Social media firms are placing their bets on the wave of interest in social commerce, in which their respective platforms essentially become storefronts where users can discover and buy all kinds of products.

It was a recurring theme this week as platforms ranging from Facebook Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s YouTube, and Pinterest Inc. reported their second-quarter earnings results.

Social commerce refers to discovering and purchasing products directly through social media apps. It’s a burgeoning niche that’s projected to top $363 billion in sales this year, eMarketer has said.

One of the reasons social commerce is proving so successful is data. Social media giants have buckets of information on their users, and they can easily target ads based on people’s interests.

Retailers have been quick to seize on the opportunity. As COVID-19 continues to dog brick-and-mortar retail sales many have turned to online commerce instead.

Source: Commerce New Battleground For Social Media | PYMNTS.com