Social selling is emerging as a key component of modern marketing and sales strategies. By combining engaging content, trusting relationships, and a frictionless shopping experience, it promises to turn every social interaction into a conversion opportunity.
But what exactly does this term mean? Social selling is the art of using social media to identify, engage with, and nurture relationships with prospects throughout their buying journey. It’s not just about selling, but about nurturing the customer relationship in a subtle way, through LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, or even Pinterest.
Contents
1. Remarkable successes in social selling... elsewhere
China: Live shopping—
—is king
China remains the undisputed leader in social commerce, with industry leaders such as Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok) and WeChat. These platforms seamlessly blend video, influencer marketing, and integrated payment features.
Example: “Double 11” (Singles’ Day) generated more than $20 billion in sales through live streaming in 2022, according to eMarketer.
Japan: The Convergence of Social Media, Gaming, and E-commerce
Japan features a hybrid model that blends inspiration, entertainment, and conversion, driven largely by the LINE ecosystem (an extremely dominant local social network) and platforms such as Rakuten and Mercari.
- LINE Shopping allows brands to send highly targeted promotions to their subscriber base directly through the app.
- Consumers are fond ofgamified experiences, such as “Lucky Boxes” or coupon campaigns, which are often shared on social media.
- Engagement largely takes place through micro-influencers, who are deeply rooted in local or niche communities
United States:
s of Mature Platforms
Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest have successfully adapted their platforms by:
- built-in stores (Facebook Shops),
- integrated payments (Checkout),
- and visual recommendation tools (Lens on Pinterest)
As a result, TikTok Shop generated more than $10 billion in sales in the United States in 2023 (source: Bloomberg).
2. In Europe: Persistent Obstacles to Boosting Social Selling
Social selling: a minefield starting with the pre-sales phase
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Growing Skepticism Toward Influencer Marketing
Criticism of opaque practices and political statements (particularly from the French government) have sparked a crisis of trust between influencers, brands, and consumers. A study by Havas reveals that only 29% of French people trust influencers (compared to 51% in 2018). -
Ad Targeting Ad targeting is the ability for advertisers to show the right ad to the right person at the right time. That’s what makes platforms like Meta (Facebook, Instagram), Google, and TikTok so powerful.
But since 2021, this model has been undermined by two types of obstacles:
-
Privacy (Technical & Technological) Section
Starting with iOS 14.5, Apple introduced a feature called ATT (App Tracking Transparency). It requires apps to ask for the user’s explicit permission to track them for advertising purposes. As a result, according to Lotame, only 20 to 25% of users consent to this tracking → a 60% drop in the accuracy of ad targeting on iOS. Meta (Facebook/Instagram) has been particularly hard hit: the company announced a 14% drop in ad rates for 2022 due to insufficient effectiveness. -
Regulatory Aspects (Legal Framework)
The GDPR (2018) requires companies to obtain explicit, freely given, specific, and informed consent for the processing of personal data. This limits the use of third-party cookies and the sharing of data among partners (e.g., Facebook Pixel on an e-commerce site).
Retail ad networks: a credible alternative to social media for targeted advertising
Faced with the growing limitations of targeted advertising on social media platforms, major retailers are organizing their response. They are now launching their own advertising networks—Carrefour, Fnac-Darty, Leclerc, Kingfisher, and others—with a clear goal: to regain control of customer data and capture a growing share of brands’ marketing budgets.
These retail ad networks operate on a model similar to that of Google or Meta: they offer brands targeted ad space, but by leveraging their first-party data (purchase history, browsing behavior, loyalty). This is a goldmine at a time when third-party cookies are gradually disappearing and mobile tracking is severely restricted (see Apple’s App Tracking Transparency, the GDPR in Europe, etc.).
- Carrefour Links, developed in partnership with Google and Criteo, enables campaigns to be launched based on the purchasing behavior of Carrefour customers, both in-store and online.
- MyRetailink (Fnac-Darty) offers brands the ability to target website visitors or repeat customers through a multi-channel media activation strategy.
- Kingfisher Retail Media (Castorama, Brico Dépôt) offers home improvement brands the opportunity to display ads within its stores’ e-commerce platforms: websites, mobile apps, newsletters, and more.
These players are therefore becoming more effective alternatives to social media for reaching consumers at the key moment of purchase.
Regarding the sales phase: platforms that aren't quite “shopping-friendly” yet
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Integrated payment:
The Missing Piece in Europe In the United States, in-app " Procurement " on Instagram or Facebook are commonplace. In France? The Checkout feature still hasn't been rolled out. This is holding back purchases. -
Functional but fragmented efforts
The platforms have nonetheless expanded their toolkits: Pinterest Lens and Instagram Shopping for visual search, the creation of branded “shops” (product catalogs, links to the website), and live shopping features. These efforts are not enough to shift users toward a 100% integrated social media shopping experience. -
Live shopping: a flop in Europe
TikTok has put its live shopping program on hold in France. The reason: low adoption rates. A Forrester report indicates that only 11% of European consumers have ever made a purchase through live shopping, compared to 48% in China.
3. Social selling is a high-potential strategy, but it is still in its infancy in Europe
Social selling works, but not to the same extent across all markets. The United States and Asia benefit from more integrated platforms, a more seamless culture of digital shopping, and more favorable regulations.
In Europe, the main challenge lies in coordinating the various components: content, influence, advertising, conversion, and payment. Without a seamless user experience and trust, it’s difficult to bring about the transformation promised by social selling.
The next step? Moving beyond mere marketing “buzz” to build cohesive omnichannel experiences, where social media becomes a true sales channel—not just a source of inspiration.
Customer Journey Consulting Firm
3 steps to measuring Customer Experience ROI
The customer experience, like other aspects of marketing and customer relations, needs to be measured to assess ROI. Our experts give you the 3 steps to
Clienteling: definition, relevance and challenges in an omnichannel strategy
The term "clienteling" most often refers to a highly personalized approach to the relationship that develops between a customer and a sales associate in a store, with the goal of building customer loyalty.
How do you build an effective customer experience strategy?
To ask the question of customer experience strategy is to recognize that taking account of the customer experience has gradually spread throughout BtoC and BtoB companies.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is social selling in B2C?
Why is social selling becoming a key driver of customer relationships?
Consumers now expect fast, personalized interactions that are accessible through their favorite social media platforms. Social selling enables brands to bridge the gap with their customers, humanize the relationship, and influence purchasing decisions the moment the intention arises. It also helps improve customer satisfaction through more immediate and context-specific responses.
What are the major trends in B2C social selling?
Social selling in the B2C sector is evolving into a hybrid model that combines content, influence, and direct conversion, with one key challenge: reducing the friction between discovery and purchase.
Several key trends are emerging:
- Direct integration of purchasing into social media platforms (social commerce)
These platforms now allow users to make purchases without leaving the app. The challenge for brands is to capture the purchase at the moment of inspiration, without interrupting the user journey. - The Central Role of Creators in Conversion
Creators are no longer just a means of building brand awareness: they are becoming direct drivers of sales, with content designed to trigger purchases (product demonstrations, social proof, recommendations). - Performance-Driven Content Strategy
Social selling increasingly relies on content designed to convert (short, demonstrative, and relatable formats), rather than simply to engage or build visibility. - The rise of private interactions… but as a tool to drive conversions
Private messages and comments play a role, but mainly to address concerns (questions, reassurance), not as a structured primary sales channel. - Data- and Test-Driven Management
Platforms are increasingly performance-driven (A/B testing of content, measuring ROI by creator or campaign), following a model similar to that of e-commerce.
