The Ultimate Bible on Ecommerce Social Media Statistics for 2020

Social media has become a mainstay in our lives, with sites like Facebook boasting 2.2 billion active users and acting almost like an ecommerce catalog, the game has assuredly changed in 2020. Social media helps online retailers dramatically expand their reach, and new estimates are finding that active advertising has helped these retailers generate an estimated $30 billion in social media driven sales year over year.

Marketers the world afar already know that without the right social proof an ecommerce store is doomed. And it’s no mystery that sites like Instagram boast an average $65 conversion value with sites like Facebook topping the list at about $128 per transaction. With 87% of consumers stating that social media has helped them make a buying decision over the past year, it’s apparent that this trendsetter isn’t going anywhere, any time soon.

If you’re looking to find the most robust list of social media statistics for 2020 that’s available online, you’ve come to the right place! We’ve painstakingly compiled this ultimate bible so you can use it as your go-to reference point.

Read on to learn more.

Social media is more than sensational; it’s part of most people’s everyday life. In fact, the average person spends more than 135 minutes daily on any given social media site (that’s more than one-tenth of a day). Most are there to have fun, but many end up researching products and interesting things, watching videos or finding new places to explore locally and abroad. About 28% are strictly on social media to conduct research into brands, products and ecommerce services they’re interested in.

This is why social commerce rapidly grew from being a $3 billion beast in 2012 to a $14 billion monster by 2015; that’s a staggering 40% increase in just 3 years, and we’re already in 2020 (so imagine what it’s at now). A key reason behind this growth is that 33% of consumers are acting on promotions they see from brand channels, with Facebook helping to generate an estimated 80% or more of all social ecommerce referrals.

Just how big a force is social media in ecommerce? These statistics for 2020 are telling:

• 87% of consumers have bought based on a social ad or brand presence.
• 25% of people search social for tips before shopping for apparel.
• Brand reach appeals to 90% of social media users.
• Half of consumers says social improves a brand’s customer service model.
• Good social product reviews increase price points by nearly 10%.
• Almost 72% of consumers change brand perception based on positive social reviews.
• Just 1% of social shoppers are in the 25-34 age bracket.
• In 2017, social commerce helped today’s top brands rake in $6.5 billion.
• Smartwatches, video doorbells, facial masks, and phone cases are some of the top-selling products on social media.
• When the shopping experience is good, more than 70% of consumers will talk about the brand on social afterwards.
• As of 2018, more than 3.2 billion people worldwide were using social media, accounting for more than 42% in total penetration.
• More than half of all consumers say social media customer service is the faster way to get an issue resolved.
• Social sharing increases average order value by 9%.
• Social referrals can generate 200% more site traffic.
• Most online stores improve SEO simply by having a social presence.
• 65% of consumers use social to shop for holiday gifts.
• Social commerce generates 5% of all online sales.
• The leading top eight social platforms generate more than 30% of all web traffic.
• According to Social Media Examiner, 58% of users want more written content on social.
• An Adobe study finds that the best time to post to social is on Friday night.
• 9% of shoppers use their social accounts while shopping in a store.
• 4% of shoppers tweet about what they found including best offers.
• Half of all social referral purchases take place within seven days of the referral.
• Social media drives equal amounts of online and in-store purchases.
• Pinterest gets more sales off spontaneous purchases than any other platform.
• 74% of the population uses Facebook, 24% uses Twitter and 15% uses Pinterest.
• About 34% of Twitter purchases and 25% of Facebook purchases are for tech-related items.
• 71% of online adults are using Facebook.
• 28% of online adults are using Pinterest.
• 28% of online adults are using LinkedIn.
• 26% of online adults are using Instagram.
• 23% of online adults are using Twitter.

The Influencer Affect

Influencers are a big part of social marketing in today’s crowded ecommerce universe. Our Partner, BigCommerce, has revealed some interesting statistics on social media influencers that we’d like to share with you:

• Influencers help generate at least $5 billion in social marketing spend annually.
• 65% of marketers will increase their influencer budgets this year.
• 7% of companies will spend $1 million or more this year on influencers.
• 89% of companies agree that the ROI from influencers is equal to other marketing sales uplifts.
• Instagram is the top influencer social channel.

Need even more influencer statistics? Check out this batch that we dug up for you:

• Social commerce referrals account for consumers spending about $2,000 per year with social media platforms earmarking billions in profits in the process.
• Teens trust influencers 70% more than they do other celebrities.
• Almost half of consumers use an influencer’s advice before buying.
• Influencer return on investment is $6 for every $1 spent.
• Influencers are helping social media generate $10 billion more per year.

Pinterest vs. Instagram

We’ve taken a good look at how Pinterest stacks up against competitors like Instagram. Here are all the statistics we’ve been able to compile on these two giants so far that can give you a better understanding of how competitive (and profitable) these two image-sharing rivals have become.

• Instagram has 1 billion users and has added more than 200 million since 2017.
• Instagram users earn an average of $30,000 per year.
• Pinterest isn’t considered a “social network” according to CEO Ben Silbermann, who says that it’s an ecommerce website that attracts 250 million users per month with 2 million actively shopping via pins
• Pinterest pins generate, on average, $0.78 in sales per pin you put up.
• Pinterest has an average referral value of $123.50; 126% greater than Facebook’s.
• Pinterest generates a return of $4.30 per $1 spent on marketing.
• Pinterest users earn an average of $75,000 per year.
• Pinterest has about 250 million monthly users.
• The cost-per-click on these sites varies with Pinterest CPC starting at $0.10 and Instagram’s hovering around $0.70 per click.
• Pinterest’s demographics comprise 17% men and 45% women.
• Pinterest is the ideal place to market to high-income persons.
• Around 8 million accounts on Instagram are business profiles.
• 71% of businesses are currently using Instagram.
• 35% of all adults in the US are using Instagram.
• Instagram has an average order value of $65.
• Instagram has an excellent engagement rate on posts of 1%.
• Instagram now makes up more than one-third (36%) of Facebook’s total ad revenue.
• Most pinners want to purchase as they shop and help drive a high order value as a result.
• Pinterest accounts for 5.06% of all referrals, a 684% increase since 2011.

Facebook

The undisputed king of social commerce, Facebook set new benchmarks in 2017 when its revenue surpassed $10 billion for ads. To put this into better perspective, the second most popular social network, Instagram, did just $4 billion that year.

While Instagram and Pinterest have a higher referral value, Facebook’s still sending referrals at $55 or higher and it’s sending a lot more of them to ecommerce retailers.

Here are some other interesting Facebook ecommerce social statistics for 2020:

• Positive reviews on Facebook help improve brand perception by 71% and can increase average order value by 9.5% or more.
• Facebook has a 0.77% conversion rate on ecommerce ads.
• Facebook commands a 6.21% market share.
• Half of all social users report buying at least one item from an ad on Facebook.
• More than half of all online and offline purchases are influenced by Facebook.
• Mobile users account for nearly 80% of Facebook’s ad revenue.
• 3% of holiday purchase social referrals come from Facebook.
• Facebook videos generate 1 billion views daily.
• Facebook gets 1 billion more views than YouTube each month.
• 64% of social buy button referrals come from Facebook.
• Half of all consumers in the US use Facebook to learn more about a brand before buying.
• 95% of big-name retail brands have a presence on Facebook.
• 25% of all ecommerce social referrals come from Facebook each year.
• 33% of social users on Facebook use it as a customer service tool to connect with brands.
• 47% of consumers think Facebook is a better customer service tool than live chat.
• More than 70% of people interact with brands on Facebook.
• Almost 80% of all internet users have an active profile on Facebook.

Twitter

Twitter has made strides in recent years to contend with other social networks in the ecommerce referral space and the efforts are paying off. With more than 1.3 billion active users and 120 million unique monthly visitors, Twitter ads give retailers a way to get their products in the spotlight for cheap.

Consider this: The average Twitter user has 200 plus followers and can be reached by an ad for a lot less than a retailer would spend for the same ad on Facebook or Instagram. Newer Twitter Cards give merchants a way to specialize the delivery of their ads and tailor them across more than 68 available industries.

How does Twitter stack up in the ecommerce space? Here are some 2020 stats to chew on:

• Twitter delivers the third most valuable ecommerce referrals.
• Twitter users are the most vocal and responsive users on social media.
• There have been more than 300 billion tweets since Twitter’s inception.
• 184 million of Twitter’s users specifically access the site from a mobile device.
• Twitter generates around $500 million in ad revenue annually.
• 45% of consumers prefer to shop with Twitter as a reference tool before buying.
• Twitter generates 0.82% of all online ecommerce referrals.
• A tweet or a Twitter Card influences as much as 65% of consumers during the buying process.
• Nearly 57% of consumers use Twitter to find stores to shop at online or offline.
• Holiday tweets come from 30% of Twitter users well before the holiday commences.

YouTube

Video is still one of the best ways to reach consumers in the ecommerce space. YouTube is and will forever be the king of the social jungle in this regard. With Business Insider finding that 50 million people use their mobile devices to access video online daily, and with YouTube networks generating more viewership than premier networks like HBO, it’s no wonder why YouTube is a go-to for ecommerce advertising and revenue-generating social referrals.

Here’s all the ecommerce YouTube stats you need to know for 2020:

• 95% of advertisers use YouTube due its strong referral traffic.
• YouTube advertising revenue grows by nearly 50% every year.
• There are more than 1 billion active users on YouTube.
• Rights holders have earned over $1 billion since the Content ID program was launched in 2007.
• YouTube retains over 1 billion users. That’s one-third of all people who use the internet.
• YouTube has more domestic reach than any US television network.
• Views are up worldwide by 60% over the past two years.
• Users are flocking to YouTube three times faster than they ever have before.
• 80% of all views are generated outside of the US.
• Over 50% of views come from a mobile device.
• Partner revenue has increased by 50%.
• 60% of ecommerce businesses have a presence on YouTube.
• 90% of people discover new products and services on YouTube.
• 37% of all mobile traffic goes to YouTube.
• YouTube will generate $5 billion in ad revenue in 2020.
• Ad lift for YouTube surpasses 112%.