With over 450 million social media users in India, social commerce, according to experts, is valued at around $8B in 2023 and has the potential to grow by 10x by the end of the decade.

“Imagine scrolling through Instagram and stumbling upon a gadget that instantly catches your eye. You didn't know you needed it, but now you can't imagine life without it. It is discovery commerce at work. It's an exciting world where products and services find you, sparking new needs and desires,” says Vivek Kumar Anand, Chief Business Officer, DViO Digital.

Amandeep Singh, Head of Commercial Growth & CX, VMLY&R, says social commerce has increasingly become popular because of its nature, where the existing consumer behaviour of spending time on social media platforms and discovering products meets the ability to make a purchase.

“Of course, there are different types of social commerce models which have evolved around Asia and India where you can make a purchase inside the app or getting redirected to another platform. While you have Meta and Google making significant moves to get a share of this growing pie in India, there are also platforms like Shopsy by Flipkart. Meta has made investments in Meesho, and also is strategically aligning WhatsApp to the whole user journey,” he says.

While Indian consumers are increasingly embracing online shopping, with e-commerce platforms gaining significant traction, Abheek Biswas, AVP Consumer Insights, dentsu India, says social commerce offers a more personalized and interactive shopping experience that caters to the preference of Indian consumers. Social commerce leverages influencer marketing and user-generated content to influence consumer purchase decisions.

“YouTube made shopping features available for videos on demand and is expanding similar opportunities to live streams with creators and brands. It displays a ‘view products’ button just below the video and sees the featured items that are available for purchase. Similarly, WhatsApp has a shopping button feature, which makes it easier for customers to discover a business catalogue,” he says.

Singh adds that with shifting consumer behaviour to social commerce, brands are now viewing this as not just as a channel to supplement sales, but as a complete route to market as well. Expect big investments as the ecosystem grows and becomes more integrated in India.

“From a psychological perspective, discovery commerce taps into our innate love for surprises and new experiences. It's about the joy of stumbling upon something unexpected. It aligns with theories of consumer behaviour that emphasize the emotional and impulsive aspects of shopping,” says Anand.

So, what's driving this surge in social commerce? According to Anand, it's a mix of factors: the rise of influencers who make products feel like a friend's recommendation; the growing preference for visual content like videos that make products come alive; and the sophisticated algorithms that know what you want before you do.

Mitesh Kothari, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer, White Rivers Media, absolutely believes this explosive growth is also driven by the rise of the creator economy. “With their captivating content and loyal fans, they've become powerful sales forces, seamlessly blending lifestyle and commerce. It's a win-win for both brands and consumers. Brands gain valuable insights into customer preferences, while consumers enjoy a frictionless shopping experience within their favorite platforms.”

In fact, according to Biswas, the major reasons behind the increase in social commerce are the abilities of social media platforms to have several buying and selling groups, as well as messaging, video sharing and photo-sharing features that make online socializing and shopping highly compatible.

Experts say social commerce also presents a great opportunity for customers and sellers to discover each other and is proving to be a better alternative for micro and medium-sized businesses, as these platforms provide a simple way of getting an online presence, along with connecting with the customers.

“The customers feel that they are more comfortable spending time on social media platforms and shopping at the same time. They also get to know more about the products/services from the brands’ social media posts and marketing campaigns. While researching a brand, customers prefer to search it on social media platforms first,” adds Biswas.

Indeed, Anmol Kumar Dang, AVP Media, FCB/SIX India quotes a recent report that claims 90% of consumers discovered new products on YouTube, and 64% of consumers in India made purchases based on an influencer or online review.

“The finding only emphasizes on the fact that how social commerce is going to shape the future of e-retail in India. Social commerce has experienced a remarkable growth rate of around 85% CAGR over the past two years and it is projected to maintain a similar, if not more, accelerated pace in the future,” he says.