Social Commerce
Social commerce is the purchase of products directly inside social networks such as Instagram, TikTok or Pinterest, without users having to leave the app. It merges content discovery, community interaction and checkout into a single channel, which sets it apart from conventional social media marketing that mainly links out to websites.
In practice
In the DACH region, native in-app checkout is now the exception: Meta discontinued direct checkout in Instagram and Facebook worldwide in 2025, including in the US – product tags have led to the retailer's website everywhere since then. TikTok Shop is the exception here and has been running since March 2025 in Germany and since June 2026 in Austria, with its own shop tab, real in-app checkout, an affiliate programme and live shopping. For retailers, social commerce therefore usually means a mix: product tags and shop tabs for discovery, combined with a well-optimised checkout on their own website or – as with TikTok Shop – directly on the platform.