Ever been scrolling through your Instagram feed, seen a product you loved, and bought it right then and there without ever leaving the app?
That’s social commerce in action. It’s more than just a buzzword; it’s the new digital storefront, seamlessly blending the worlds of social media and online shopping. Instead of just using platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook to build awareness, businesses are now learning how to start selling products through social channels directly.
As of 2025, this isn't just a trend for big brands. It's a critical strategy for businesses of all sizes, driven by customers who love shopping on the platforms where they already spend their time—getting recommendations from friends and creators they trust. Adopting this strategy is one of the key changes you can make for your business to grow and scale.
Why Should Social Commerce Be Your Next Move?
So, what’s the big deal? Social commerce offers some powerful advantages that traditional e-commerce can't always match.
It’s All About Convenience: It removes the friction from buying. By keeping the entire shopping journey—from discovery to checkout—inside one app, you make it incredibly easy for customers to make a purchase. Fewer clicks almost always mean more sales.
It Builds Real Trust: Think about it. We trust recommendations from friends and creators we follow. Social commerce taps directly into that trust. Positive reviews and customer photos act as powerful social proof that builds credibility for your brand.
It Gives You Smarter Insights: Social platforms are a goldmine of data. You can see what your customers are clicking on and what content they love. This allows you to refine your products and marketing with incredible precision, ultimately helping you make your website user experience better and more engaging.
Winning Strategies to Turn Followers into Customers
Ready to make social commerce work for you? These strategies are some of the top ways to monetize Squarespace sites and turn your audience into paying customers.
Influencer Marketing: Don't just pay for a post; partner with influencers whose audience and values genuinely align with your brand. Their authentic endorsement can feel like a recommendation from a trusted friend, driving both awareness and sales.
User-Generated Content (UGC): Encourage your customers to become your best marketers. Ask them to share photos or videos of using your products with a specific hashtag. Displaying this content is a great way to build community and show real people enjoying what you sell. This is a core part of how you brand your Squarespace e-commerce website effectively.
Targeted Social Ads: Use the powerful targeting tools on Facebook and Instagram to create ads that reach your ideal customers. If you've ever wondered why your beautiful Squarespace website isn't getting traffic, targeted social ads are a direct solution.
Live Shopping Events: Host live video streams to showcase your products in real-time. You can demonstrate features, answer questions, and create a sense of urgency. TikTok has turned this into an art form, with brands selling out products directly during a single live event.
Shoppable Posts and Stories: This is the cornerstone of social commerce. Tag your products directly in your photos, videos, and stories. This adds a small shopping bag icon, allowing users to tap and purchase with just a few clicks.
Bringing It All Together: Tools to Build Your Social Storefront
Integrating these shopping features needs to be seamless. If a customer clicks a shoppable post and lands on a slow, confusing webpage, you’ve lost the sale. Ensuring you have fast and high-performance sites on the Squarespace platform is non-negotiable.
If you’re running your site on Squarespace, you can use plugins to supercharge your site’s e-commerce functions. There are many options for maximizing e-commerce with Squarespace plugins, ensuring the experience is smooth for visitors arriving from social media. It's also crucial that your design is effective on all devices, so be sure to follow best practices to create a mobile-friendly website on Squarespace.
Here are a few examples from the Top 10 Squarespace Plugins that bridge the gap between social media and your site:
| Plugin Name | Description | How It Helps Social Commerce |
|---|---|---|
| Universal Filter Plugin | Adds powerful sorting and filtering to your product lists. | A customer from Instagram can instantly filter your store to find exactly what they're looking for. |
| Lazy Load Summaries | Makes your site faster by only loading images as a user scrolls down. | Ensures your site is fast and responsive, even with a surge of traffic from a viral post. |
| Custom Cart Slide Out | Creates a sleek, modern, and customizable shopping cart. | Provides a smooth and professional checkout experience that matches the slick feel of social apps. |
The Future is Now
Social commerce is fundamentally changing how we shop online. It closes the gap between inspiration and purchase, creating a more interactive and trustworthy experience.
By using smart strategies and equipping your website with the right tools, you can transform your social media presence into a major source of revenue. The question isn't if you should adopt social commerce—it's how quickly you can start building a business website with a growth mindset.