The Next Generation Social Commerce Playbook

With nearly 5 billion social media users in the world, social commerce revenue is expected to hit $492 billion in 2023². But is social media meeting consumer needs and expectations and providing an ideal social commerce shopping experience? In order to better understand how  the Next Generation (Gen Z and Millennials) are engaging with social commerce, Snapchat and Havas Media Network partnered together to determine how to better deliver shopping experiences that cater to this generation’s needs.

Creating meaningful social shopping experiences for Gen Z and Millennials

A multi-modal study was conducted in seven markets (France, Germany, India, Mexico, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and United States) and over 28,500 13-34 year olds were surveyed. The study revealed some key expectations and behavior from GenZ and millennials when it comes to commerce: 

  • Social dominates Discovery/Inspiration: 88% of Next Gen respondents use social media to discover new products and 44% use it to evaluate items for consideration and purchase. 

  • Community is integral: 85% of respondents include friends and family in their shopping journey through direct messages, tagging in posts, and attending live shopping events together. 

  • Dynamic engagement makes a difference: Over one third of Next Gen consumers have used augmented reality (AR) and approximately 3 out of 5 have attended a virtual shopping event – with 61% of respondents more likely to purchase a product after an AR experience, and over half making a purchase during a live shopping event.

    • 63% of Daily Snapchatters even report that having a virtual try-on feature is key to driving conversion!

  • Seamlessness rules: At 60%, the biggest engagement drop-off across the social commerce journey is from the discovery phase to the purchasing phase. 

  • Technology needs humanity: 81% of Next Gen utilize the AI/chatbot feature, as it provides a ‘shopping buddy’ that delivers on ease and personalization.


These key learnings lend themselves to six overarching principles that brands can use to create meaningful social shopping experiences for Next Gen:

  1. Be My Sidekick: Pursue Personalization: Excellent customer experiences incorporate the human touchwhether through personalized guidance through the buying process, tailored buying suggestions and consultation, or stellar support following a purchase.

  2. Keep My Inner Circle Within Reach: Action Authenticity: Friends and family are a powerful marketing tool to expand a customer base – Next Gen carefully chooses who they interact with based on transparency, authenticity, and shared values.

    Creating meaningful social shopping experiences for Gen Z and Millennials

  3. Engage In My Blended Reality: Utilize Ubiquity: Leverage technology to create ‘real-life’ shopping moments that transition seamlessly between the virtual and real world – fulfilling this cohort’s expectation for engaging and futuristic experiences.

    Creating meaningful social shopping experiences for Gen Z and Millennials
  4. Instill Confidence: Tackle Trust: A secure platform builds credibility by delivering clear and relevant information and offering connection to real people, instilling confidence to make a purchase with support from discovery to post purchase.

  5. Incorporate Moments of Fun: Emphasize Entertainment: Lean into the growing ‘live shoptainment’ space for more holistically engaging shopping experiences that inspire and entertain.

  6. Smooth It Out: Chase Convenience: A seamless experience provides consumer ease across the entire shopping journey, increasing repeat sales and creating brand advocates.

Download the full Playbook here for complete findings and insights.

To learn more about commerce success stories on Snapchat, check out this link.

1 2023 Havas study commissioned by Snap, Inc.
2 2023 Global Payments, Commerce and Payments Trends Report