is to consult with a partner like Laconica. We’ll analyze your needs and determine the best way to achieve your goal within your budget.

Is social shopping better for small businesses or large brands?

Social shopping is effective for both. Small businesses can use it to build a loyal community and gain authenticity through low-cost word-of-mouth marketing, while large brands can scale engagement, achieving global reach and comprehensive data collection.

What are the risks of social shopping?

Risks include fraud, returns, and poor ROI if social shopping features aren’t implemented correctly.

However, partnering with a tech vendor like Laconica mitigates these risks with a clear strategy. We go the extra mile to deliver a robust, well-integrated system with strong analytics.

Do I need a developer to integrate social shopping with Shopify or Magento?

It all depends on your goals. You may not need a developer for basic features like linking your products. However, a specialist like Laconoica is essential for custom solutions like a fully integrated live social shopping platform or a unified dashboard for tracking social sales.

And while basic apps exist, professional Magento social shopping integration or Shopify development ensures scalability and data reliability.

What role does AI play in social shopping?

AI powers personalization, recommends trending products, runs chatbots that assist in purchases, and analyzes customer behavior to optimize marketing efforts. In short, AI tools for social commerce make shopping smarter and faster.

Is social shopping the future of retail?

Yes, experts agree that it’s not a fad but a permanent shift that blurs the line between content, community, and commerce.

Conclusion

Social shopping is reshaping e-commerce by making discovery, engagement, and purchase part of the same journey. Driven by interaction and trust, it’s becoming a dominant force in the retail market.

The time to act is now. Your competitors are likely already building their social-first strategies. With Laconica as your partner, you can ensure your online store is fully integrated with the social channels that matter most to your business.

Whether you need live shopping, shoppable content, or cross-platform integrations, we provide the technical expertise to turn your online store into a thriving social commerce hub.

Ready to move beyond a static online catalog? Contact Laconica today and let’s design your future-proof social shopping solution.