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Social media commerce is a growing market which is expected to surpass $8.5 trillion by 2030 globally. [1] SellersCommerce, 'Social Commerce Statistics Of 2025 (Demographics And Trends)', 2025 https://www.sellerscommerce.com/blog/social-commerce-statistics/ Social commerce is the seamless integration of e-commerce into the social media landscape. [2] Camphouse, 'Social Shopping: Instagram, IGTV, Reels, TikTok and More', 2025 https://camphouse.io/blog/social-shopping With just a few taps, consumers can discover and buy products without even leaving their social media feeds.
To explore how social media shapes the spending habits of Americans, a survey of 1,053 adults in the U.S. was conducted on behalf of Self Financial. The study delves into the connection between time spent online and consumer behaviour, revealing whether people feel social media drives them to spend more than they intend. It also uncovers how much trust consumers place in social media purchases, how advertising and influencer content affect their decisions, whether these purchases live up to expectations, and how users feel about targeted ads once their money has been spent.
When it comes to social media, the U.S. is clocking some serious screen time. Studies show that on average social media users spend over four hours a day on social media, with TikTok the most popular platform. [3] Backlinko, 'Instagram Statistics: Key Demographic and User Numbers', 2025 https://backlinko.com/instagram-users
| Social media platform by usage | |
|---|---|
| Platform | Average time spent per day |
| TikTok | 53.8 minutes |
| YouTube | 48.7 minutes |
| X (Twitter) | 34.1 minutes |
| 33.1 minutes | |
| Snapchat | 30 minutes |
| 30.9 minutes | |
| 24.1 minutes | |
Source [3] Backlinko, 'Instagram Statistics: Key Demographic and User Numbers', 2025 https://backlinko.com/instagram-users
It turns out that Americans aren’t just spending plenty of time on social platforms–they’re shopping there too. The survey conducted on behalf of Self Financial shows that an astonishing 97.4% of respondents have bought something after first discovering it on social media.
To understand the financial impact of social media shopping, respondents were asked how much they had spent on purchases discovered through social platforms over the past 12 months.
On average, participants reported spending $392 over the year on products first seen on social media. The data also revealed a slight gender difference, with women spending more than men, averaging $403 compared with $380 for men.
On average participants have spent $392 over the last year on products discovered on social media.
Young adults aged 18 to 26 spend well above the overall average, splurging $478 over the past 12 months on products they first discovered through social media, compared with the overall average of $392. By contrast, those aged 27 to 42 are closer to the average, spending $393 over the same period.
| Average annual spend on social media | |
|---|---|
| Generation | Average annual spend |
| Gen Z | $478 |
| Millennials | $393 |
| Gen X | $138 |
Some social media platforms can be more effective at converting engagement into purchases than others, so respondents were asked which ones they had made purchases from after seeing a product. Each platform offers various ad formats, ranging from simple static images to videos and sponsored posts created by social media influencers.
| The social media platforms where products were first discovered | ||
|---|---|---|
| Rank | Social media platform | Percentage of respondents |
| 1 | Instagram Shop | 24.3% |
| 2 | Facebook Marketplace | 23.3% |
| 3 | TikTok Shop | 20.3% |
| 4 | 15.8% | |
| 5 | Snapchat | 10.3% |
| 6 | YouTube Shopping | 2.2% |
| 7 | X (formerly Twitter) | 1.1% |
| 8 | 1.0% | |
| 9 | 0.9% | |
| 10 | Somewhere else | 0.7% |
Instagram Shop, a feature which allows eCommerce brands to create a catalog of their products on Instagram, [4] Hootsuite, 'Instagram shopping: How to get set up and start making sales', 2025 https://blog.hootsuite.com/instagram-shopping/ is the most popular platform for social media shopping among respondents, with just under a quarter (24.3%) stating they have purchased at least one product after seeing it on this platform. In addition to this, research suggests that in 2025 the average order value on Instagram is $65. [5] Napolify, 'What's the average Instagram Shop checkout conversion rate?' https://napolify.com/blogs/news/instagram-shop-checkout-conversion
Just over a third (33.5%) of respondents who have made a purchase after seeing a product on social media use TikTok for on average 1.5 hours a day. Separately, over three in ten (35.3%) of respondents who said they have made a social media purchase spend more than five hours a day on Instagram.
The survey examined how many products people are buying after seeing them on social media. Almost a quarter of respondents (23.1%) have purchased between two and five items, with a similar proportion buying between six and ten (23%). At the extreme end, a very small group (0.4%) made more than 21 purchases, highlighting how social media can inspire frequent buying for a limited number of users.
| The number of items participants bought from social media | |
|---|---|
| 10-15 items | 16.9% |
| 16-20 items | 15.8% |
| 2-5 items | 23.1% |
| 21+ items | 0.4% |
| 6-10 items | 23.0% |
| I have never bought anything from social media | 1.7% |
| One item | 19.0% |
Overall, on average participants bought eight products after first seeing it on social media. Likewise, Millennials (aged 27-42) bought an average of eight items from social media, while Gen Z (aged 18-26) bought an average of nine.
On average participants bought eight products after discovering on social media.
Over the course of the survey, respondents were asked whether social media had caused them to overspend. Nearly all respondents (95.5%) that admitted to already purchasing a product after seeing it on social media said they believed social media has caused them to spend more money than they would have otherwise.
Overall, the average amount spent on products from social media was $389.
More than nine in 10 (95.5%) admit social media has led them to overspend, totalling an average of $389.
The survey also looked at how often people encounter products on social media before deciding to make a purchase. Participants that have previously made a purchase from social media said that on average they typically view that product six times before deciding to buy.
Most respondents (24.1%) reported seeing a product four or five times before making a purchase while over a fifth of participants (21.9%) made a purchase after seeing a product only two or three times. A small group (1.6%) bought something after seeing it just once, highlighting how social media can influence impulse buying for a small percentage of users.
| The number of times participants saw a product on social media before purchasing | |
|---|---|
| 2–3 times | 21.9% |
| 4–5 times | 24.1% |
| 6–10 times | 18.4% |
| I'm not sure how many | 15.5% |
| More than 10 times | 17.4% |
| Only once | 1.6% |
In the survey, YouTube users with high amounts of screen time (people who use this platform for more than five hours a day) had the highest percentage of people buying a product on social media after seeing it less than three times (27.1%). In comparison, 24.2% of high Instagram users (people who use the platform for more than five hours a day) said they purchased a product after seeing it less than three times, along with 19.3% of high TikTok users and 22.3% of high Snapchat users.
To gain insight into what drives social media shopping, respondents were asked which factors most influenced their buying decisions. The research found that two factors share the most responsibility for influencing people’s decisions to buy products after seeing them on different social media platforms.
| What influences participants the most | |
|---|---|
| Influencer recommendation | 23.3% |
| Seeing friends or family members buy it | 23.3% |
| Limited-time offers / flash sales | 20.4% |
| FOMO (fear of missing out) | 16.6% |
| Wanting to treat myself | 10.5% |
| Just got paid | 2.0% |
| Previously bought the product before and like it | 1.3% |
| Admiring the advert or marketing | 1.3% |
| User recommendations | 1.0% |
Almost one in four (23.3%) respondents said that both influencer recommendations and seeing friends and family purchase a product are the biggest influences when purchasing products discovered via social media. Just over a fifth (20.4%) of respondents overall were enticed by limited-time offers or flash sales, and over one in six (16.5%) cited the fear of missing out as a motivation.
Despite a projected spend of $422 billion billion on advertising in the U.S. alone in 2025 with Digital advertising making up 77% of the total ad spend – or $324.9 billion [6] Growth-onomics, '2025 Ad Spend Benchmarks by Sector', 2025 https://growth-onomics.com/2025-ad-spend-benchmarks-by-sector traditional marketing tactics were significantly less effective in driving decision-making in our survey. Just over one in 100 respondents (1.3%) bought a product because they liked the ad or marketing.
More than nine in 10 (97.4%) respondents agreed that bad reviews have made them think twice about purchasing a product on social media, highlighting the importance of customer feedback in influencing purchase decisions.
Bad reviews stopped more than nine in 10 (97.4%) from buying products on social media
Only 2.5% of people said they aren’t influenced by negative reviews, underscoring the importance of customer feedback in the decision-making process. In addition to this, more than nine in 10 (98.8%) respondents who have made at least one social media purchase previously said they check reviews of a product or company they have seen on social media, compared to only 0.9% who don’t.
Respondents show the highest level of confidence when products on social media have verified purchase badges (21.6%). There are a number of different badge types, from payment, security, customer reviews, and industry certifications. [7] 1st Formations, 'Trust badges – their benefits and how to use them', 2025 https://www.1stformations.co.uk/blog/trust-badges-benefits-and-how-to-use-them/ Over a fifth (21.3%) feel confident if a product has a high number of positive reviews, and over one in five (20.6%) valued professional-looking product images as the most important factor in inspiring confidence in their purchases.
| What makes respondents feel confident when buying a product on social media? | |
|---|---|
| Confidence booster | Percentage of respondents |
| Verified purchase badges | 21.6% |
| High number of positive reviews | 21.3% |
| Professional-looking product images | 20.6% |
| Detailed product description | 18.5% |
| Brand is well-known or reputable | 14.3% |
| An influencer they trust recommends it | 1.6% |
| Friends/family have bought it before | 1.2% |
| Money-back guarantee | 0.7% |
On the other hand, despite 23.3% of respondents citing influencer recommendations as one of the biggest influences when purchasing products discovered via social media, just 1.6% said that seeing an influencer they trust recommend a product boosts their confidence when making purchases from social media.
The research also explored the extent to which respondents read reviews or researched products online prior to making a purchase.
When it comes to the frequency respondents checked reviews, most people said they checked them sometimes (31.6%). On the other hand, over a quarter (25.6%) said they rarely checked reviews. Just over one in ten (11.6%) respondents consistently looked at feedback for the products they considered buying before making a purchase.
| How often people check reviews before making a purchase | |
|---|---|
| Frequency | Percentage of participants |
| Always | 11.6% |
| Never | 0.1% |
| Often | 31.2% |
| Rarely | 25.6% |
| Sometimes | 31.6% |
Alongside this, the survey asked respondents how much they trust reviews on social media for products, including reviews from influencers or social media personalities, where one represents not trusting online reviews at all and five meaning they confidently trust them.
Most respondents (39%) are fairly trusting, rating their trust level a four out five. However, over a quarter (26%) have a low level of confidence in online reviews, rating it just two out of five. This could be due to the fact that research by Capital One Shopping showed that 30% of worldwide online reviews are fake or inauthentic. [8] Capital One, 'Fake Review Statistics', 2025 https://capitaloneshopping.com/research/fake-review-statistics/
To assess the level of satisfaction people had with their purchases on social media, the survey asked respondents how often purchases had met their expectations.
Just under one in three (32%) respondents are mostly or consistently satisfied with their social media purchases, split between nearly a quarter (24.6%) whose purchases met expectations most of the time and just over seven in 100 (7.4%) who are always satisfied. However, a higher proportion of people (37.8%) report negative experiences with social media purchases meeting expectations. Almost one in five (19.2%) said these purchases never meet their expectations, and under a fifth (18.6%) report they rarely do.
| How often social media purchases meet expectations | |
|---|---|
| Always | 7.4% |
| Most of the time | 24.6% |
| Never | 19.2% |
| Rarely | 18.6% |
| Sometimes | 30.1% |
The level of dissatisfaction can be demonstrated by the fact that more than nine in 10 (95.1%) respondents have returned products bought after discovering on social media, compared to just 4% who have not. Despite the high level of dissatisfaction, when respondents returned products, nearly all (99.4%) got their money back.
For respondents who had been left disappointed by their social media purchases, the main reason was that the item did not match the description (21.2%). Slightly behind this was the poor quality of the item (21%) and the purchase being the wrong size or fit (20.6%).
| Reasons for disappointment with social media purchases | ||
|---|---|---|
| Rank | Reason | Percentage of respondents |
| 1 | Item not as described | 21.2% |
| 2 | Poor quality | 21% |
| 3 | Wrong size/fit | 20.6% |
| 4 | Item was delayed | 19.0% |
| 5 | Item never arrived | 13.8% |
| 6 | Item was damaged | 1.7% |
| 7 | Item was not fit for use | 1.2% |
| 8 | Item didn't look as advertised | 0.7% |
| 9 | Other | 0.1% |
To assess how they feel about targeted ads after making a purchase, respondents were asked which social media platforms had become oversaturated with ads. The majority (56%) of respondents agreed that Instagram has become oversaturated with ads. This is followed by Facebook and YouTube (both at 53%). Half of the respondents (50%) agreed that TikTok has a high volume of advertisements.
Separately, Discord and Reddit were the least ad-heavy platforms as 41% and 43% respectively said they felt that advertisements on the site were excessive.
A survey on behalf of Self Financial was conducted in September 2025 and asked 1,053 adults in the U.S. questions about shopping habits on social media.
These questions covered an array of topics, including how much time and money respondents spent on social media, the level of trust in social media purchases, how purchasing decisions are influenced, whether social media purchases meet expectations, and which platforms have become oversaturated with adverts.
Responses were reviewed for completeness and consistency. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, including percentages and averages, with pivot tables and charts employed to summarize key trends. Findings reflect self-reported behaviors and perceptions at the time of the survey.
The demographics of the respondents were:
Gender:
Age:
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