The Social Shopper

1. Understanding the Social Shopper 

The Social Shopper approaches shopping as an expressive, shared experience rooted in discovery and connection. They are consistently aware of what is new and emerging, moving fluidly across categories and platforms while shopping frequently for both themselves and others. They naturally guide friends, offer recommendations, and help others navigate choices, often sharing finds through social posts, group messages, and direct conversations.  Their influence does not stem from scale or status, but from trust, timing, and taste. Often described as distributed influence or peer-led discovery, Social Shoppers identify and circulate trends well before they are formally recognized by brands or reflected in sales data. When companies provide clear information, shareable content, early access, and frictionless discovery, they gain organic visibility, early trend validation, and a highly credible layer of market insight that traditional analytics alone cannot capture.

Social Shoppers are driven by discovery, relevance, and shared enthusiasm!

Motivation comes from access, exclusivity, and credibility rather than price, technology, or certainty. Invitations to special events, early access, and an inside scoop energize this shopper along with participating in the flow of ideas, discovery of what’s new, and helping others navigate choices. Engagement is driven by relevance in the moment, not by persuasion or pressure to act.  While they appreciate the opinion of others they are not generally influenced by influencers or experts, they trust their own instincts and their network.  Social Shopper Influencers share what reflects their personal taste and judgment, making authenticity and clarity far more motivating than promotional messaging.  When it comes to brand alignment there must be transparency, respect, and an engaging relationship that feels natural and ongoing.  

Social Shoppers are not looking to be sold to; they are looking to stay connected, informed, and ahead of what comes next.

Brands often underestimate the role Social Shoppers play in shaping their sales momentum offering indicators of products that are gaining traction long before sales data or formal research confirms it. Not building a relationship with this shopper profile eliminates a brand's awareness of initial trend patterns, early product feedback, and organic influence when they share what excites them. Brands instead tend to focus  their efforts on paid influencers, targeting search terms, and research that comes in past the fact.  

Brands underestimate how quickly Social Shoppers move, relying on rigid approval processes, slow internal decision-making, and siloed teams often prevents them from responding in real time. Brands often miss that Social Shoppers are influencers who are looking for connection rather than a transaction.  While some Social Shoppers transition into paid influencers, most enjoy shopping and influence naturally.  Acknowledging the impact that this shopper has and providing a lane for them to feel part of the process is critical to building a relationship with this shopper.

Social Shoppers are organic influencers that hold power in the market.

When planning your marketing efforts to the Social Shopper it is important to know what not to do to ensure that time, money, and energy on not wasted on the effort.  This shopper does not respond well to distractions while shopping online from popup ads to mandatory e-mail requests.  Offering a way to remove ads, sign up to be part of an exclusive e-mail group, or an access code to reduce the friction are great ways to enhance the relationship with the social shopper. 

Overloading the Social Shoppers with too many ideas, results, and random information at once can lead to fatigue rather than excitement.  Organize websites into curated collections, present new products in a defined space on the site, and provide a go to destination online to allow this shopper to explore more information when they desire rather than try and tell them everything at one time.  

Do not assume that all shopper profiles react to discounts, free freight, and time-sensitive messages with the same vigor.  While most Social Shoppers will not pass up a great deal, enjoy thrifting and will even re-gift, they are strongly motivated by being first, having access to choice, and being a part of the process.  

While this shopper enjoys storytelling, they don't want it to feel like work. Relying on social shoppers to explain context, value, or purpose, can lead to participation feeling like labor instead of enjoyment.  It is essential for brands to build a relationship by giving back to this shopper in the form of early access, providing an inside scoop, and respecting the role these shoppers play in the market.  

Do not treat access as transactional. Social Shoppers engage when they feel invited, not managed.

Social Shoppers do spend time on social media, but they do not want discovery to live there exclusively. Platforms like Instagram and TikTok function best as doorways, not destinations for this shopper. They are used for scanning, inspiration, and early signals that indicate something may be worth exploring. Expecting these platforms alone to carry the full weight of discovery, education, and shopping is where many brands lose momentum. 

Once interest is sparked, Social Shoppers want to go deeper looking for links to brand sites, brand stories, and product or collection information.  When they cannot easily access this information they often question the legitimacy of the brand.  While the Social Shopper does not often take a deep dive into every product they choose, they often use websites and profiles to validate the legitimacy of the brand.  

Online private groups, invite-only spaces, approved text message and curated newsletters feel relational rather than promotional and appeal to this shopper.  Offering previews, early-access, and something exclusive further deepens the relationshiop. When updates arrive in these environments, they feel relevant and welcomed, not intrusive.

Social Shoppers are not afraid to search for what they want and rely on SEO to help them connect with brands, products, and the solutions they are looking for.  Brands often think they know the demographics of their shopper and ignore the benefits of helping shoppers discover them when they need the products they offer.  Most shoppers do not discover a new brand through their brand name, SEO should be directed to solutions, context, and use rather than brand names, items numbers, and product details. 

The go to marketing outreach for most brands is to advertise on social media and through search engines, paying platforms money in attempt to 'beat' current brand placement to catch the eye of shoppers.  While this is effective for some brands and products, it is not the best way to reach all shoppers, especially the social shopper.  While the name indicates they are social and it would seem logical to advertise to them here, the truth is they respond better when products are recommended by influencers and brands they trust.  This can be done in a collaboration social media post, part of an exclusive newsletter, or a special even they are invited to.  This makes it advantageous for brands with a foothold to support new brands and established brand launches, while they benefit from exposure.  

Consider co-op advertising with brands that complement each other or like products that offer alternative solutions.  Rather than compete with them, join them and create innovative ads that garner attention with a great collaborative story.  

Established brands can incorporate many these ideas into their marketing outreach, partnering with smaller, more nimble brands that enhance their exposure.  Stay away from over-produced or disconnected posts, ads, and videos and do not mimic organic influencer behavior, this shopper sees right through it. 

Email is no longer a primary discovery tool for Social Shoppers due to inbox overload and overuse as a gatekeeper. It still plays a role in deeper storytelling and confirmation, but should not be the first or only touchpoint. Segmenting email strategies by shopper profile helps reduce fatigue and improve relevance.  Eliminate pop-up ads and distractions from these e-mails to build credibility and add something exclusive to encourage this shopper to not only open the e-mail, but look forward to them.  Allow this shopper to control the e-mails they receive and make them feel exclusive or earned rather than required.  

Text messaging and private communication channels are emerging as highly effective when used with restraint. Group texts, limited alerts, and exclusive notifications feel personal and immediate when there is a real human on the other end. These channels work best as relationship-building spaces, not customer service pipelines, with a clear give-and-take that rewards participation.

Soft launches, early previews, behind-the-scenes thinking, and organic discovery before paid amplification create stronger credibility and engagement with social shoppers.

Explore 12 marketing techniques to help you reach the social shopper and build long-term relationships

1. Design for share-first discovery, not platform-first performance - Build content and product pages that are easy to save, share, and send through group messages, DMs, and links, rather than optimizing solely for Instagram or TikTok algorithms.
2. Lead with strong visual storytelling across all channels - Prioritize well-styled imagery, clean product photography, and lifestyle context on social media, brand websites, email, and e-commerce pages to support quick scanning and visual validation.
3. Use Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest as discovery gateways, not endpoints - Treat social platforms as entry points that lead shoppers to richer brand experiences rather than the only place discovery happens. Lead shoppers to new or enhanced website that provides resources, early access, and insider scoop, changing the way websites are utilized.
4. Provide light context to support quick research - Include short captions, highlights, and “why it matters” explanations so Social Shoppers can confidently share products without needing deep technical detail.
5. Offer insider access and early visibility - Create early access moments, preview drops, pre-order opportunities, or first looks that reward curiosity and make Social Shoppers feel included rather than targeted.
6. Build private or semi-private access spaces - Utilize newsletters, e-mails, group texts, private groups, or password-protected sections of your site to share trend insights, behind-the-scenes content, designer decisions, and upcoming launches.
7. Influencer saturation strategy - Balance established creators with emerging voices, separate influencers into niche markets, focus groups, and encourage influencers through challenges to ignite creativity.
8. Make sharing effortless - Provide clear links, clean URLs, easy “copy link” options, and content formatted for reposting, saving, or pinning so Social Shoppers can help others shop with minimal friction.
9. Invite Social Shoppers into the creative process - Request feedback on new colors, silhouettes, pairings, use cases, or concepts before launching collections to validate their ideas early and build buy-in.
10. Highlight brand collaboration - Show mix-and-match product pairings across brands, collections, or categories to reflect how Social Shoppers actually shop and assemble solutions in real life.
11. Tell real brand stories, not generic talking points - Share founder perspectives, design processes, decision making, sourcing details, factory tours, and brand history to build credibility and give Social Shoppers something meaningful to pass along.
12. Reduce friction and remove barriers to exploration - Avoid forcing sign-ups, logins, or paywalls for basic discovery. Access builds enthusiasm; friction kills momentum.  Change the need for logging in to early access and enhanced benefits.